‘Rosaleen McDonagh is a writer of huge and vivacious talent and
this is a brilliant novel, so vivid and urgent and addictive.’
— Kevin Barry
[ About Contentious Spaces ]
The Traveller families who live in Saint Rita’s are on borrowed time. In just a week they will be evicted by the local council, threatening not only their homes but also their history and the stories that have shaped them. Charlene, a proud young beoir suffers a humiliating betrayal. Her mother, Kate, is left to navigate unbearable loss while holding the family together. Her cousin, Sheena, strives to find her place in a new environment that is quick to dismiss her. Her uncle Tommy fights despair as his teenage son spirals out of control.
As eviction day draws closer, the families struggle to preserve their dignity, finding strength in one another as they navigate an unknown future.
[ My Review ]
Contentious Spaces by Rosaleen McDonagh published March 12th with Skein Press and is described as ‘unflinching…a haunting story about identity and loyalty, shame and resilience, grief and love, and the defiant power of voices that refuse to be silenced.’
I am Irish so the Travelling community would be familiar to me but, in recent times, beyond what I read in the media, I know very little about their modern culture. There were children from the community in my primary school but our interaction was negligible. Over the years there has been a stigma that hangs over the community with the lines very rarely crossing between folk from the settled community and the Travelling community. There is a long standing image of an Irish Traveller that is accepted by many, but the Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre (established in 1985) has been tirelessly working over the years to educate people ‘establishing a track record in innovative and ground-breaking work using a collective community development approach to addressing Traveller & Roma issues and promoting Traveller & Roma human rights.’
When I was asked by Skein Press to review Contentious Spaces I was delighted as I knew I was going to have quite a different reading experience and I also knew I would find it a thought-provoking read, which it is.
St. Rita’s is a halting site that has been operational for generations of Traveller families but the eviction notices have been issued by the local council as the land is being reclaimed for alternative purposes. Over a period of one week, the reader is taken into the trailers of various families and presented with an almost voyeuristic view of life for each individual. Their livelihood, their culture is being pulled from under them and they are angry, resigned, frustrated and confused. Achieving an education would not traditionally have been an aspiration for members of the community but in recent times there has been momentum to encourage the younger Traveller generation to continue with their schooling. Yet marriage, for girls at a young age, is also recognised as a status, one to be proud of, so conflicting opinions are many and tempers regularly fray.
Charlene, a high-spirited teenager has her heart taken by Gerard but a tragedy occurs that puts a pall over the site, with a sadness permeating throughout the novel, as each person attempts to comprehend what is happening. Charlene’s extended family are all suffering, with many no longer able to fight for their corner but they do have a small ray of hope with Rebecca, a relative who was reared in the settled community and now works with the council. The pressure is on Rebecca to stand up and be counted as one of the community but to do that would mean that potentially she could lose all that she has built beyond the site. Reclaiming her identity has put her in a very challenging position but she has to make a choice.
‘There was no affirmation of Travellers living on sites. That was the anomaly.
Traveller identity and every expression of it was tolerated, sometimes even celebrated. Living on a site with your extended family – that was deviant, destructive, not sanitised enough to be embraced…this was how settled people typically viewed things’
The cast of Contentious Spaces, while not vast, is many but Rosaleen McDonagh seamlessly weaves their stories around a narrative that is both heartbreaking and so very poignant. What struck me most was the dignity of the community, in spite of all the tragedy and upheaval placed upon them. Yet also there was a resignation, an expectation that they, as a community would of course be let down by a society that just doesn’t understand them. The ways of the older folk clash with the desires of some of the younger members, which does lead to tension among families, both internally and externally. McDonagh doesn’t shy away from these violent and more unstable characters and she does speak of the flaring tempers and the desire to lash out. With eye-opening insights and a sensitive hand, Rosaleen McDonagh shines a light on a marginalised group, one many of us know so little about.
A stirring, uncompromising and authentic read, Contentious Spaces is a profound and compassionate debut, one I highly recommend.
[ Thank you to Skein Press for a copy of Contentious Spaces in exchange for my honest review]
[ Bio ]
Rosaleen McDonagh is a writer, playwright, performer and a member of Aosdána. Her plays include The Baby Doll Project, She’s Not Mine, Rings, The Prettiest Proud Boy and Mainstream. Her most recent commissions were Walls and Windows, followed by Backbone for the Abbey Theatre and Context for Pavee Point, which loosely documents the forty-year history of Pavee Point.
She is part of the Navigator Series by Fishamble for 2026. She is the author of Unsettled (Skein Press, 2021) and Contentious Spaces (Skein Press, forthcoming). Rosaleen holds a BA, two MPhils from Trinity College Dublin and a PhD from Northumbria University. She was reappointed a Human Rights Commissioner in June 2025 and is a member of the Arts Council of Ireland.
