Lisa Harding, author, came to Pavee Point as part of the Irish Writer’s Centre ‘Writer in Residence’ programme in 2016. She worked with a group of Traveller women and men on a project entitled ‘Voices’ that ran over 10 weeks.
Lisa used her experience in working with different groups to facilitate the group in telling stories and finding their voice.
Water, written by Missie Collins, Mary Collins, Mollie Collins, Bridgie Collins, Tracey Reilly and James Anthony McDonagh, performed by James Anthony McDonagh, from the Writer-In-Residence initiative at Pavee Point, with Lisa Harding.
https://soundcloud.com/irish-writerscentre/water-by-james-anthony-mcdonagh
Marriage
https://soundcloud.com/irish-writerscentre/marys-story-about-marriage
What was good about the project?
“The group was very relaxing and homely, ” said one participant.
“Lisa kind of dragged the stories out of us. She listened to every story and every story was important for her.”
“At one time she got us all to sing a song each. One girl sang a song for her granny who had died and we were nearly all crying at the end of it.”
“Having a professional writer with an editor salary working with us meant she knew what she was doing and she knew how to get the stories out of it.”
Here – You can read Lisa’s article about the project that appeared in The Irish Times on the 15th June, 2017.
The Pavee Point Writer-In-Residence programme was an Irish Writers Centre initiative funded by Dublin City Council. To find about more information about Irish Writers Centre residencies for writers click here