Community

The pandemic has shown us more than ever the importance of self-care, writes Nicola Browne. She asks - why are social justice organisations so slow to practice what they preach when it comes to wellbeing?

Is gentrification stealing Dublin city from its people? “We have a great fear as this land is such rich land,” says Rita Fagan of Inchicore. “We see a hollowing out of traditional communities,” says Noel Wardick of Dublin City Community Co-operative. Both talk to journalist Laoise Neylon.

Short term transient forms of accommodation blur the lines between housing and hotels. Student Accommodation is used for holiday letting in the summer and last year, Dublin City Council granted planning permission for some student developments to switch to short term letting year-round, during Covid 19.

Pat Kennedy urges Government not to allow its plans for the use of pubs as community spaces to get stalled by bureaucracy.

Wild Work, a project now in its fourth year, is a not-for-profit initiative of South East Cork Area Development (SECAD) and it was among 200 projects from across Europe recently showcased online. The project proves that biodiversity is truly for everyone, says Ryan Howard, SECAD's CEO. Read Beth Ardill's report and you have to agree.

The following are stand-out, real-life examples of good co-operative work in practice, as highlighted by UCC’s Centre for Co-op Studies (on Twitter). This selection was chosen by LIT Community Development student BETH ARDILL.

Steo Wall graces the cover of this special edition (it's our 20th year). "My songs are written for all the socio-economically deprived people of the world," he tells Ben Panter. Steo is proud of his Dublin roots and his Traveller heritage. He believes the pandemic has strengthened our sense of community and he encourages everyone to keep the head up in these strange times.

- with West Limerick Resources