“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leads you off the well worn path;and that will make all the difference.”
Green Street Courthouse
In 2012 The Trailblazery hosted a trilogy of live events live at The Special Criminal Courthouse on Green Street in Dublin – a significant space in the Irish national psyche and venue of several noted trials including Robert Emmet and Wolfe Tone. This time our vision was to make the personal, political and the political, personal. The courthouse had been decommissioned and we made it our mission to open up the doors of this crucible of Irish historical, political and revolutionary struggle. Given the seminal history of Green Street Courthouse, we decided to curate a series of radical events which would both honour and challenge the history of the building and investigate ideas around justice, secret acts of non compliance and mistakes as the portal of discovery. The Trailblazery series at Green Street Courthouse was a clarion call for disruption, DIY ethos, agency, rebellion, revolution and evolution. We hosted an extraordinary group of established and emerging leaders from the fields of justice, law, human rights, campaigning, social change, politics, investigative journalism, entrepreneurship, arts, culture and activism.
Secret acts of non-compliance
Participants included Donal Dineen (Music Aficionado), Avril Stanley (Body &Soul), Malachy Browne (Policico/Storyful), Aideen Darcy (Creative Producer), John Harrington (Real Eyes), Sheena O’Byrne (Artist), Orla Tinsley (Journalist/Campaigner) with live performance from Iarla Ó Lionáird and Lisa O’Neill.
Mistakes are the portals of discovery
Noeleen Blackwell (Free Legal Aid), Dominic Campbell (Bealtaine), Margaret E Ward (Journalist and Founder of Women on Air), Kaethe Burt O’Dea (Lifeline project), Maeve Higgins (Comedian/artist), Fiona Hallinan (Artist), Colm Keegan (Poet, Writer) with live performance from Katie Kim and Mathiú Ó'Casaide
I fought the law and….…?
Colm O’Gorman (Director of Amnesty Ireland), Senator Ivana Bacik (Reid Professor of Criminal Law, Criminology and Penology at Trinity College Dublin), Ross Maguire (Barrister, Senior Counsel and Founder of New Beginning), Dr. Elaine Byrne (Lecturer, Journalist and Irish Corruption Consultant), Rita Fagan (Community Activist, St Michael’s Estate Community Development Project), Veronica Dyas (Artist, Theatre maker), Peter Pringle (Human rights and anti-death penalty activist) with live performances from Maria Doyle Kennedy, Kieran Kennedy and Temper-Mental MissElayneous
VIDEO
Avril Stanley
Whatever this feeling is I want to do it for the rest of my life - Avril Stanley, Body & Soul Avril Stanley traces her journey from her dramatic birth to her wilder teenage years and being part of a crazy dream at Burning Man that changed her forever.
Peter Pringle
Thirty-two years after being wrongfully convicted, Peter Pringle speaks from the judge's seat in the historic Green Street Courthouse - the same courtroom from which he was sentenced to death. Realising that the holding of anger and bitterness can only harm, he shares his thoughts on the ultimate justice and freedom which he discovered in prison through yoga and meditation.
Maria Doyle Kennedy
Staying in Love and Facing Adversity - Your Love is Everything. One of the most profound moments of our Trailblaze journey was when Maria & Kieran wowed audiences at our #Trailblazejustice experience at Green Street Courthouse in November 2012. They perform a rapturous call & response at the end to sing the evening out. Savour the moment when everyone joins in making that night an unforgettable experience.
EVENTS
