University of Galway’s Kieran Hoare wins award for archival work documenting Traveller heritage  

University of Galway librarian and archivist, Kieran Hoare has won the 2026 Michael McDonagh Traveller Ally Excellence Award for decades of work on the inclusion and representation of the Travelling community in third-level education.  

Hoare has worked in the James Hardiman Library at the University of Galway since the summer of 1998, becoming only the second archivist in an official role west of the Shannon. 

Since then, Hoare has helped set up archival policy, preservation policy and the accessions policy in the university.  

In 2017, Hoare began working on an idea with Patrick Owen Ward, who was the university’s Traveller Access Officer at the time. 

“We put in a proposal to look at the Travelling community and third level education, and in particular in the University of Galway,” Mr Hoare explained.

Once funding was secured, the journey of the Mincéirs Archives began. The aim was to document the history of Traveller culture.

 “The idea was people’s lived experiences. Just to see what people’s experience was of living, and the various things like education, employment – where their struggles were, where they kind of had support,” said Hoare. 

The archive grew to include interviews with older Travellers, activists, students, as well as photographs, materials and personal possessions donated by families.

The traditional language of Cant makes an appearance in some documents.  

Hoare said winning this award was particularly “poignant” for him and explained why the archives are essential:

“When younger Travellers want to learn of their heritage or want to find out what life was like, this material is there for them.” 

Having worked with the late activist, Michael McDonagh, in the early stages of this project, winning an award named in his honour was a full-circle moment.  

But Hoare emphasised that his work is not yet complete. “I would say it’s not finished yet. It’s kind of ongoing,” he said. 

The University of Galway is currently working on two more collections to add to the documentation of Traveller heritage.