INTERVIEW | Irish identity, politics and Longford's encouragement

Eric Ehigie is a 23-year-old graduate of NUI Galway, as well as Blavatnik School of Government in Oxford. He previously attended Moyne Community School and St Michael’s Boys NS, Moyne. As of 2025, Eric received an internship in the Oireachtas as part of his master's placement. He has been working with Senator Lynn Ruane.

The son of a single mum who came to Ireland as an asylum seeker when he was a few months old, Eric has fostered both his Nigerian and Irish cultures. He came to chat about his career trajectory, how Longford influenced him, and what he hopes to achieve in the future.

Read more: Request for emergency Longford County Council meeting over disturbing phone call

Where in Longford are you from?

I am from Longford town, specifically an area called Farnagh.

You’ve done a lot on Irish identity, would you like to tell me a little bit about that journey?
Yeah, of course. My journey begins with my mum who came to Ireland as an asylum seeker when I was a few months old. She went through the direct provision system.

My mum has always been proud to be Nigerian as any immigrant would be upon leaving their home country, and so in our household, my mum really fostered a love for Nigerian culture, Black history - including negative chapters such as the North Atlantic Slave Trade, colonialism - and positive things like song, dance, and literature. I recall being a student at St Michael's when my mum encouraged me to write my school a letter during Black History Month, urging my school to try teaching Black History.

Can you imagine this small Catholic school getting this random letter from some young kid in fifth class? So my cultural identity from the Nigerian side has been very present.

On the flip side, I’m a son of an immigrant, not an immigrant, so my Irish identity has naturally been engrained within me. I remember in primary school, watching the Michael Collins movie, I nearly cried at the end. I was thinking about the Irish story of overcoming, resilience, triumph and our nationalist heroes and I’ve always resonated with that.

Of course, today, there are contesting narratives as to what it means to be Irish. An inclusive nationalism that does not exclude based on the colour of your skin, your mother’s cultural background or where you come from is what I hope to contribute to curating. I think our history and background helps with this.

Read more: ‘Big problems on the way if drains are not cleared’ - Longford MEP Mullooly

What community groups have you been involved in around Longford, and would you say that Longford has given you that push?
A great question. I owe a lot of credit to the Attic Youth Cafe, the former homework club in Farnagh I once attended and another homework club in Springlawn I attended when I was very young. These are big initiatives that I was involved in as a young boy.

I am grateful to St Michael’s Boys National School because they engaged my fellow students and I in extracurricular interests, which instilled that habit in me to move from my desk for creative purposes.

The Longford African Network, established by Councillor Uruemu Adejinmi, is another group I’ve been involved with. Football teams too, such as Melview, Camlin and Stonepark FC. They offered great communities, too, which played a huge role in encouraging me for the better.

Your spoken word poetry that you do on social media/YouTube is impressive–what is that creative process like from draft to recording?
It’s really fun. I got into poetry first through rappers that I really admired. Names that pop out are Akala, Tupac and Chip. These were artists that I deeply resonated with, especially Tupac.

Seeing a guy like him, who came from a working-class background (and to be honest, deeper poverty and insecurity at points in his life), resort to poetry as a way to express himself, spoke to me, especially as I am a young black male who comes from a working-class background and, like him, was raised by a single mum.

When I was 16 or 17, I started writing poetry in a journal and notebook. I made a (very mediocre, at best) song in my final year of undergrad with friends, it’s called ‘Brother on the Block’, and is about growing up in Longford.

A recent spoken word piece I wrote is ‘Ireland for the Irish’ (a poem that challenges the exclusionary belief that a guy like me cannot identify with Ireland because of my cultural background). That’s my way of getting out a message in a way that is enjoyable to make but hopefully resonates with people.

Read more: Mental health reform criticism by Longford-Westmeath TD over Budget 2026

Having started your Oireachtas placement, what has that meant to you; what has it been like?
For the last two months of my master’s degree in the UK, because it’s a public policy master’s, we had to get placement in a public policy context. Many people might have gone to the EU, or to the UN. I really wanted to come back to Ireland; it’s the country that, from a policy perspective, I care about the most. Specifically, I wanted to work with Senator Lynn Ruane.

I wanted to work with someone who improved people’s lives. Senator Ruane often goes to prisons to spearhead educational initiatives involving prisoners, helping to recognise their humanity and empower them, in ways that may help their reintegration post-prison. She noticed that non-national prisoners did not engage with her initiatives as frequently. I helped her to collect data examining the gap in engagement with educational services between non-national prisoners and everyone else.

We gathered a lot of interesting information, we even went to a prison in Dublin and interviewed ethnic minority prisoners. From all the data we collected, we plan to draft a Report that will be published soon.

That was the subject matter of my work. Besides this the Oireachtas is cool. You get to witness the den of ‘real’ politics in action, what goes into it, and ask questions about whether you see yourself in it.

Would you be able to discuss the process of how you got into the role?
I think it’s a great story because it speaks to Lynn’s character. I sent a couple of emails to different people who worked in politics asking them if they’d take me on, as I was required to do so by my college, and a few people replied.

Lynn, who I least expected to reply due to her profile but most wanted a reply from, replied affirmatively. I told her about my background, and my work experience and she then gave me the chance to prove myself!

What is your proudest achievement and greatest challenge?
My proudest achievement is probably graduating from the University of Galway with my undergraduate degree.

I was the first college graduate in my family. It was a wholly-unlikely outcome had it not been for my mum. She and many other great people I met growing up in Longford gave me a chance and encouraged me to express myself.

I must give a special mention to the late Mairtin O’Muiri, my sixth class teacher at St Michaels BNS, who was the first person to teach me music (through the tin whistle) and was the positive male role model I needed at a very crucial point in my life. I’m very happy I got to graduate.

The biggest challenge would be when I was in Oxford. Not just the reputation of the institution or not because what I was learning was beyond my comprehension. On one hand being there is a great honour, as you are receiving top-class education.

I felt marginalised from a class perspective sometimes; the overdrawn customs and ceremonies drenched in British pomp were at times overwhelming - I’ve got to keep it real! I was very lucky as the School I was in at Oxford was amazing (Blavatnik School of Government), I learned so much within it and met the most amazing people.

Read more: Longford school 'incredibly proud' of three top performing and hard working students

Do you have any advice for any Longford individual who may want to go down the political avenue as a career, but have no idea where to start?
Get involved with a student union. If you are in secondary school, get involved with your student council. I’d look into the Irish Second Level Students’ Union, they have committees, events where students’ voices can be heard. For adults, I’d say just make sure your political sources are okay as there is a lot of misinformation and disinformation circulating. In other words, there is a lot of Facebook political scholarship one need be wary of. Make sure your heart is in it.