New Book
BOOK:
Irish People of Colour - A Social History of Mixed Race Irish in Britain and Ireland between 1700 and 2000.
by Conrad Koza Bryan and Chamion Caballero - with contributions by William Hart, Mark Doyle and Maurice Casey
May 2024
This is the first social history book to be published about Irish people of colour in Britain and Ireland. It will be published at the end on May.
Thanks to the generous grants received from the Irish Government's Emigrant Support Programme, the Irish Research Council New Foundation Scheme 2023, International Decade for People of African Descent Fund, and other donations the Association of Mixed Race Irish is able to publish this exclusive non-profit first edition to be donated to schools, colleges and public libraries across Britain and Ireland.
We are grateful to the authors and contributors for their tireless work and research, over many years, raising awareness about this minority community, a community which is part of the extended Irish nation and family, both in Ireland and in the diaspora (enquiries to info@mixedraceirish.ie).
This edition is not available for purchase in shops, as this special non-profit edition is primarily for schools and public libraries and funded events, however, some workshops will be organised in Ireland during 2024 by Maynooth University, at which attendees will receive a free copy. We will announce these here in due course.
Details:
Publisher : The Association of Mixed Race Irish (May 2024)
Language : English
Paperback : 295 pages
Theme : Educational/History
ISBN-13 : 978-1-3999-7603-9
Dimensions : 156mm x 20mm x 234mm
Comments by Author
May 2024
by Conrad Koza Bryan
The background to this book initially arose out of a gap I felt existed, in Irish social history, about the minority group of black and mixed race Irish people living in Britain. This observation came to me as part of my voluntary work while on the board of the organisation 'Irish in Britain' in the UK some years ago, when I emigrated to Britain.
I was struck by the low visibility of Irish descendants who had integrated into Black and Caribbean communities. At this time, I was meeting many white Irish descents, going back 5 generations, who were engaging with and attending Irish clubs and community events. I was aware that many black people in Britain had one parent or a grandparent who were Irish, but they were not appearing at Irish events. It seemed to me that they probably felt they couldn't celebrate their Irish Identity or were somehow uncomfortable about this aspect of their heritage. So, I set about developing an online exhibition, with Dr Chamion Caballero, about the history of this mixed- race community in Britain, which then lead to writing this book.
One of the significant findings, which we hadn't expected was how black people in Ireland moved back and forth between Ireland and Britain over several centuries. Hence the need to write more about the Irish side of the story when originally we were focused on the Irish in Britain. The Association raised funding from the Irish embassy in London and others so that we could offer the book in both Britain and Ireland, aimed mainly at young people, but also those interested in history and promoting diversity and equality. By highlighting this lost history it will help to dispel some negative stereotyping of this minority group and create a better awareness of issues affecting them, such as exclusion and racism.
My own background is that I am mixed South African(father) and Irish (mother) and grew up in Ireland in Irish childcare institutions. I now live in London and travel back and forth to Ireland regularly as part of my work for the Association.
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