Kildare changemaker selected for prestigious Academy for Activists

Co Kildare changemaker Terri Coonan is one of 21 people from across the island of Ireland selected to take part in the Alice Academy for Activists ─ a free residential bootcamp that equips emerging activists with strategic campaigning skills, taking place in Dublin in January 2026.

Alice ─ the award-winning, all-island public relations agency which hosts the Academy ─ this week announced Terri as one of the emerging activists selected to take part and details about the campaign she is spearheading.

By taking part in the Academy ─ which is supported by Community Foundation Ireland ─ Terri, a community peace activist, wants to develop her idea to develop a 'Hands of Friendship' initiative in her own village of Clane, which she says is seeing hundreds of new families moving into new homes.

Terri’s aim is to encourage peace, friendship, and community support for all in her community, in response to the current rise in anti-immigration sentiment and associated misinformation. She hopes the initiative could spread to other towns and villages across Ireland, too.

Her project is rooted in the values of mindfulness, compassion and community service, with the aim of ensuring Clane remains an open and welcoming community for all, irrespective of race, religion, ethnicity or circumstances.

Terri has been deeply embedded in her local community for many years, as a drama teacher and chairperson of the Clane Project Centre.

Over the course of the four-day Academy, Terri will be immersed in topics such as strategy and planning; community organising and coalition-building; fundraising; political engagement; and media relations.

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Terri will get to attend workshops delivered by campaign and communications experts along with lifelong activists, including Ailbhe Smyth, feminist and LGBTQ+ activist and leader of Ireland’s successful campaign to Repeal the Eighth Amendment, and veteran former RTÉ newscaster Eileen Dunne.

Announcing the successful applicants, Martina Quinn, the founder and CEO of Alice Public Relations, said: “With increasing polarisation across society and far right narratives often dominating public debate, it is more important than ever before that we have well-resourced and highly-skilled activists who have all the tools and expertise they need to champion progressive causes. That’s what the Alice Academy for Activists is all about.

“The calibre and breadth of activists we have involved this year, including Terri, is uplifting. They are committed to making the island of Ireland and the world a better place by challenging racism, promoting better health solutions, increasing political participation, and celebrating the wonderful diversity that exists across this island.”

Denise Charlton, Chief Executive of Community Foundation Ireland, said: “Community Foundation Ireland supports the Alice Academy for Activists because we believe in the power of voices to create change. At a time when communities are facing deep challenges, we must invest in the people who are standing up and speaking out for positive change.

“The Academy is our philanthropic response to that need to equip activists. We listen to the voices of grassroots organisers and frontline advocates and help amplify those voices and actions, not just for today, but for the future we all deserve.”

The Alice Academy for Activists is taking place in Dublin from January 15-18 2026.

Alice is a PR agency with a team of 25 working across the island of Ireland, with offices in both Dublin and Belfast.

Further information is available at www.alicepr.com.