Unaddressed social issues are the bedrock upon which extremist actors have been able to incite racism and
violence against migrants.

Martin Luther King famously said that “a riot is the language of the unheard.”1 The ordinary people of the North-East Inner-City were not involved in the riots; they are its victims. But their voices remain largely unheard. We hope that this issue of Working Notes helps raise the voices of the people of the North-East Inner- City and that the many brilliant initiatives they sustain become more famous than the tired stereotypes and caricatures that seem to dominate among our political leadership. My neighbours deserve that.

Amy Cooney is a ELI Parent plus worker, born and raised in NEIC

Lewis Byrne was born and raised in Ballybough and is a Community Worker with Dublin Community Co-Op.

Resilience is the ability to bounce back from
adversity, adapt to challenges, and recover
from setbacks. While Dublin City Council
workers cleaned up the streets after the
riots and restored the physical space, Home
Visitors were addressing the emotional and
mental trauma experienced by children and
families and supporting them to recover
from these awful events.

Adrianne works in ELI and has been a Parent-child plus Home Visitor for 16 years. Born in the NEIC and raising her own family here.

The popular idea of formal education and raising educational outcomes as a way out of disadvantage is not true.8 It is more challenging for disadvantaged children to engage in education and achieve curriculum outcomes compared to their better off peers. The hidden curriculum with its unwritten rules and expectations of the dominant culture, makes it more difficult for children from disadvantaged communities to thrive in school. Schools provide an advantage to those already advantaged by their cultural capital and established security as beneficiaries of the status quo.

Children’s access to an illicit drug free
environment is not possible. There are knock on
effects for their life chances – restricted
education opportunities or a pathway to
serious crime. As the neglect of these areas
continues, the illegal drug industry could
become integral to the economy of the
area

Ian Tracy is an Architect based on North Great George Street for 12 years. 

Every time you go from one neighbourhood and enter another and see an inequality and say ‘that is the way it is’ you are calling that which is demonic, natural.