Gemma Bradley,
Singer-Songwriter & Radio Presenter

When I was growing up in Ireland, I was into music and performing. I had a sense of pride in my father’s Jamaican heritage and my mother’s Irish heritage. I was very lucky that I was always accepted as Irish by everyone I came into contact with. There’s always going to be a few incidents where your identity will be questioned, because I don’t look the way some people expect.

I can definitely see Ireland becoming more accepting of people from other cultures. We’re starting to see people from other backgrounds in Irish media and across Irish society in general, which is so nice. If I had people in media who looked like me, I would have been really inspired. It’s great to have that now. We can definitely keep building from here, I think we’ve got a positive future.

I definitely feel closer to my mother’s culture. A lot of my dad’s side of the family live in England now, so I don’t get to see them often. I grew up in Ireland so that’s where more of my culture is based. My nana keeps me in check when I go over to see them, but I’m glad that’s still alive!

Read Part 2 of 100 Voices: #AllAgainstRacism in the current issue of Hot Press:

Special thanks to the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission for their support in this project.