The international stage is but one backdrop against which the story of Ireland has been written.
This story – of a people, a culture, a state and an imagination – has been forged not just in Ireland but also in the wider world.
In all dimensions of that wider world, Ireland has had a presence. Nowhere is that more obvious than in the search for justice and human rights in the world.
Irish Global Solidarity in 100 Objects offers a glimpse into key moments, aspects and institutions that have animated that search. From the film reels by the Holy Ghost missionaries documenting conflict on the ground in Biafra in the 1960s to anti-apartheid Dunnes strike posters, education campaigns on HIV and AIDS and
County Wicklow declaring a climate emergency – these are only 100 examples from a broader and deeper story of engagement from Ireland that amplifies the still, small voice of conscience in a world of increasing human rights ‘wrongs’, extreme inequalities and unjust practice.
At the centre of this exhibition is an observation about human flourishing — In the world of the neighbourhood, the school or college, the factory or place of work.
Irish Global Solidarity in 100 Objects is a modest reminder of our shared heritage of engaging in uncomfortable struggles from Ireland by reaching out to the world so that we may all flourish, and not only the few.