AN IRISH end-of-life care project, Meitheal Muintire, which is designed to improve the end-of-life experiences of Irish people living in Britain, will be launched at the London Irish Centre on 24th April.
The project, co-sponsored by the Irish in Britain organisation and Innisfree Housing Association, seeks input from across the spectrum of Irish community, particularly from people of mixed heritage, Travellers, survivors and LGBTQ+ communities.
A free performance of extracts from ‘The Keening: How Ireland’s ancient Wake Traditions teach Us all to Live, Love and Die’ will mark the start of the year-long project. BAFTA-winning Achill Island writer Kevin Toolis and acclaimed Connemara Sean Nós singer Caitríona Ni Chennabháin will share the wisdom and mystery of the Irish Wake’s ancient origins and celebrate in song, word and bardic poetry how the Irish Wake can teach us to live, love and die in grace.
Wonders of the Wake, Claddagh Ring pub, North London (Photo: Irish in Britain)The project’s title ‘Meitheal Muintire’ comes from the ancient tradition of community teamwork in rural Ireland. ‘Meitheal’ (pronounced meh-hal) describes this concept of cooperation; of coming together in the service of a shared task. ‘Muintire’ means ‘people’ or ‘family’ in Irish.
People are encouraged to contribute to the project. The aim, according to Irish in Britain, is to develop a community-informed response to improve practice in enabling dignified and responsive end-of-life care for individuals and their families.
Speaking about the project, Irish in Britain CEO Brian Dalton said: “This project is driven by the needs of all those involved in the end-of-life care experience here in Britain, and to effect positive change in practice, policy and cultural competence.
“As a community we can draw upon our history in how we care for our loved ones. Our community’s long-held rites and rituals that provide comfort at a time of loss will especially inform this work – and, crucially, will guide recommendations for future practice in end-of-life care planning.”
Meanwhile, John Delahunty, Chief Executive of the Innisfree Housing Association said: “At Innisfree we’ve been prompted by both personal and recent professional experiences of being with people at the end of their lives. We felt that we hadn’t done enough – but didn’t know how else to advocate for better. This project will provide us with some of the ‘how else’ as we stand alongside those we love and care for.”
