Climate justice activist

Saoirse is an 18 year old climate justice activist from Limerick, Ireland. She began climate striking in 2019 when she founded her local branch of the Fridays for Future global movement. Saoirse believes that restructuring our global economies is necessary to combat colonialist ideas of extractivism and exploitation towards planet and people. In 2021, she was named one of the 100 inaugural winners of the Rise programme for her work researching and rewriting Irish mythology to bring traditionally suppressed narratives about women and queer characters to the forefront. As a Gaeilgeoir (Irish-language speaker), Saoirse believes that by reconnecting with our traditional languages and storytelling, we can reestablish the concept of Earth as sacred and create policy and practices that facilitate reciprocity with ecosystems. Saoirse is the youngest member of the UN Secretary General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change.