Creating Change by Pádraig Rice

Pádraig Rice is a UCC law student, parliamentary assistant in Dáil Eireann and an LGBT advocate. In this piece, he shares some lessons he has learnt over two decades of activism and awareness-raising.

  Advocacy and activism comes in all shapes and sizes. From small scale community changes to national legislative reform. Although the scale of the impact may vary, the actions are of equal importance. Here are a few lessons I have learnt about creating change through the various roles I have held.

Strength of Collective Action I first became a change-maker when I was 12 years old. It was 2002. Bertie Ahern was the Taoiseach, and Ireland was in the midst of the Celtic Tiger. My objectives were small in scale, but my goals were crystal clear. I wanted to make my secondary school a better place for students. To achieve these goals, I stood for the Class Rep elections. Through the Student Council’s collective effort, we succeeded in securing fresh fruit smoothies in the canteen, better locks on the bathroom doors, and a student suggestion box in the main hall.

Although the victories were small, it taught me that by working together, through collective action, we could make the world a little bit better for ourselves and those around us

Power of Storytelling As a college student first at University College Cork and then at the University of Oxford, I threw myself into activism and awareness-raising, particularly for LGBTQI+ human rights. For years we campaigned with energy and enthusiasm for marriage equality. At the core of our campaign was empathic storytelling. On doorsteps and over the airwaves, we shared the stories of our lives.

These stories transformed perceptions and changed attitudes, that led to the significant victory in the marriage equality referendum.