Rosaleen McDonagh is an activist, playwright and Irish Traveller.

Early life

McDonagh was born in

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

and is the fourth of twenty children. She was born with a disability. She spent ten years working in the Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre in the Violence against women programme. McDonagh got a BA in Biblical and Theological Studies. She then went on to complete an MPhil in Ethnic and Racial Studies, and an MPhil in Creative Writing, all from

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. In December 2019 she was awarded a PhD from

Northumbria University , mottoeng = A lifetime of learning , established = 1877 - Rutherford College of Technology1969 - Newcastle Polytechnic1992 - gained university status , type = Public , budget = � ...

Career

McDonagh has been an activist for the

Irish Travellers Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí), are a traditionally List of nomadic peoples#Peripatetic, peripatetic indigenous Ethnic group, ethno-cultural group ...

community. She writes for

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

as well as having written a number of plays focusing typically on the feminist Traveller perspective. One of her plays, ''Rings'', was performed at VAS in Washington in June 2010. Another was shortlisted for the PJ O’ Connor radio play Awards in 2010.

Colum McCann Colum McCann is an Irish writer of literary fiction. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, and now lives in New York. He is a Thomas Hunter Writer in Residence at Hunter College, New York. McCann's work has been published in over 40 languages, and ...

chose her to adapt his novel ''Zoli'' for stage. McDonagh has had work commissioned by RTE. McDonagh has worked with theatre groups like Fishamble and Graeae Theatre. She had a play directed by the

Olivier award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

winner, Jim Culleton. She is a member of

Aosdána Aosdána ( , ; from , 'people of the arts') is an Irish association of artists. It was created in 1981 on the initiative of a group of writers with support from the country's Arts Council. Membership, which is by invitation from current member ...

, the first from the Traveller community. McDonagh was also the first Traveller to run for election to the Seanad standing in 2002 and 2007, although she was not successful.

References and sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonagh, Rosaleen People from County Sligo Irish women writers Irish Travellers Irish people with disabilities Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Living people Year of birth missing (living people)