Tag Archives: Clare Memories

NEW voices and new stories collected as part of the Cuimhneamh an Chláir archive of oral history will be aired next Monday night, as part of the Bealtaine Festival of creativity in older age. At the online event, from 7.30pm on May 31, Paula Carroll will host an evening of memories and stories from Clare’s older citizens. In recent times, Cuimhneamh an Chláir has welcomed new members through the Clare Volunteer Centre and they have been recording and transcribing more stories for the online archive, Clarememories.ie. Topics in the latest round of collecting include the scourge of TB in 1940s Doolin; the cheapness of workers’ lives on the Shannon Scheme; pipe-smoking grannies; dead bodies in the yard, and houses that weren’t there. On the last day of Bealtaine, Cuimhneamh an Chláir is inviting all interested people to a Zoom gathering to listen to these new voices and stories. To register your interest, e-mail at info@clarememories.ie A zoom link will be …

AFTER what has been a incredibly tough year for nursing home staff, residents and their families, a unique oral history project is hoping to spark reminiscences about times long before the threat of Covid-19. Cuimhneamh an Chláir has dipped into its extensive archive to compile an album of Christmas stories which it is distributing to every nursing home in the county. “We celebrated our tenth anniversary last year and were delighted that we got to mark it,” said Leonard McDonagh, Chairperson of Cuimhneamh. “Some people who attended our celebrations, including the late Chris Droney, are no longer with us and that’s a huge loss. We’re also conscious that many people in nursing homes have contributed their stories and memories to our archive. We wanted to give something back to them and that’s why we created the CD.” The album contains voices from all over Clare and many colourful memories of Christmases past. Among the traditions described are preparing the house, …