01 - Pierre Yimbog: Being Black & Irish in 2026

This episode was not planned for now. Pierre Yimbog had been booked well in advance, but when Yves Sakila, a 35-year-old Congolese man who had lived in Ireland for over two decades, died on Henry Street on 16 May 2026 after being restrained by security personnel, we moved the release date forward. Pierre Yimbog is Cameroonian-Irish, a law graduate of DIT, former Vice President for Education and President of DIT Students' Union, and the first ever President of Technological University Dublin Students' Union in 2019. He is Co-founder and COO of Black & Irish, Company Secretary of the Irish Development Education Association (IDEA), Co-Founder and CEO of SoloBook, and National President of Junior Chamber International Ireland.He is also one of the calmest, most measured people we have spoken to. Given the week that was in it, that calm felt like its own form of resistance.In this episode we talk about:Growing up Cameroonian-Irish in Rathfarnham and Dundrum, and what it took to find his voiceHow Black & Irish began as a conversation during COVID lockdown and became one of Ireland's most important advocacy organisationsThe stories that started it all, and how those stories have changed since 2020The death of Yves Sakila, what the Black and African community in Ireland are feeling right now, and what Pierre wants the wider public to understandThe pattern: George Floyd, George Nkencho, the November 2023 riots, and now Yves SakilaWhere the white Irish solidarity of June 2020 went six months later, when George Nkencho was shot dead on his doorstepWhether Pierre still has faith in Irish institutions, and the exhausting, necessary work of maintaining hopeWhat he wants from government right now, including the Private Security Authority, the National Action Plan Against Racism, and hate speech legislation that was quietly droppedWhat is next for Black & Irish, including their inaugural conference on 29 MayWe also talk, in the debrief, about bystander syndrome, the weaponisation of the Irish flag, and how radicalisation happens in small moves and can be undone the same way.Black & Irish Conference, 29 May 2026. Find details at blackandirish.com.LinksBlack & Irish: blackandirish.comBlack & Irish on Instagram: @black_andirishPierre Yimbog on Instagram: @pierreyimbogAmanda Ade on Instagram @amandaadeIrish Network Against Racism: inar.ieIf you've enjoyed this episode, why not support the show?Find us over at patreon.com/wigsonthegreenpodOr follow us on Instagram & TikTok