Dr. Sindy Joyce is an

Irish Traveller Irish Travellers (, meaning ''the walking people''), also known as Mincéirs (Shelta: ''Mincéirí'') or Pavees, are a traditionally List of nomadic peoples#Peripatetic, peripatetic Indigenous peoples, indigenous Ethnic group, ethno-cultural g ...

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

activist and academic sociologist. In January 2019 she became the first Irish Traveller to obtain a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

from an Irish university. Her doctoral thesis funded by the

Irish Research Council The Irish Research Council () was an associate agency of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, under the aegis of the Higher Education Authority. In November 2023, Simon Harris, the Minister for Fu ...

, "Mincéirs Siúladh: An ethnographic study of young Travellers’ experiences of urban space", explored the interaction of young Travellers with the settled community and the Gardaí in

Galway city Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

Publications

* Sindy Joyce, "Divided Spaces: An examination of everyday racism and its impact on young Travellers' spatial mobility", ''Irish Journal of Anthropology'', 18/1 (2015) * Sindy Joyce, Margaret Kennedy and Amanda Haynes, "Anti-Traveller and Anti-Roma Hate Crime in Ireland", in ''Critical Perspectives on Hate Crime: An Irish Perspective'', edited by A. Haynes, J. Schweppe, and S. Taylor, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017.

Awards

In 2014 Joyce received a Traveller Pride Award for Education. On 4 April 2019

Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins (; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, broadcaster, and sociologist who has been serving as the president of Ireland since 2011. Entering national politics through the Labour Party, he served as a senator ...

, the

President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...

, appointed her to his

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

References

External links

Interview with Sindy Joyce
on The Late Late Show, posted on the Late Late Show YouTube channel, 23 September 2016.
Sindy Joyce, Ireland - Testimony at the 2017 Dublin Platform
on the

Front Line Defenders Front Line Defenders, or The International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, is an Irish-based human rights organisation founded in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland in 2001 to protect those who work non-violently to uph ...

YouTube channel, 28 October 2017. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Alumni of the University of Limerick Irish sociologists Irish human rights activists Irish Traveller women People from County Limerick Presidential appointees to the Council of State (Ireland) {{Ireland-activist-stub