Bairbre Flood

Poets from refugee camps in Greece, Malawi, Western Sahara and Jordan share their work and experiences with us.

Funded by the Arts Council of Ireland.

Cover art painting by Shukran Shirzad.

Produced by Bairbre Flood.

Producer Bairbre Flood talks to students and teachers and examines what the education system can learn from the success of this iconic Cork school.

Funded by the BAI (Broadcasting Authority of Ireland).

Artists, activists, refugees and community workers talk about different aspects of migration.

In 'Against The Wire', Producer Bairbre Flood travels to Lesvos, Greece to talk to volunteers and refugees working in Moria Refugee Camp.
‘There are so many people there with different skills, who have a high educational background, but they are stuck there. They want to help develop their society. No one wants to come here to live here in that kind of situation.’ Abdul, from Ghana, coordinator of the One Happy Family school on the island.
The radio premiere of ‘Against The Wire’ airs on News...

As I left Greece in March, Moria refugee camp on Lesvos was trying to prepare itself for coronavirus.

With sporadic running water, little access to soap and severe overcrowding, everyone is worried about what will happen if the virus hits.

‘We will be wiped out,’ Baqir, a 17-year old who made the journey to Europe alone, told me. ‘We can’t even wash our hands here.’

I had met Baqir and some of the other unaccompanied minors in the camp – there are 10,000 – through Elena Lydon, an Irish nurse ...

When I left Lesvos in mid-March, Moria refugee camp was still running out of water in some parts by 9.30am. Social distancing was almost impossible, and residents feared the worst if the pandemic hit. New groups were formed – The Moria Corona Awareness Team, and The Moria White Helmets – and refugees organised with local Greeks (Stand By Me Lesvos) and international NGOs such as, Movement On The Ground, to improve living conditions. Other groups campaigned for an evacuation of the camp, and m...

A three episode series produced for Maynooth University Library.

Episode one features Christeen Udokamma Obasi, Conor Walsh and Eva Paturyan. The poems are part of a new collection: I Am A Man Of Peace: Writings inspired by the Maynooth University Ken Saro-Wiwa Collection published by Daraja Press and edited by deputy librarian Helen Fallon.

In Ireland we’re more familiar with thinking of ourselves as the victims of history – which we were – than as active participants in colonialism. But it’s an uncomfortable fact that the Irish were also slave owners, slave traders, overseers and agents. We helped build the slave empire on behalf of Britain, France and other countries, and shared in the profits of this horrendous system over the course of several hundred years.
Talking to historians, academics and writers, producer Bairbre Floo...

Documentary celebrating the Irish aid worker who saved the lives of many Jewish children during WW11
"It’s estimated that at least 80 children were directly saved by Mary Elmes. She never sought any attention for her actions, and her story has only recently become known".
In her new radio documentary feature, ‘Mary Elmes’, premiering this weekend on Newstalk 106-108fm as part of the Documentary On Newstalk Series, producer Bairbre Flood tells the extraordinary true story of Irish relief worke...

Fund recipient Bairbre Flood was supported to travel to Israel and Palestine to produce a documentary on how marginalised Palestinian and Israeli communities have more in common with one another than is usually portrayed in western media. The following is a blog post offering further insight into Bairbre’s project.

A look at a grassroots struggle for social change.
In Learning To Change In Israeli and Palestinian Communities, producer Bairbre Flood travels from Tamra to Tel Aviv, and Nazareth to Jerusalem, to meet women involved in the grassroots struggle for social change.
‘It’s in the community, it deals with women, students and children; and it deals with Jewish and Arab, so I cannot find a more holistic way to make a change here in my society.’ - Fida Nara, the Palestinian co-director of Mahapach-Ta...