Sheila Cannon

"We didn’t start Shuttleknit to make clothes. We started it to make space - for ourselves, for our voice, for our future.”

Kathleen Berry, Production Supervisor, Shuttleknit

Project Name: Organising for Social Change: The Multiple Levels of Legitimacy

Problem addressed by the research

Organisations that aim to make a social change face a paradox: they need to gain legitimacy to thrive and grow, but at the same time they are challenging what is considered societally legitimate - which potentially jeopardises their growth potential.

Project description

Professor Cannon first identified this legitimacy puzzle when examining an LGBTQA+ organisation, which evolved from being a secret refuge to an employment scheme and safe space, to ultimately influencing the definition of marriage by helping to bring about marriage equality in 2015. This initial research influenced her subsequent book on social entrepreneurship (2024). The book bridges the gap between three decades of research and practice to better understand organisational missions aiming to bring about societal change.

Project outcomes so far

Professor Cannon has applied her understanding of legitimacy in her work with Shuttleknit, a social enterprise in Wicklow Town that employs Traveller women to design, create, and sell knitwear. As Chair of the Board of Shuttleknit from 2020 to 2025, she has reframed the organisation from being a social inclusion employment scheme to having a mission guided by social justice that challenges negative attitudes towards Travellers.

Shuttleknit has successfully applied for grants from ReThink Ireland (€17,000 in 2021) and The Ireland Funds (€5,000 in 2024) to realise that mission. Professor Cannon presented Shuttleknit’s work to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Travellers, which was published as a policy document by the government in November 2021.

For more information

• Book on social entrepreneurship: https://www.routledge.com/Promise-Pitfalls-and-Potential-of-Social-Entrepreneurship-Positive-Change-Unleashed/Cannon-Galdon/p/book/9781032519975
• Shuttleknit: www.shuttleknit.ie
• Oirechtas Joint committee on Travellers: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/committees/33/committee-on-key-issues-affecting-the-traveller-community/