Maria Joyce

Coordinator, National Traveller Womens Forum

Graduate of BA Community Work and Youth Work

My job as coordinator of the National Traveller Womens Forum a membership organisation with a human rights and equality ethos is varied and diverse.  We have a strong policy focus and representational role with government Departments on key areas of Traveller policy particularly accommodation, education and health all major issues for Traveller women. 

Professional community work education has been important for me and other Travellers.  It was especially important for those of us who have had very negative experiences of school and were predominately at that time in the 90s early school leavers.  The insights and knowledge I got on issues such as racism helps with the challenges this work brings.  I knew about and experienced racism long before I went to Maynooth but the tools and strategies to address it that I developed from there remain with me.

I encourage Travellers of all ages who are interested in community work to promote and realise our rights, to consider third level education and I encourage colleagues from other minority ethnic groups to do also. I also think that Higher level education institutions need to be more ambitious for and supportive of Travellers and others who continue to experience exclusion and inequality of outcomes from education.

Áine Deely,

Coordinator Loughrea Family Resource Centre

Higher Diploma in Community Work and Youth Work 1990, Maynooth University

Masters of Applied Social Studies, 2013

On completion of my professional education, initially I worked for what is now Youth Work Ireland , subsequently moving to the Ballybane/Mervue Community Development Project in Galway and finally to my current role as Coordinator of the Loughrea Family Resource Centre (FRC) where I have been since it began 16 years ago.

My role has evolved from being responsible for developing and establishing the FRC to managing an organisation of 4 staff, a large body of volunteers requiring support and a board of management, all to ensure that we run effectively and address community needs in inclusive and empowering ways.

My community work education gave me the knowledge and skills to challenge inequality and poverty.  It provided me with a framework and a critical analysis for understanding the world and really brought home the need to work to bring about social change.  It helped me to recognise that individuals and groups experiencing the issues are experts in their own situation and we as community workers need to facilitate them to be involved in the work for change.  My education gave me a clear understanding of the need to treat people equally while remaining professional.

For anyone interested in community work having a professional education gives you a theoretical framework and the knowledge and skills to challenge the status quo and work to make change happen.  I have supported student placements from a variety of programmes over the years and this has really brought home to me the need to look at things with a more critical eye, to ask what is possible here.  I think a professional community work education gives you that.

Megan Berry

Maynooth University Access Programme and Pavee Point Traveller & Roma Centre

Masters of Social Science in Community Work and Youth Work Maynooth University, 2021

I graduated last year and now have 2 part-time jobs with working on the Maynooth University Access Programme (MAP) and with Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre. My work in MAP includes outreach to prospective Traveller students in schools and community organisations, providing information and supporting them to navigate the higher education system and the supports available. 

In Pavee Point, I am a development worker on the Violence Against Women Programme which involves policy work, developing and delivering training, supporting our Traveller Women Awareness Worker project and addressing barriers for Traveller women accessing domestic violence services, also supporting Pavee Points education initiatives.

My professional education prepared me to work professionally in areas that I am passionate about. We did two 14-week placements in the area of community development and youth work which showed me the importance of linking theory to practice and gave me the opportunity to reflect on my values, ensuring they were congruent with community work.

It gave me a strong analysis of the structural & systemic issues affecting communities in Ireland and how as community workers we can work collectively and collaboratively to bring about social change. The most important thing for me is using what I have learned to work with my own community, in Pavee Point and in MU.

I strongly encourage all from marginalised and minority groups including Travellers and Roma who are interested in rights and justice for our communities to think about doing professional community work education.  A professional community work education offers a unique way of learning.   Through critical dialogue and experiential learning you can develop the knowledge and skills to work in diverse community work roles.

Chloe Ní Mháille

Bainisteoir ar Chomhar Caomhán Teo

Bachelor of Social Science in Community & Youth Work, 2020, Maynooth University

My journey to Inis Oírr began as a student on placement.  My current and first job is as the Community Development Officer and Manager of Comhar Caomhán Teo, the island co-operative.  Inis Oírr the smallest of the three Aran Islands is in the Gaeltacht so we work through Irish.  

My work is diverse and can include advocacy, negotiating, trading, social media, tourism, public relations, renewable energy, sustainable living, promotion and preservation of the Irish language.

My Community Work education has helped me to bring a new dynamic to a rural Gaeltacht Island. I am determined to use the skills I learned in class and on placement to positively impact rural Ireland. I am passionate about using a community work approach to achieve social justice and while this is challenging I strive to do it in my work.

For anyone interested in working as a community worker I recommend professional community work education.  Without my professional training I would not be emotionally or socially equipped for the front line of serving the communities I work in.  In addition to community work, modules such as social analysis and group work are crucial to learning how to work with groups, to understand yourself and your relationship to the communities you work with. The fieldwork placements allow you to develop the skills needed to work as a community worker.

Being a member of Community Work Ireland and of the International Association for Community Development have opened my heart to the national and international scale of the impact we can have when we work together from grass roots to glass ceilings for a more just and equal world.

Rachel Doyle

Joint National Co-ordinator Community Work Ireland

Higher Diploma in Community and Youth Work, 1994, Maynooth University

My job as joint national coordinator of CWI involves work in a wide variety of settings and on a broad number of themes, issues and policies from responding to the Covid crisis to the current challenges in relation to Ukraine, international protection, responding to the emergence of the far right in Ireland and developing responses to the climate crisis – all from a community work perspective.

It provides me with a bird’s eye view of these and may other issues and concerns faced by communities and community workers working with them including poverty, racism, social exclusion and discrimination on a range of grounds.

Since graduating from Maynooth I have worked as the first Co-ordinator of Galway Travellers Movement, as Co-ordinator of the National Traveller Women’s Forum and as Head of Development and Outreach with the National Women’s Council. All of these roles leave me in no doubt that standards and professional education are extremely important to equip and support community workers and consequently the communities they work with to meet the complex and varied challenges they face.

My work is informed by the community work values which remain a core element of the programme at MU.  Working in solidarity and collaboration with communities and community organisations has always been important for my practice, never more so than in my current role. I strive to work collaboratively and ensure that our responses are based on the values of human rights, equality, collectivity, empowerment, participation and social justice.

I strongly recommend professional community work education.  It gave me many things including a clear analysis of the structural causes of poverty, inequality and social exclusion, and a space to reflect on how the current challenges facing society impact on marginalised communities.  I had first-hand experience of placements with professional community workers and opportunities to develop an analysis of the issues facing communities including racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ageism, disablism and of how these interact. I also connected with others and made many friends and contacts with those sharing my values and commitments.

The skills and analysis gained through professional education are transferrable whether you are working in a community development setting, in a state agency, academic setting or government department, what you learn through community development education will undoubtedly stand to you.