Ionbhá: The Empathy Book for Ireland

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Community Leadership Development: Youth Leadership Development in Pennsylvanian High Schools with Agriculture Programs Ionbhá is a sweet-minded book of essays featuring teachers, youth workers and sportspeople, plus creative figures such as The Edge and Murphy himself. But what is empathy? The word only entered the English language in 1908, a translation from the German Einfühlung, which means “feeling into” – and “I think that perfectly describes it”, says the actor. “It’s different to sympathy; it’s adjacent to kindness.” Sympathy, he explains, “is about adding your own sorrow or your own pity onto the other – whereas empathy is where you sit and listen with someone, and you absorb what the person is feeling… And then you’re compelled to take an empathetic action. And that’s when I think it’s at its most powerful. So it isn’t just talk – it’s action.

There are many corollaries of this in modern life, he says, such as the solipsistic world of social media, the absence of time for others, the echo chamber of the media and politics. “I think for young people, social media is a very competitive and very combative environment. I think it’s very hard to be empathetic towards something that you can’t see or connect with,” he says.Tá sé seo amhlaidh toisc go gceadaíonn sé dúinn muid féin a chur in áit an duine eile, luach a chur ar bhealaí eile smaointeoireachta agus bealaí malartacha chun fadhbanna agus riachtanais a cheapadh agus, sa deireadh, bealaí nua chun an domhan a léirmhíniú. Is pointe tosaigh an-mhaith é seo chun ár bhfís ar réaltacht a shaibhriú, botúin a cheartú agus súil a chaitheamh ar an mbealach is féidir le daoine eile freagairt i gcásanna áirithe. Simple practices – like parents asking their children to think about how the child they just fought with feels – or being around people who show empathy to others can make a huge difference in nurturing empathy. For all of us, it may be worth reflecting on our own ‘empathy maps’, thinking about how we can extend our boundaries to bring more people into the high empathy zone...” Hozier, singer and songwriter Ionbhá or empathy is a core element of wisdom and a universal language of the soul. It brings joy to the everyday, making the unbearable bearable. "We need empathy in schools just as we need empathy in the world right now" - Cillian Murphy, Actor and Patron of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre.

Is foinse dúshlán intleachtúil leanúnach é a spreagann muid agus a spreagann ár bhforbairt phearsanta.Opinion: 'evidence overwhelmingly affirms that the development of empathy is essential to healthy, social and emotional functioning' The way civic society is going — not just in this country, but globally — we’re going to be dependent on empathy. Take climate challenge or social justice of any shape or form... it’s vital — Prof Pat Dolan As part of this initiative, Ionbhá: The Empathy Book for Ireland, has been published to support the project. It's a book of over 80 essays, prose and poetry reflections on empathy from both famous and everyday citizens and reminds us that acts of kindness and compassion, no matter how big or small, have massive impact.

Is bealach maith é chun tuiscint a fháil ar an tionchar a bhíonn ag comhthéacs ar staid mhothúchánach daoine. Pat Dolan, who has been researching this area for years, says there is a compelling case to introduce empathy education in schools, and across wider society, based on the positive findings of a growing body of research. From RTÉ Radio 1's Brendan O'Connor Show, actor Cillian Murphy and Prof Pat Dolan talk about their 10 years working together on youth research and empathy projects and their new book Ionbhá, The Empathy Book for IrelandWe see it as a worldwide project,” says the 46-year-old, his Cork accent still strong; he and his artist wife Yvonne McGuinness returned to Ireland after a long spell in Britain to live in Dublin with their two sons in 2015. “There’s an awful lot of interest in it, and I think it’s a critical time for something like this.” The world, he says, is ever more polarised and social media has made things worse: “It’s very emotionally draining for children or for young people. It takes a lot out of them to be under scrutiny all the time – I can’t really imagine that.” By understanding, feeling and identifying my emotions I then began to calmly and safely identify the emotions of others. I’d do it mindfully. The wrinkle of a smile. The raise of an eyebrow in surprise. The furrow of disappointment. The forced teethy smile that masks discomfort. I didn’t view other people through the threatening lens of fear that a state of anxiety demands.” Charlotte Silke and Bernadine Brady, academics at University of Galway’s Unesco Child and Family Centre

In schools these days there is no shortage of initiatives on wellbeing and resilience. These topics form a central part of the junior cycle in second-level schools. So is there really a need — or even space — in a crowded curriculum for empathy education?

Ábhar

Empathy really is about the other; that’s what makes it different to the idea of resilience or wellbeing, which are really important things,” says Dolan. “Empathy isn’t sympathy. It’s about valuing, respecting and understanding another person’s view.” We’d like to think that by having Ionbhá out there, it makes people aware of the importance of empathy. I see it as giving someone the gift of empathy, but it’s also putting the topic out there as one we need to talk about. While we talk a lot about well-being, we don’t talk enough about empathy. It may sound radical, but countries such as Denmark have been doing it for years, he says. “Klassens time” is a mandatory part of the school curriculum where children can seek advice from peers, learn empathy, conflict resolution and strengthen their relationships and sense of community. It has found that children who grow up to become confident, emotionally intelligent adults are more likely to raise happier kids themselves. Coincidence or not, Denmark is consistently ranked highly as one of the happiest places to live. Current research at the UNESCO Child and Family Centre at the University of Galway and UNESCO HQ Paris is focusing on gaining new knowledge on the nature of empathy and its use as a pedagogical tool for schools and community youth work organisations, the latter in collaboration with Foróige.