If Hazel Could Talk
If Hazel Could Talk
If Hazel Could Talk is a community-based creative project developed by Galway Traveller Movement and Misleór Festival, in collaboration with artist Debbie Reilly. The project brings Traveller and settled communities together to share knowledge, skills, stories and creative practice around one of Ireland’s most versatile natural materials: hazel.
At its heart, If Hazel Could Talk is about more than hazel. It is about what can happen when cultural knowledge is valued, shared and given space to grow. It brings Traveller knowledge into public spaces while creating opportunities for people to meet, make things together and listen to one another.
If the hazel could talk, what stories would it tell?
Music became part of this exchange too. Caroline and Colin from Friends of Merlin Woods joined the programme to facilitate a songwriting workshop. Participants wrote a song together and later sang it around the fire at the project's closing camp-out in Merlin Woods. The evening brought the different strands of the project together: making, food, music, storytelling and the simple act of spending time together.
The programme ended with a camp-out where participants cooked a traditional Traveller meal of bacon, onions and milk in a cast-iron pan and made griddle bread over the fire.
A community project exploring Traveller knowledge, craft, memory and connection through hazel.
The project began in 2025 with an eight-week programme at Merlin Woods Community Garden, developed with Friends of Merlin Woods and funded through Creative Ireland’s Creative Communities grant. Across the programme, participants learned about hazel harvesting and coppicing, explored traditional uses of natural materials, and shared knowledge about herbal remedies and plants.
Just as importantly, the workshops became a space for Traveller community members to share memories and stories of life on the roadside. Knowledge that might otherwise remain within families and communities was brought into conversation with others, creating opportunities for different generations and communities to learn from one another.
If Hazel Could Talk 2025
Copyright of Galway Traveller Movement and Misleór Festival of Nomadic Cultures
Filmed by Paul D’Eath
Funded by Creative Ireland Creative Communities grant. With special thanks to Debbie Reilly and Friends of Merlin Woods
Growing the project
In 2026, If Hazel Could Talk continues in Ballinasloe, supported by Galway County Council's Creative Communities Fund and delivered in partnership with Ballinasloe Library. Over five weeks, participants are exploring hazel, natural materials, Traveller traditions and the stories and knowledge connected to them.
The programme includes practical making and opportunities for Traveller community members to share their experiences and knowledge with others. As part of Heritage Week 2026, the project will also host If Hazel Could Talk – Sharing Traveller Heritage at Ballinasloe Library, bringing together stories of life on the road, traditional knowledge, hazel and wattle construction, and Traveller food traditions.
If the Wattle Could Talk
The work that began through If Hazel Could Talk is now developing in another direction. Some of the cultural custodians who took part in the 2025 programme are taking a leading role in a new project,
If the Wattle Could Talk, supported through the CREATE Artist in the Community Scheme.
From June to September 2026, Debbie Reilly, Annie, Caroline, Annemarie, Paddy and members of the Galway Traveller Community are meeting at Merlin Woods Community Garden for hazel harvesting and collaborative creative sessions.
Together, participants are exploring the traditional knowledge and skills involved in harvesting and working with hazel, while developing new sculptural works inspired by Traveller building traditions. The project creates an opportunity for knowledge to be passed on through doing — learning how to harvest materials sustainably, work together, and transform them into something new.
The work created during the project will be exhibited at 126 Artist-Run Gallery in Galway as part of Misleór Festival 2026. The process will also be filmed, creating an archive of the skills, knowledge and stories being shared.