Blackberries, swallows, Health Ireland Conference, Food Sovereignty, spaces we live work, learn and play in, Glocal Community Doughnut Economics Action Lab, IDEN, networks of networks and data, art and Earth Rising. All at play this week, a 15 minute talk to a conference audience gave me space to share forward all the things I think about in my question how to create a future worth living into.
Welcome to this week’s notes, I write* these to document the week gone by through reflection, insights, a question for you, resources and a view to the week ahead. I committed to write weekly notes for a year as part of my ecology of practices and as a way to give myself perspective on all the spaces my brain goes to. This is week 37 of 52, let’s jump in.
Reflection
Perhaps people don’t expect someone like me to stand on a stage and speak passionately about our land, its values, our society, our economy and care at the core. At the drop of a hat I’ll talk to anyone about about doughnut economics and new economic thinking. I was delighted to be asked by the team in Health Ireland to speak about the wellbeing economy and community wealth building. I spoke more about new economic thinking, care at the core, data and a little about community wealth building. In hindsight I should have shared BOHs as case study.
At the opening of IMMA’s Earth Rising, Jon Alexander was the keynote speaker, but for me, Sean McCabe and Easkey stole the show. Have you seen either of them speak?
Sean is the Sustainability Manager at Bohemian Football Club a fan owned club in Dublin that has always had a strong social justice voice. BOHs are doing extraordinary social infrastructure work with their community space, The Spark. I’ve seen Sean speak several times he’s brilliant and positions championing social infrastructure of community wellbeing in all of their work. In his slides he uses football analogies that are very relatable and have a humorous edge while being impactful. He speaks so well and eloquently to the Irish context. BOHs is also creating a community farm and kitchen. A great example of working at the heart of their community and of community wealth building.
If you or your team would like a deep dive on community wealth building let me know as I’ve something ready to go.
Easkey just speaks as sovereign kin to the sea, all water bodies and all other then human kin that dwell in them. She spoke about how we are also 60% salty water and how our biomes are changed being in nature. I could probably have just listened to her for hours. I was excited to meet her after.
Jon Alexander’s talk was about his book Citizens and his framing of the three stories of our time. I’m interested in his work as he speaks about how to save democracy and giving people agency.
I see this work really linked to Lacoux TEAL, Reinventing Organisation’s I was deep into in 2016, yeah that’s 10 years ago!
More recently the depth of Joanna Macy’s work and the stories she describes we are living through are for me deeper constructs. are you familiar with them? They seem to shape me and resource me in more meaningful ways.
When we come together for this work, at the outset we discern three stories or versions of reality that are shaping our world so that we can see them more clearly and choose which one we want to get behind.
“The first narrative we identify is Business as Usual, by which we mean the growth economy, or global corporate capitalism. We hear this marching order from virtually every voice in government, publicly traded corporations, the military, and corporate-controlled media.
“The second is called The Great Unraveling: an ongoing collapse of living structures.
“The third story is the central adventure of our time: the transition to a life-sustaining society. Contemporary social thinkers have various names for it, such as the ecological or sustainability revolution; in the Work That Reconnects we call it The Great Turning.”
I suppose I was disappointed by Jon’s talk, maybe I expected too much or I already relate to his message. Instead of being inspired I was deflated and somewhat perplexed at my own response. I did consciously check in with a few others who were at the talk to double check and I suppose validate my own response.
I also felt culturally there was a significant clash and Jon was a bit tone deaf to the fact he was speaking to an Irish audience. He did acknowledge it in, but in the same way he acknowledged he’s a tall white able bodied British man and that doors are open to him in ways they are closed to others. It felt a bit tokenistic not embodied. Perhaps he was exhausted after all it was his fourth event that day or maybe I was expecting a lot. His bright cheery former advertising exec persona excluding something that did not hit the mark for me.
The exemplar stories he shared I am supper familiar with
- Taiwan Gov0
- Regen Melbourne – linked to doughnut economics
- Civic Square – linked to DE
I’ve been close to all these stories for 3-5 years. Was there anything new for me in what he was sharing?
His “ssh little people, just go shopping” term is funny and a good metaphor for our distraction economy.
I might add “scroll on” to it.
If you are not familiar with Jon’s work it might be of interest. I really enjoyed him hosting Audrey Tang last year in the UK.
Maybe if I’d not been so familiar with his work it would have landed better.
“it’s not us, it’s not all of us, it’s not humanity, we are not broken, it’s the story we have been told and are living through”
Jon Alexander
I’ve shared some links to his work in resources.
Yes I was back in IMMA Friday and Sunday. Yes I did go back to Staying with the trouble. Yes I did think some more about the work and spend time with two pieces in particular. Earth Rising offered space to bump into and connect with people, meet new artists and catch up with good friends. Definitely some conversations started that will be continued and some actions to be taken.
The following was written prior to hearing Jon speak, so it also attests to the passion I brought to the stage Thursday.
The harsh facts still win out last week
1. There is still a genocide happening in Palestine
2. in Ireland this week a report published clearly documents child poverty has increased.
1-in-5 children live in families below the poverty line when housing costs are accounted for, according to new research published today and co-authored by Trinity economists Barra Roantree, Mide Griffin, and Tara Mitchell.
This amounts to more than 225,000 children, with Ireland ranked 16th out of 27 countries in the European Union in terms of its after housing cost poverty rate for children.
This rate is largely unchanged in recent years and differs little from that seen from 2007 to 2009 when the financial crisis was unfolding.
POVERTY, INCOME INEQUALITY AND LIVING STANDARDS IN IRELAND: FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
ERSI and Community Foundation Ireland joint publication.
This demonstrates the systematic failure of our economic policy. When private pharmaceutical companies are pushing our GDP to demonstrate Ireland as one of the wealthiest EU nations we are abjectly failing our children and everyone who lives in this place, this island. We need to redress our economic ideologies and bring them into this century to be fit for purpose. How on earth can Ireland on one hand be saying we are a successful nation and directly on the other hand say we have increasing poverty, homeless, a housing and a health crisis!
It’s not rocket science and it can’t be that complicated. If neo-liberalism economics was going to sort out these imbalances it would have done it by now.
We have to stop managing our resources the way we have been and redesign them so it works for everyone.
Those of us in Ireland, middling – comfortable best get a reality check the rise in cost of living are coming for all of us. The impacts of on going war, genocide, erosion of human rights, mis/disinformation and lack of institutional trust, manmade climate change are going to widen the gap between struggling and flourishing. The gap in a decent standard of living will shorten with an increasing gap to the wealthy.
We have to question :
WHAT IS OUR ECONOMY IN SERVICE TO?
With any risk management or building resilience plan we have to begin now. As things get progressively worse it will get more challenging.
It’s each of our responsibility to create a better society.
All the things you perceive as safety – hoarding resources, savings, etc my sense is they will not tide us through. We will need each other and our communities in ways we’ve forgotten. Attending to stronger communities is the work that needs investing in. It is urgent we attend to this.
There has always been uncertainty in the world order: manmade famine, war, extractivism, power over, poverty, fear, scarcity. At times we lull ourselves into the idea we’ve figured it out or gotten past peak points of struggle in the system or in our lives. Perhaps that’s the human condition or a fallacy of modernity.
Insights
I made an impact with my presentation.
I’m not sure if it’s the American dream or the coloniser withdrawal shock but Ireland has been physically between the cultures of US & UK for years. In a time of resurgence in our own identity a decolonisation of sorts I welcome us maturing. It feels like we are stretching back to ourselves. But this time with more then just a white cultural accolade, a queering and embracing all cultures who have come to live on our Islands. Yeah even the Normans. It’s really important that we recognise we as a nation have always expanded to include and culturally appropriate other cultures. Was it our yeah sure come over and conquer us attitude or our curiosity of what the other cultures were bringing? Seriously though we have to remain open to the fact we need others, Irish homogeneity is not to be lauded over all others. We need New locals, people who choose to live in a place for whatever reason they bring new ideas, energy, different approaches. Everyone has a role to play and we will need everyone.
A question for you?
What are you noticing that’s different in the place that you live?
Resources
This beautiful river festival in North Wexford began as a citizen science project by one local about the river she lived near. She spent a year taking daily samples of the water, learned how to analyse and understand what the information was telling her. Began going upstream to educate and work with land owners and farmers on creating better water quality. She then started going into schools along that river catchment educating kids and families about biodiversity, nature, science and why we should care. Cathy then began to bring people together in this Castletown River Festival, great to see it getting coverage.
The NWC and Community Work Ireland’s Feminist Communities for Climate Justice project’s two toolkits are launched, bravo and congratulations to all involved. The work done on them is accessible and they are a joy to read and work through. I look forward to using these treasure troves in and with communities and networks.
Creating Climate Justice Communities ‘educate/agitate’ toolkit helps introduce readers to the impacts of the climate crisis on the day-to-day lives of communities, along with the solutions to recognise and respond to these impacts.
Covering key areas – energy & housing; transport; food; health; and care – having an immediate impact in our lives now.
Community Action for Feminist Climate Justice, the ‘organise’ toolkit offers practical activities and exercises for communities to begin to unpack the climate crisis as a feminist issue and apply a feminist approach to their organising.
The area of feminist climate justice and the work of transforming systems is long and slow because it’s about building relationships and challenging power. This toolkit offers a way into this topic and some activities to start building connections for this long-term and deep work.
Check out and begin using these brilliant toolkits here.
Earlier in the week I wrote this kind of a poem in my head going up the lane
Roisin Markham September 2025
fields gurgle again with rain
a sound I’d forgotten to miss
swallows in pocketfuls swoop
getting ready to leave
a robins beautiful song arcs over the gate
closing the gap in the hedge
Jon Alexander on Covid & Taiwan Gov 0
A view to the week ahead
Next week sees prep for the two more talks, a job interview, Social Farming research, new pieces of work with two different Irish Universities.
Several people have asked me about coaching and mentoring, yes I am open to a mural resourcing and exchange for mentoring, processing and coaching.
I’m open to new possibilities and opportunities.
I write* this is full human content, no AI. I’m pretty strict and purposeful with myself on that one for this context.
If you have enjoyed this weeks notes you might find value or simply enjoy my previous weeks studio notes:
Roisin Markham 
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