Ramble through history with folklorist Michael Fortune
Following on from the hugely successful ‘Autumn Ramble Series’, folklorist Michael Fortune is delighted to announce the official launch of the mapping/ folklore project ‘About This Place’.
The project, which is supported by Ballygarrett Tidy Towns and Wexford County Council Arts Department, will take place around Ballygarrett where participants will ramble through the back roads and fields on Sunday, June 24, at 2 p.m., starting from Ballygarrett Church car park.
Michael will take people along to Donaghmore and Killenagh to visit holy wells, buried treasure, plane crash sites, mass rocks, 1798 history places, all while simply being out in the open air.
The walk will conclude at 5 p.m. with some light refreshments in the GAA Complex. Each ‘ramble’ begins and ends in the Church car park in Ballygarrett.
The tour involves driving outside of the village so car-pooling is encouraged. Dress according to the weather on the day and pack snacks and drinks.
Last October, for three consecutive Sundays, over 200 people, young and old, joined Michael and they walked through fields to visit old graveyards, forgotten holy wells and old battle sites. They were entertained along the way with anecdotes, songs and music.
‘This project is a long time coming,’ said Michael. ‘I’m originally a native of Ballygarrett and their can be more pressure when you are performing for the home crowd than a pile of strangers.’
Michael said the local people have been fantastic towards his latest project. Bernie Byrne and those in Tidy Towns have helped out with everything along the way.
‘Both my parents in Ballygarrett died during the course of the project and in some ways these funerals helped me reconnect with my home village once again,’ added Michael.
The project will be a resource for people and also a great way for people not from the area to connect with the place.
Michael said: ‘We should never underestimate the simple power in being around your neighbours, walking and talking through back roads and fields.
‘In a world when so many of us retreat into our homes, the experience of sharing, walking, talking and simply being present is priceless.’
To coincide with this, Michael has been working with 5th and 6th class pupils in Ballygarrett NS via his work as a Heritage Specialist for the Heritage Council of Ireland.
During this time, he helped reintroduce pupils to local folklore, history and places of importance around the village. They did walking tours of the village and at one stage even hired a bus for the day to bring the children to the more remote areas of the parish.
Michael will present these findings to the school, who will in turn, use them as a local history resource for the children over the coming years.
Aside from this, there are many other positive outcomes that have resulted from this project. One is the bringing together of a group of locals to clean up an old Holy Well and Graveyard in Kiltresk, a site of huge importance in the area for centuries, while Michael has also setup a dedicated Facebook page called The Macamores, which will be used to present local material into the future.