‘I know I’m Irish and I don’t have to prove that to anybody’Posted in Articles, Biography, Europe, Media Archive on 2022-05-12 21:14Z by Steven |
‘I know I’m Irish and I don’t have to prove that to anybody’
The Irish Times
2022-05-07
Sorcha Pollak, Immigration Reporter
Growing up as a black person with a disability in Dublin, Marguerite Penrose sensed her difference
On June 9th 2020, one week after thousands of young Irish people marched through the streets of Dublin calling for an end to racism and inequality, a new post appeared on the recently established Black and Irish Instagram page.
“My name is Marguerite. I was born in Dublin in 1974. I am a PROUD Irish/Zambian, living in Meath now.”
Marguerite Penrose had never spoken or written publicly about her background. She preferred not to dwell on the first three years of her life which she spent in a mother and baby home on the Navan Road, or her battles with scoliosis throughout her life. She didn’t like remembering the racist remarks outside nightclubs or disapproving stares on the bus. She preferred focusing on the positives – her incredible adopted family and her wonderful friends.
But then she decided to speak out about growing up as a black woman with a disability in Dublin…
Read the entire article here.