This past weekend, as organisational members, Azadî had the honour of travelling to Bucharest to participate in the 2025 ERIAC General Assembly and the Tajsa Roma Cultural Heritage Prize Concert and Ceremony. It was a deeply inspiring gathering dedicated to celebrating Roma arts, culture, and community, and to collectively imagining brighter futures for Roma people across Europe.

The recent uproar in Northern Ireland over the inclusion of Irish placenames on road signs reveals, yet again, how language can be politicised in ways that miss the bigger picture. Some loyalist voices have framed the proposal to have bilingual signs in both English and Irish as an attack on their identity or culture. In truth, it is the opposite: it’s an invitation to recognise and share in the layered heritage of this island we all call home.

Let’s be clear, no one is losing anything through the addition of Irish to public signage. English remains. The proposal isn’t to erase or replace; rather, it is to include, and inclusion is exactly what peace, reconciliation, and respect should look like in practice.

The Irish language, far from being a political weapon, is a cultural inheritance, one that was once deliberately suppressed and outlawed under colonial rule. For centuries, the native tongue of this island was pushed to the margins, associated with poverty and backwardness by design. To see it returning to daily life, be it on road signs, in classrooms, in art, and even in some loyalist communities, is not a threat more than it is a sign of healing.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in learning Irish among people from Protestant and Unionist backgrounds. This movement is quiet, open-hearted, and profoundly hopeful. It shows that cultural revival doesn’t have to come at the expense of anyone’s identity. In fact, embracing the Irish language, even just acknowledging it, can help bridge divides rather than deepen them.

It’s worth asking: what does it say about our shared society if the simple act of adding a word like 'Béal Feirste' beside 'Belfast' feels threatening? Fear of the Irish language is not about the language itself; it’s about the stories people have been told about what it represents. But languages don’t oppress; people do. And the only way to dismantle old narratives of division is to make space for all identities to coexist visibly and respectfully.

The presence of Irish on road signs doesn’t diminish anyone’s Britishness. It simply acknowledges that this land, in all its history and complexity, has more than one voice, and both deserve to be heard.

Peace in the North hasn't come from pretending we’re all the same, it's been hard won  through the acceptance of our differences, and that those differences can be celebrated rather than feared.

Manchán was more than a broadcaster, writer, and filmmaker. He was a passionate advocate for the Irish language and its place in modern life. Through his work, he reminded us that language is not simply a means of communication; it is an inheritance, a worldview, and a vital part of cultural survival. His efforts resonate deeply with the global movement for linguistic rights, which seeks to protect the voices of indigenous peoples everywhere.

At a time when many felt disconnected from Irish, Manchán made the language accessible, unburdened by perfection or politics. He encouraged people to approach Irish with openness and curiosity, demonstrating that a language thrives not through strict preservation but through daily use, creativity, and joy.

His television series No Béarla offered a striking illustration: traveling around Ireland speaking only Irish, he highlighted both the challenges facing the language and the need to restore it to public life. In books such as Thirty-Two Words for Field and Ninety-Nine Words for Rain (and One for Sun), he celebrated the depth and beauty of Irish words tied to land, nature, and heritage. These works underscored that Irish is not just a language of the past, but a key to understanding the environment and identity of today.

Through documentaries like Crainn na hÉireann and An Fód Deireannach, he linked the language to ecology and place, showing how cultural and linguistic loss cannot be separated from the loss of land, knowledge, and belonging.

Manchán’s work carries lessons far beyond Ireland. His life reminds us that every people deserves the right to speak, teach, and celebrate their indigenous languages without stigma or fear of erasure. When a language is lost, more than words vanish, ways of seeing the world, understanding the land, and connecting with ancestors are silenced too.

This truth unites communities from Ireland to the Amazon, from Aotearoa to the Arctic. In championing Irish, Manchán joined a global chorus of indigenous peoples and allies working to ensure languages remain living, evolving, and central to community life.

As we remember Manchán Magan, we honour a man who gave voice to the Irish language in a way that was relaxed, inclusive, and deeply human. His legacy is a call to protect linguistic and cultural rights everywhere.

To his family, Aisling, Cróine, and his siblings, we send strength and solidarity. To those of us inspired by his work, the best tribute is to keep speaking, keep listening, and keep protecting the rights of people to their own words, stories, and heritage.

Rest in peace, Manchán. You have shown us that language is not just survival, it is freedom. 

Thank you to everyone who came to The Wild Garden this morning for a wonderful workshop, where ancient ecofacts and artifacts were shared, and an understanding of the stories these objects tell about life was gained. The questions and answers amongst the children revealed genius and great hope for the future!

We can't recommend Aine Brosnan's workshops enough.

#NationalHeritageWeek2025

Azadî at Sneem Summer Festival: Sponsoring a Powerful Evening of Film and Dialogue

This summer, Azadî was proud to sponsor a moving and thought-provoking event during the Sneem Summer Festival, a screening of a powerful documentary by renowned filmmaker and journalist Peadar King, followed by a Q&A and a community-led discussion on alternatives to war.

Held in the heart of Sneem, the evening brought together festival-goers, local residents, and visitors to bear witness to the human cost of conflict, specifically, the ongoing Israeli occupation of Gaza. Peadar King's documentary offered a sobering, deeply human look at the tragedy of war, focusing not only on the devastating human rights violations but also on the lives lost and families torn apart on both sides of the divide.

There are no winners in war. That truth echoed throughout the screening and resonated even more during the discussion that followed. As Peadar King answered audience questions, it became clear that the film was more than a piece of journalism, it was a call to action, a demand for empathy, and an invitation to imagine alternatives to violence, occupation, and suffering.

At Azadî, we believe in the power of dialogue, art, and activism to create space for reflection and change. Supporting this event was a natural fit for our mission: to advocate for justice, peace, and the fundamental rights of all people no matter where they live.

We are grateful to Peadar King for his unwavering commitment to telling difficult stories with compassion and integrity. We’re also grateful to the Sneem Summer Festival organisers and to the community of Sneem for hosting such a meaningful event.

This evening reminded us that change begins with awareness, and awareness begins with listening. Together, let’s continue to question systems of violence, uplift voices of resistance and resilience, and seek paths to peace rooted in human dignity and freedom — Azadî.

The AZADÎ team is proud to be a member of the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) for 2025, a growing international community dedicated to the promotion of Roma arts, culture, and identity.