Children’s collection of Cork folklore goes online
SOME eighty years ago the Irish Government commissioned a most wonderful undertaking; namely a collection of folklore material from the school children of Ireland, between the years of 1935 and 1937. This collection, which is held in U.C.D. contains close to half a million pages recorded by close to 5,000 primary school children throughout the twenty six counties.
The National Folklore Collection ‘School Collection’ for County Cork is now available online. The volumes from the Schools’ Collection have been published on www.dúchas.ie on a county by county basis since the end of 2013 and last week it was announced that the materials from Co. Cork and County Offaly have now been digitised.
This is an absolute treasure trove of information, which gives an invaluable insight into the ways of old. Within the collection for County Cork are numerous references to some of the key figures and sites of the county such as St. Gobnait and the Blarney Stone and it is hoped that the collection will encourage local groups to look at the folklore and heritage of their parishes today. To see the press release in relation to the collection, same is available in english nó as gaeilge ar www. corkcoco.ie/heritage.
Much of the folklore held in the School’s Collection relates to rural Ireland and rural Ireland has very much been a strong focus by Government on a national level, particularly with the announcement of the Town and Village Renewal Scheme in August of this year. Only last week, rural Ireland was given another boost with the announcement by Minister Humphries of a €5 million initiative ‘ to stimulate economic development in rural towns and their hinterlands’ – known as the REDZ initiative (Rural Economic Development Zones). This will build on the success of the 2015 pilot scheme of the same name, which saw €3.8 million being provided to projects across Ireland. The over-arching aim of the scheme is to “ensure that rural areas have strong economic and social centres that in turn support a higher quality of life for both town dwellers and those who live in the rural hinterlands into the future” by supporting projects that are of “greatest economic need which can make better use of local assets to generate economic activity”.
The 2016 REDZ scheme will provide up to 80 per cent financial support for proposed projects, with the balance of costs to be provided from other sources (e.g. Local Authorities, business interests or community-based funding). More information on the scheme is available online at www.corkcoco.ie/heritage.
As we look ahead to events over the coming few days, there really is plenty on offer. One of the year’s highlights from a heritage perspective takes place on Friday, September 30, in Cork City Hall. This will be the eighth Celebrating Cork Past Family Heritage Exhibition. Running from 10am to 6pm, it promises to be a fantastic day, free and for all the family, where the public get to sample the vast variety of heritage on offer in Cork City and County and talk to those groups and individuals that are our heritage ambassadors.
There will be many groups from the mid and north Cork areas, including representations from Mourneabbey and Buttevant to name a few. The day will also feature talks by Gerry White and the Cobh Animation Team and this year, for the first time, a commemorative programme for the day will also be available. Only a few hundred of these have been published and they will be available on the day only on a first come first served basis.
Also on September 30th, and in the comfort of one’s home, one can get to watch the new series of Building Ireland, with the very first episode relating to ‘Fortress Spike Island’. The programme will document the history and former uses of the island and promises to be a fantastic show. It will air on RTÉ One at 8.30pm.
This weekend will also see a number of further events. On Saturday 1st October, a wonderful one day conference, organised by the Cork Branch of the Western Front Association, will take place in the Ambassador Hotel, Cork City. The title of the event is ‘Ireland and the Great War’ and a number of superb speakers have been lined up for the day, including Cork’s Gerry White. All are welcome to attend this event, which commences at 9.30am. Tickets for the conference are €15 and can be purchased on the door on the day or at Liam Ruiséal’s Book Shop on Oliver Plunkett Street, Cork City – Oliver Plunkett of course having been the 17th century R.C. Archbishop who became the first new Irish Saint in close to 700 years, and Liam Ruiséals bookshop, celebrating its 100th year in business this year.
On Sunday 2nd October there are two commemorative events to take note of. The first of these will be in Kiskeam, where the Kiskeam Brass Band will perform after 11a.m. mass in commemoration of the centenary year and to further commemorate Thomas Ashe. Later that day, at 2pm in Carrigaline, 1916 is being commemorated by the undertaking of a Garden of Remembrance, which will be opened officially by the Mayor of County Cork Cllr. Séamus McGrath. The Centenary Garden is located at Millwood, Carrigaline and all are welcome to attend this event.
October is a month that will see a number of heritage week events take place, and next week’s article will take a look ahead to many of the events on offer.