Black and Irish

Leon Diop is a 28-year-old mixed-race man from Dublin, Ireland. Born to an Irish mother and a Senegalese father, he grew up in a mixed ethnic and religious household. He is the founder of Black and Irish, an organisation striving to transform Ireland into a global leader in equality and inclusion. He is a host of the Black and Irish podcast with Irish national broadcaster, RTÉ.




Briana Fitzsimons grew up in Yonkers, NY, USA, and has lived in Ireland since 2017. She has been a teacher for 12 years and also holds degrees in English and Creative Writing. Briana joined the Black and Irish team in 2021 and has been working to make schools across the country more inclusive for all students. She lives in Co Kildare with her partner and two children and is proud to call Ireland home.




Jessica Louis is an independent illustrator from Nigeria, whose work features bright colorful characters, shapes and scenes that speak to the emotions at the edges and in the core of our lived experience. She has exhibited with DesignOpp in Dublin, Fresco in Paris and published in Totally Dublin. She's represented by Studio BLVCK and together they paving a new path for independent black creatives across the world.