Dún na Sí Amenity and Heritage Park in Moate has recently launched a unique new public memory project, and are seeking collaborators who would like to work with them on this new activity.
The Dún na Sí Memory Project aims to gather, commemorate, and celebrate a new collection of rural inter-generational oral history memories from people living in the locality, wider community, and region.
To begin the project, Dun na Sí are looking to work with interested grandparents and grandchildren, who would be filmed together for a short casual interview about their childhoods, and the differences between this experience in the past and today.
The interviews will result in the production of a number of short videos, which we will be shared and preserved for future consultation as part of the wider Dún na Sí Memory Archive. This is a special opportunity for two generations of a family to uniquely mark their place in the history of the Midlands for future generations to appreciate!
The Dún na Sí Heritage Park was initially created to preserve and share the stories and traditions of the Irish rural past, a guiding force which it carries out to this day through replica traditional buildings, educational displays, guided tours, music, dance, and storytelling.
Over the years that Dún na Sí has been open to the public, a visit to the Heritage Park has served as a memory prompt for thousands of visitors, who are often eager to share their own personal experiences of living in a rural Irish farming landscape.
Over the years, the Park employees have heard wonderful memories and experiences from members of the local community and the wider public, but these have unfortunately gone officially undocumented for the future.
In their role as a community heritage centre, Dún na Sí are beginning The Dún na Sí Memory Project to carry out contemporary memory collection to build a memory and local oral history archive for the organisation and region.
The Dún na Sí Memory Project is kindly supported by Westmeath County Council and the Creative Ireland initiative. Dún na Sí would love to hear from potential participants who would like to share their stories with them.
Enquiries regarding the project can be made by contacting General Manager Donna Gilligan at 090 64 81183, or via email at [email protected].
Follow Dún na Sí on their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/DunNaSiPark/ for updates on this project, or visit http://www.dunnasi.ie/ to find out more about what they offer!
