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A conversation event exploring migration, identity and community will take place in Carlingford on Thursday 27 August 2026, running from 2.00pm to 4.30pm. Kinship of Difference, presented by Tommy Sands for Artsawonder, will conclude the 2026 D'Arcy McGee Summer School with an afternoon combining discussion, music, poetry, dance and storytelling.
The event is intended as a departure from a conventional conference format, offering participants the chance to encounter one another as neighbours and to explore how understanding begins with listening. Migration has become one of the defining issues of the present day throughout Ireland and the wider world, raising questions of identity, belonging, faith, opportunity, fear and hope, and organisers say the event will look at how communities can move beyond slogans towards conversations where everyone is heard with dignity.
The afternoon will feature interviews and discussion interwoven with music and poetry, creating what organisers describe as an atmosphere of reflection and neighbourliness associated with Artsawonder's previous events. Not all participants will be confirmed before the event itself, but those due to take part include people who have protested against migration as well as those who have experienced such protests.
Among those taking part is Dr Umar Al-Qadri, Chair of the Irish Muslim Peace & Integration Council and one of Ireland's prominent Muslim scholars, who has focused much of his work on encouraging understanding between faiths and cultures. He was born into a distinguished Pakistani scholarly family. Also taking part is Tura Arutura, originally from Zimbabwe and now living in Belfast, who has embraced many aspects of Irish culture, becoming an Irish speaker and sean-nós dancer while sharing his own African heritage.
Representatives from the South Tyrone Empowerment Programme will also take part, sharing practical examples of successful integration, community development and rights-based approaches that have helped newcomers and established communities build stronger relationships throughout Mid Ulster.
Artsawonder is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to creating neighbourliness through music, art, storytelling and conversation, based on the belief that beauty can open doors that argument alone cannot, and that lasting peace begins when people discover not only their differences but also their kinship.
