Tag Archives: Oral history

TUAMGRANEY historian and author Dr Tomás Mac Conmara is set to spend time in the US state of Arkansas, where he will work with the Irish Cultural Society of Arkansas to help build a project to document the memories and tradition of the Irish American community living there. The project is being funded by the Irish Abroad Unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Consulate of Ireland, Austin, who have invited Dr Mac Conmara to bring his expertise in the field of oral heritage stateside. Dr Mac Conmara is recognised as one of Ireland’s leading oral historians, with multiple national projects including with the Local Government Management Agency, Dublin Port, the National Museum of Ireland, the Defence Forces, as well as several local authorities. The project in Arkansas is called Deep Memories: The Arkansas Irish Oral Heritage Project and aims to digitally record, preserve and disseminate the unique memories, testimony and tradition of members of the Irish American …

FORMER members of An Garda Síochána, and their families, are being encouraged to dig out their memories and memorabilia, as a new oral history is compiled to mark the centenary of force next year. The project, which will be an online archive, is being coordinated by Garda Headquarters with the assistance of members of the Garda Siochána Retired Members Association (GSMRA), including Clare-based Billy Saunderson. “In February 1922, General Michael Collins and others met in the Gresham Hotel and set up the Civic Guard, which later became An Garda Síochána,” the retired Garda sergeant explained. “To mark next year’s centenary, we are collecting as many memories and items as we can to produce an archive and oral history collection. We’re really appealing to families to bring this project to the attention of people who were in the force. 5% of our members are over 90 years of age. They didn’t grow up in the era of WhatsApp and Snapchat, so, …