“Feminism isn’t about making women strong. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.”

GD Anderson

I’m delighted to share my dear friend and Close-to-Nature forestry mentor Jan Alexander, will be speaking at the Dock, this coming Saturday for a special event for International Womens Day. We’ll be going as Jan will joined with the wonderful stone sculptor Jackie McKenna, whose cousin Eileen MacDonagh has been a great friend and mentor to Martin, my husband.

Jan was the founder of Crann in Ireland in the mid-80s. She startled the Irish nation by appearing on the Late Late TV show, asking why Ireland wasn’t planting its native trees. Her vision and leadership inspired many in the emergent environmental movement in Ireland, from former Green Party leader, Trevor Sargent, to the late writer John McGahern to many in the Irish and international Pro Silva movement that has for many decades advocated a move from clear fell to Closer-to-nature continuous cover forestry.

And she greatly inspired me, Noel Kiernan, Neil Foulkes, John Matthews and the others she gathered to the first large-scale community native woodland plantings in South County Leitrim area, fondly known as the ‘The Local Project’. These ideas formed my ongoing Hollywood Forest Story. You will find references to Jan through this blog, and see more in the Archive area with ‘The Local Project’ – my first work with Jan and others for Crann in the mid-90s.

A Miscellany of Women’s Voices

International Women’s Day – The Dock, Carrick-on-Shannon 7:30 pm

€15 bookings required, see here: https://www.thedock.ie/whats-on/a-miscellany-of-womens-voices-3

The Reading Room Bookshop proudly presents A Miscellany of Women’s Voices for International Women’s Day 2026.

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender equality.

International Women’s Day has occurred for well over a century, with the first gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people. Today, International Women’s Day belongs to all groups, everywhere — a movement powered by the collective efforts of all.

Please join us to mark International Women’s Day 2026 with Jan Alexander and Jackie McKenna in conversation with Orlagh Kelly at The Dock.

Join a community of voices for an evening of talks, connection, and empowerment — dedicated to sharing knowledge, visibility, and helping women to thrive. Help us honour the achievements of women to build a more supportive world for those to come.

Jan Alexander in Conversation

Born in Australia in the early 1950s, Jan Alexander has lived in Ireland for almost fifty years.

In the 1980s, her voice became well known in Irish media as an early advocate for environmental restoration through tree planting. In 1986, Jan launched the NGO Crann, based in County Leitrim, with the aim of re‑treeing Ireland with broadleaved species. She gave talks and interviews across the country to communities, schools, and the media, planting trees and inspiring local projects as she went.

Jan was appointed to the first Board of Coillte, serving from 1989 to 1994.

She believes that without a love of the land, and an understanding of and compliance with Earth Laws, climate chaos and the collapse of both economic and natural systems are inevitable.

Jan speaks with clarity and conviction about how we might begin to address our fractured relationship with the land, both as individuals and collectively.

Her ideas are not book‑learnt; rather, they arise from her deep absorption in and observations with nature, rather than of nature.

Jackie McKenna in Conversation

Jackie McKenna was born in Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim, in 1958. She studied Fine Art in Sligo and completed her degree in Sculpture at Dun Laoghaire College of Art. Most of her work over the past forty years has been site-specific, large-scale outdoor pieces created through public commissions.

Her creative practice centres on social engagement, including participatory projects with refugees, asylum seekers, prisoners, and family carers, working within communities to evoke thoughtful responses to place, people, and situations.

Jackie has played a significant role in the development and promotion of the arts in Ireland. She was an active member of the Sculpture Society of Ireland in the 1980s, served on the Cultural Relations Committee for eight years, and co-founded the Leitrim Sculpture Centre in 1997.

Hope to see you there and what a way to celebrate International Women’s day with two such wonderfully inspiring women!