Love And Courage

My guest in this episode I Michael Barron. Michael is a well-known Irish human rights activist originally from rural Co Kilkenny where he grew up as a young gay man dancing to Madonna while many of the other boys focused on hurling and sports. He shares some fascinating stories and insights from that time in his life and his coming of age in Dublin and New York. Michael is currently working as the Executive Director of the Rowan Trust, which is an important independent foundation that funds important social movements, campaigns and initiatives. Since the 1990s Michael has worked with communities pushed to the margins - as a front-line youth and community worker, an executive director of a number of national organisations, a researcher, a grantmaker and a campaigner. As well as being an activist, hes also a great thinker and a bit of a scholar – he has a PhD in the social sciences and he tells me he’s also working on a book.   I first met Michael when he was working as the founder and Executive Director of the