An innovative community-based initiative will be launched on Friday November 11 in the National Museum of Ireland – Country Life, Turlough Park. The Community Archive Network launch will showcase the work of communities from Ballinrobe, Louisburgh/Killeen in Mayo and Oughterard, Co Galway.
These communities have been working with the Museum’s Education and Outreach Department since 2009. The participating groups have collected, preserved and made accessible their local histories online. Each group has developed a website designed to encourage active participation from a global audience.
By creating a Community Archive website this information is digitally saved for posterity. Each site is regularly updated to enable people with links to each locality to contribute their own information for inclusion on the community website. The groups have joined together to form a network of sites so they can share knowledge, skills and resources and cross-promote their websites.
Ballinrobe continues to blaze a trail with the use of new media technology such as heritage maps and trails downloadable to your smart phone www.historicalballinrobe.com . The Louisburg-Killeen website went live recently and will continue to expand its archive www.louisburgh-killeenheritage.org
In conjunction with this community project, the Museum of Country Life has developed a website www.ouririshheritage.org which will also be launched.
