This Friday will see the publishing of the first episode of the new series of the Clare Oral History Podcast.
Produced by Paula Carroll, with sound supervision by Darragh Purcell, The Clare Oral History Podcast showcases the oral histories of Clare people recorded over the last 15 years in the county.
This year’s series will focus on some of the finest storytellers and carriers of traditional knowledge in the Cuimhneamh an Chláir archive.
It will give Clare people a chance to sit down and listen to evocations of times past in Clare.
The first episode features 88 year old Kitty Leyden, a well-known and much beloved figure in her native Cree and her adopted Tulla.
Her stories range from her fun-filled childhood in West Clare, to talking parrots, and from the cruelty of educators to how her parents’ match was made.
Listeners will find out what the “plucking of the gander” is, what to stuff a pigs bladder football with, and what the púca did to haws after Hallowe’en.
This episode was recorded live with an audience for Heritage Week.
In future episodes of the podcast, a number of evocations of the historic streetscapes of Clare towns will be heard, as well as stories of traditional farming and rural life, stories of children’s lives, of emigration and of the experiences of Clare women.
“Podcasting is the perfect way to share the treasures that are in the Cuimhneamh an Chláir archive” says project manager, Paula Carroll.
“Our interviews are audio interviews, they are for listening to, and podcasting is the supreme way to listen to stories these days.
“It’s a very powerful way to share our archive, because not everyone can come to our public events, or has the time to trawl through full interviews and transcripts of recordings.
“With the podcast you can choose when you listen, you can listen while doing other things, and you hear stories curated for you on experiences that are of interest to you.”
The Clare Oral History Podcast Series 2 will launch this coming Friday, October 4 and is free to download.
Episodes will be published every second Friday from Octover to December.
Earlier series of the podcast can also be found on all podcast providers.
The Clare Oral History Podcast is funded by The Ireland Funds Heart of the Community Fund.
Cuimhneamh an Chláir, also known as Clare Memories is an independent, voluntary charity, which digitally records, archives and shares the oral heritage of County Clare, through interviews with the county’s older citizens in its diverse communities. The organisation has been going for many years.
Cuimhneamh an Chláir is supported by The Heritage Council through its Heritage Organisations Support Fund.
Our archival project with the Digital Repository of Ireland is supported by the Community Heritage Grant Scheme.
Andrew Hamilton is a journalist, investigative reporter and blogger who has been working in the media in Ireland for the past 20 years. His areas of special interest include the environment, mental health and politics.