[Image: Poster on a dark blue background with white text. Text reads: “Traveller Pride 2026. Save the Date. 28th May, 1pm–2pm, Athenry, Galway. Join us in celebrating Traveller Pride Week 2026 with a panel hosted by Emma Ward and Special Guests! Emma Ward. Shane McCarthy. Lee Anna Ward Martin Ward. Booking Essential. Register via Eventbrite. Disability Participation News Hub.” Logos for the Traveller Pride Fund, FBD Insurance and Supermac’s are shown as sponsors/funders. A QR code is included for booking.]

🔔 Save the date

Join us in Athenry this May as we celebrate Traveller Pride Week 2026!

Our event will be hosted by disabled Irish Traveller, writer, freelance journalist and disability rights activist, Emma Ward, featuring a panel of special guests to chat about identity, culture, intersectionality and everything in between!

Date: 28th May
Time: 1pm-2:30pm
Venue: Athenry Community Hall, Cross St, Gorteenacra, Athenry, Co. Galway.

ISL interpretation available.

Refreshments generously provided by Supermacs

Spaces are limited for this event - booking is essential.

🔗Register via Eventbrite

This event is funded by the Department of Children, Disability and Equality, and generously sponsored by Supermacs and FBD Insurance.

🌱 Would you like to sponsor this event?
Get in touch - info@disabilityparticipation.ie

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The Disability Participation News Hub CLG is a disabled-led not for profit organisation.

[Image: a rectangular graphic with a pink and yellow faded background and white stars scattered around the image. Text reads: “News Hub Book Club”. An illustration of a row of books with flowers and plants growing from them is at the centre of the graphic. The logos for the West Midlands Credit Union and Disability Participation News Hub are at the bottom of the image.]

News Hub Book Club 2026

Our News Hub Book Club aims to create an online space to celebrate and connect with disabled writers, poets, academics and creatives each month.

Join from the comfort of your own home and expect everything from sci-fi to poetry and academic articles!

Open to disabled people and allies - all welcome ✨

We are delighted and grateful to be supported by the West Midlands Credit Union for this project.

If you would like to support us to ensure essential access costs such as ISL interpretation, book bundles and more, please reach out to our team to make a donation or become a sponsor at info@disabilityparticipation.ie ❤️

[Image: a rectangular graphic with a pink and yellow faded background and white stars scattered around the image. Text reads: News Hub Book Club. Our read this month “Contentious Spaces by Rosaleen McDonagh". Date: 27 June. Time: 7pm. Venue: Zoom. Register via Eventbrite. A QR code along with the logos for the West Midlands Credit Union and Disability Participation News Hub are along the bottom of the graphic.]

Join Session #2 of the News Hub Book Club!

Join us from the comfort of your own home for our second News Hub Book Club Session!

Our News Hub Book Club is a celebration of disabled authors, writers, poets and creators.

Disabled people and allies are all welcome to join us for these relaxed online sessions.
Come along to share your thoughts on this month’s read and connect with others.

Our read this month: “Contentious Spaces” by Rosaleen McDonagh

“Contentious Spaces is the debut novel from acclaimed Irish writer, playwright and performer Rosaleen McDonagh.

The Traveller families who live in Saint Rita’s are on borrowed time. In just a week they will be evicted by the local council, threatening not only their homes but also their history and the stories that have shaped them. Charlene, a proud young beoir suffers a humiliating betrayal. Her mother, Kate, is left to navigate unbearable loss while holding the family together. Her cousin, Sheena, strives to find her place in a new environment that is quick to dismiss her. Her uncle Tommy fights despair as his teenage son spirals out of control.

As eviction day draws closer, the families struggle to preserve their dignity, finding strength in one another as they navigate an unknown future. Unflinching, Contentious Spaces is a haunting story about identity and loyalty, shame and resilience, grief and love, and the defiant power of voices that refuse to be silenced.”

Find “Contentious Spaces” here.

Please note: There is no guest speaker for this session.
There’s also no pressure to have read the novel to attend. You can choose any of Rosaleen’s work, or come along and chat about what you have recently been reading.

Book Club Details

Date: Saturday, 27th June
Time: 7pm -8pm
Venue: via Zoom
Cost: Free
Registration: Register through our Eventbrite page or email info@disabilityparticipation.ie.

Access Information

*ISL interpretation available - please note that if ISL is not requested within 7 days of the event, it may be cancelled.
*Closed Captions available via Zoom
*Cameras optional
*No one will be asked to read aloud or speak during the session

Please reach out to our team at info@disabilityparticipation.ie for any access needs we can support with.

Note:
*Please also note that this is an LGBTQIA+ inclusive, anti-racist and neuroaffirming space.
*Spaces for this event are capped to allow for engagement and facilitation of the sessions - make sure you book your space!

We are grateful to West Midlands Credit Union for their support on this series.

Head over to our website to learn more about our work: www.disabilityparticipation.ie

You can also donate to support our work here.

[Image: a rectangular graphic with a pink and yellow faded background and white stars scattered around the image. Text reads: “News Hub Book Club. Featuring Liadh Moloney. Date: Saturday, 25th April. Time: 7pm. Venue: Zoom. ISL Interpretation. Register via Eventbrite”. An illustration of a row of books with flowers and plants growing from them is along the bottom of the images along with the logos for the West Midlands Credit Union and Disability Participation News Hub.]

Join Session #1 of the News Hub Book Club, featuring Liadh Moloney!

Join us from the comfort of your own home for our first News Hub Book Club Session with poet and alt-pop singer, Liadh Moloney!

Our News Hub Book Club is a celebration of disabled and neurodivergent authors, writers, poets and creators.

Disabled people and allies are all welcome to join us for these relaxed online sessions.

Come along to hear from Liadh about her work and writing, connect with others and share your thoughts.

Our read this month: “Control” by Liadh Moloney

“’Control’ is an alt-pop track with elements of synth and disco, about my struggle to control my own mind and search for oblivion. At this time of my life, I was repressing a lot of my emotions and coping in unhealthy ways. In this way, my search for control ended up controlling me.

But ‘Control’ is also a mantra - a way to ground myself. I’d love for this song to help others escape their minds and feel present in their bodies, even if for a moment.”

Find the poem/text version of control, along with the audio version on Leah’s bandcamp page here.

Control - Youtube Link

Find Leah’s music, including “Control” on Spotify.

About Liadh

Liadh (Lee-ah) is a poet and alt-pop singer from Athlone. With a background in psychology and a fascination for the human mind and behaviour, Liadh writes about topics including sobriety, illness, mental health and neurodiversity. She is gearing up for the release of her debut EP Illusions, a project which explores the deceptions, distortions and myths of the mind.

Liadh was a recipient of the 2024 Brinsley McNamara Bursary from Westmeath County Council. Fluent in Irish and French, she has already broken into the French music scene - last summer, she performed a number of gigs in France and toured England with French arts organisation ‘Bodies of Work Paris’. Her singles have received nationwide airplay including from Spin 103.8, Cork’s 96FM, Today FM, iRadio, Shannonside and Midlands 103. Liadh is known for her powerful and theatrical stage presence, reminiscent of Kate Bush and Marina (and the Diamonds).

Her poem ‘A curse written with invisible ink’, about her experience seeking help for endometriosis, was recently published in ‘SEEN: A poetry anthology about hidden disabilities and conditions’, edited by Michael Isaacs.

Book Club Details

Date: Saturday, 25th April
Time: 7pm -8pm
Venue: via Zoom
Cost: Free
Registration: Register through our Eventbrite page or email info@disabilityparticipation.ie.

Access Information

*ISL interpretation available
*Closed Captions available via Zoom
*Cameras optional
*No one will be asked to read aloud or speak during the session
*Chat function will be turned off , Q&A function will be available, dedicated team member and mentimeter link available to share thoughts.

Please reach out to our team at info@disabilityparticipation.ie for any access needs we can support with.

Note:
*Please also note that this is an LGBTQIA+ affirming, anti-racist and neuroaffirming space.
*Spaces for this event are capped to allow for engagement and facilitation of the sessions - make sure you book your space!

We are grateful to West Midlands Credit Union for their support on this series.

Subscribe now

Subscribe using the button above to receive our Oireachtas Access bulletin every Monday.

🌱 Donate here or become a paid subscriber to support our work.

You can also support our work by buying us a coffee or becoming an Access Ally
☕ Buy Us a Coffee
🌱 Become an Access Ally

The Disability Participation News Hub CLG is a not for profit organisation.

[Image description: A white graphic with a dark blue, hand drawn styled looping border. Blue stars are dotted around the corners of the image and around a central illustration of an orange outline of a row of books with plants and flowers growing out from them. Large blue text on the graphic reads: “News Hub Book Club. Coming soon...” The logos for the Disability Participation News Hub and the West Midlands Credit Union are at the bottom corners of the image.]

News Hub Book Club 2026 - Coming Soon! 📚

Our News Hub Book Club will create an online space to celebrate and connect with disabled writers, poets, academics and creatives each month.

Join from the comfort of your own home and expect everything from sci-fi to poetry and academic articles!

Open to disabled people and allies - all welcome 🌱

We are delighted and grateful to be supported by the West Midlands Credit Union for this project.

If you would like to support us to ensure essential access costs such as ISL interpretation, book bundles and more, please reach out to our team to make a donation or become a sponsor at info@disabilityparticipation.ie ❤️

Keep an eye on our socials for more details coming soon ✨

Until next time!

Le gach dea ghuí,
The News Hub Team.

Subscribe now

Subscribe using the button above to receive our Oireachtas Access bulletin every Monday.

🌱 Donate here or become a paid subscriber to support our work.

You can also support our work by buying us a coffee or becoming an Access Ally
☕ Buy Us a Coffee
🌱 Become an Access Ally

The Disability Participation News Hub CLG is a not for profit organisation.