My Identity: Colin Graham with Patricia Stephenson

In this episode of ‘My Identity’ Professor Colin Graham (Maynooth) is in conversation with Senator Patricia Stephenson.

Patricia Stephenson is Social Democrats Senator for the Labour Panel in Seanad Éireann. Growing up in post-conflict Belfast, Patricia was influenced by the region’s challenges. Prior to her political career, she spent almost a decade working in international development, including six years living in East Africa, including South Sudan and Uganda.

Motivated by the struggles she has observed in accessing essential services and housing since returning to Ireland, she entered politics to advocate for change. She is a vocal proponent of women’s rights and prioritises marginalised voices in her approach to policy-making. The My Identity series is hosted by Professor Colin Graham, Maynooth. In this series, Colin is in conversation with a range of people whose ideas, work and life experiences shed light on the topic of identity on the Island of Ireland. My Identity is part of the ARINS project. Colin Graham is Professor English and formerly Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Maynooth University. His books include Northern Ireland: Thirty Years of Photography, Deconstructing Ireland and Ideologies of Epic. He was editor of The Irish Review from 2004 to 2020. During the Brexit negotiations he created the Twitter account @borderirish and wrote the book I am the Border, so I am, published by HarperCollins.

ARINS: Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South brings together experts to provide evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. The project publishes, facilitates and disseminates research on the challenges and opportunities presented to the island in a post-Brexit context, with the intention of contributing to an informed public discourse. More information can be found at WWW.ARINSPROJECT.COM

ARINS is a joint project of The Royal Irish Academy, an all-island body, and the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs.

My Identity is hosted by Professor Colin Graham.

Podcast management by Dr Susie Deedigan (University of Notre Dame).