Meitheal Iorrais

mayo | miscellaneous | event notice Friday June 22, 2012 19:52 by RSC - RSC meithealiorrais at gmail dot com 0851141170

A gathering to celebrate and grow community resilience

Meitheal Iorrais - a gathering to celebrate and grow community resilience - will be taking place at the Rossport Solidarity Camp in Aughoose, Erris Co. Mayo on the 14th/15th July, 2012

The weekend will include a 'meitheal' at the camp gardens and local farms, workshops, discussions, kids activities, music and fun!

Poster

The Solidarity Camp
At the invitation of the local community, the Rossport Solidarity Camp was set up in June 2005 with the intention of supporting the people of the area in their stand against the Corrib Gas Project. The camp has set up at strategic points of opposition to Shell in Rossport, Glengad, and now in Aughoose. Over the years we've built strong ties with the people and the place itself.

The camp has provided a base for the free flow of information with visitors coming from all over the world, spreading awareness about the campaign and injustices faced by communities at the hands of Shell and the state. Workshops have been held in sustainable skills, radical politics, facilitation and renewable energy. We have also hosted talks and courses on many aspects of the Corrib project and resistance to it with speakers from other campaigns having visited.

Seven years on, reflecting over our years in Erris, we now return to our roots to celebrate this connection to community, diversity, the land and sea.

Erris and the meitheal
Erris, steeped in a history of resistance over the centuries, has a strong tradition of farming and fishing in the most adverse of conditions. For generations people have eked out their survival along the remote coast, slowly and surely reclaiming land from bog.

During the meitheal gathering, it is our intention to share in these experiences, of what locally is called muinhin, which means of the place, and cointeann, which means the tension felt when that place and its people are being torn apart. We would like to open up questions and discussion about the nature of community resilience and sustainability and take a look at the schism that often seems to exist between the movements for personal sustainabilty and the fight against corporate and state power. Where should we be putting our energy and how can we work together with clearer understanding?

Come join the Meitheal!
The programme has been put together to give as much time as possible to walk the land, to remember the beauty of this place, so we have placed our talks and discussions together, leaving space during the day for fresh air, work and play. We are open to suggestions on how to improve on the above so if you have any ideas of other topics for discussion, let us know.
Looking forward to hearing from you and hope to see you for the meitheal,