An article written by Dee Moxon
I am an artist with a strong experience of carnival and parade puppetry who is also proud to be the daughter of one of the many Irish women who migrated to England to find work in the 1960s. I have always worn my Irish heritage with pride and though UK born, I spent huge chunks of my 1970s & 80s childhood amongst Irish friends and family in Leeds, Belfast and Donegal. As a child, Ireland was a place of riotous laughter, simple fun, late night music, parties and wild play. Whilst I was very much aware of the strictures of The Catholic Church and what was called “The Troubles” those never defined my Irishness for me, Ireland was a place of warmth and freedom however I had a frustration with the received imagery in the everyday UK media.
As a director of Lamplighter Arts CIC, I have been working alongside WE Irish since 2023 with a shared mission to create a human powered (rather than the traditional vehicle) parade to celebrate Irish Heritage beyond the stereotypes. We are in an early part of this journey and 2024 saw 7000 people in central Bristol at the St Patrick’s Day parade which was amazing, but the event needs significant finance. The free W.E.Irish Fleadh Cheoil in St Nicolas Market and ticketed event at Bar Revolution is happening on Sunday March 16th from 2pm. It’s as a celebration of Irish Music and Dance. Alongside WE Irish, as a director of Lamplighter Arts CIC I am working towards a parade in 2026 and together we are embarked on a fundraising mission to enable the parade to celebrate the joys of Irish migration and the points where Irish culture and global cultures meet and blend.
Alongside partners at WE Irish and Bristol Natural History Consortium, I am embarking on a new processional arts piece to share The Salmon Of Knowledge story across the WECA region using it to engage with communities in BANES and South Gloucestershire exploring how oral storytelling enabled past generations to preserve knowledge and promote environmental stewardship. Salmon is a red list species which needs a cleaner water environment in our rivers and streams to survive.
The 2024 piece of work Mother Ireland was a collaboration between Lamplighter Arts Cic, WE Irish and historians Dr Erika Hanna and Lucy Wray at Bristol University. Irish people have contributed hugely to all aspects of life in City of Bristol over centuries yet there is a lack of material on Irish Bristol collected in the archives. Collectively, we invited those of Irish ancestry to contribute towards the creation of Mother Irelands dress which is on display at Sparks until March 22nd.
College Green is currently hosting the exhibition Lives, Letters and Legacies, a photograhic exhibition of Faces of the Irish Diaspora in Bristol.
WE Irish host regular music nights and their Irish In Bristol and W.E.Irish facebook and Instagram pages are full of opportunities to access Irish Culture and heritage events.
Please sign up to our mailing list https://www.lamplighterarts.co.uk/about for workshop information- everyone is welcome to join in. You can also follow lamplighter Arts Cic on Facebook or @lamplighterarts.cic on Instagram.
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