Mixed Up

A groundbreaking memoir about growing up mixed-race in Ireland, by the Irish Book Award-winning author and media personality Leon Diop.

Mixed-race experience in Ireland has never been described so honestly. Diop, a charismatic public figure and strong positive male role-model for young Irish people, tells his story from his first day as the only brown boy in school to his powerful recent experience reconnecting with his African roots in Senegal.

Growing up, Diop struggled with his identity, got into trouble, and lost his way, before turning his life around and finding his mission: helping Black and mixed-race Irish people tell their own stories. He founded Black & Irish and developed it into an advocacy group, a podcast with RTÉ, and an award-winning book (published by Little Island in 2023).

Now it is Diop’s turn to tell his own story, his journey from mixed-up kid to embracing his own identity, one that will inspire young Irish people and help counter dangerous political narratives in Ireland today.