What is an Irish Traveller? As I have learned over the past few months, there are many Traveller experiences that do not fit within the stereotypes and generalisations with which we have become familiar. As a gay writer and performer from the Traveller community, I understand the struggle inherent in expressing yourself while appeasing the traditionalists within your community.

For the Through Our Eyes photography project I partnered with Photo Museum Ireland and Open Doors Initiative, which aims to facilitate expression through an artistic lens. The participants – Winnie Ward, Patrick McDonagh, Chantelle Stokes, Emma Ward, Timmy Casey, Thomas Connors, Martin Ward, Helena Power, and Emily Evans – come from all over Ireland, aged from 19 to 36 years old.

The plan for the project was simple. I met each participant to photograph them, and then they would be tasked with taking a picture themselves, allowing us an insight into their perspective on a range of topics I had assigned to them, including “hopes and dreams”, “happiness”, “freedom”, and “security”. With help from the Open Doors initiative, and an online workshop by photographer Brendan Ó Sé, we were tooled up with knowledge, and ready to go.

Through this project, I got to meet Travellers from all over Ireland chasing dreams that would have been unthinkable 20 years ago. I have learned of the intelligence, resilience, and drive that exists within the community and I have had the pleasure of giving a platform to people whose voices are rarely heard.

You can view the portraits from this project here.