Culture and Heritage Under the cultural pillar of IRD Duhallow’s strategic framework it is recognised that improved quality of life allows for greater creativity and identity within communities which in turn fosters artistic, traditional and cultural movements. The rich, unique heritage of the Duhallow region is long extolled as a distinctive resource to be valued and conserved and many valuable projects undertaken recently fall within this category. Preserving traditional music; Father & Son Eoin & Raymond O’Sullivan showcasing some sliabh luachra traditional music in the James O’Keeffe Institute Newmarket.
Historic Grave Training Community groups in Duhallow have surveyed and published grave monuments and biographical detail from 28 graveyards since 2013. In that time a group of committed individuals have built an online resource which has deep personal benefits, connecting individuals and far flung families with their own particular graveyards plots. Genealogy tourists can use the online database www.historicgraves.com to identify individual graveyard plots Maura and Catherine Nee Curtin and easily find those same graves by reminiscing about their father Denny using the GPS coordinates published with John Curtin as part of historic grave recordings in Clonfert Graveyard. each headstone. The work of surveying the graveyards has involved the recording and transcribing of the headstone inscriptions in the burial grounds through the much-valued work of community volunteers, members of the Duhallow Ancestry Group and RSS/Tús workers. With funding secured under the current LEADER Programme 2014–2020, IRD Duhallow is currently facilitating community-based training in the recording of the stories attached to these historic graves, in the North Cork LEADER area. The importance of noting these stories cannot be overstated, as each generation has their own memories and recollections of the people who went before them, which eventually fade with the passage of time. Stories are researched and told Group discussions occurring as part of historic grave training field using the 4 W’s approach work, this photograph was taken at Glenamuckla Newmarket (who did what, where where Thady Collins recalled his father’s stories about civil war events which occurred in this area. and when) and they are recorded using affordable digital toolsets. Through field work in the local graveyards and the recording of people’s stories, an expandable oral record of the locality will be created, showcasing Duhallow’s broad heritage with online multimedia resources available for all to access. Census and Genealogy Training In September 2019 two workshops entitled ‘Introduction to Genealogy, Local History and Heritage’ and ‘Ireland in the early 1900s – Census and History’ were hosted. Based on the premise that it is very important to know your own family tree, participants
learned of the technological advances that make it now possible to undertake research on one’s own family lineage, along with the importance of preserving artefacts for future generations. Training in searching the 1901 and 1911 censuses was also facilitated, and a great deal local history was also incorporated. Sliabh Luachra Summer School Helping to ensure that the old traditional dance steps are Dermot Jones of Newmarket Pipe Band, who not lost Bruach na Carraige organised a Centenary Commemoration event, Rockchapel plays a central role in both points out some of the original Instruments that were damaged in the 1919 attack by the R.I.C preserving and reviving such dances for future generations to enjoy. The 2019 Sliabh Luachra Summer School managed by keen historian Jack Roche, invited Patrick O’Dea who is one of the last remaining masters of this old traditional dancing to Sliabh Luachra for a 2week advanced training programme. Patrick who is based in Roscommon learned his steps from renowned step dancer Joe O’Donovan in Cork. Members of Ceoiltoiri Sliabh Luachra participated in this workshop. Such dances are very structured and uniquely they each have their own tune. This type of traditional dancing originated in North Kerry in the 1700’s by Donnacha O’Mora and many of these tunes Patrick O’Dea one of the only masters in traditional and dances can be seen in Ceoiloiri Sliabh Luachras Irish dancing in Ireland Show ‘A Musical Journey through the History of who delivered advanced workshops in Bruach na Ireland’. Weekly seisiuns were held for the summer Carraige as part of the Sliabh Luachra Summer months in Rockchapel too with interested guests School 2019 Programme. coming from far afield to experience the homely feel of Bruach na Carraige and the variety of tunes, stories, yarns and dances all very distinctive and unique to the region. Heritage Centres In addition to all these activities in Rockchapel, visitors to the region and locals are guaranteed a night’s entertainment in heritage centers in Freemount, Laharn, Foilagohig, and Aubane from seisiuns to cross road dancing and everything in between a real authentic experience.
Local historian Raymond O’Sullivan and musician Timmy O’Connor at a reenactment of a ‘Strawing’ as part of Scullyfest 2019.
Participants taking part in Census training held in the James O’Keeffe Institute to gain an insight into how to access such records effectively.
Some of the community team who travelled to Spike Island as part of historic grave field work, included is Der Kiely, late of Cullen RIP and his sister Ann, listening to the re-enactment of a military court which would have sentenced their father Roger Kiely to internment on Spike Island.
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