2013 Press Releases
Roadshow to unearth historical treasures
A ‘Revolutionary Decade Roadshow’ will be held in Nemo Rangers GAA complex this Saturday (20 April) 11am-3pm to unearth material on the period 1912-1923.
The event – which is free and open to all– follows on from the success of the first roadshow, which took place in Clonakilty last December and which attracted international attention as a result of the discovery on the day of the last known photographs of Michael Collins, taken just minutes before his death in west Cork on 22 August 1922. The roadshow is hosted by the School of History in UCC and the Cork City and County Archives.
Anyone who has any documents (e.g. official correspondence, private letters, diaries, pictures, etc.), stories, artefacts from this ‘revolutionary decade’ – or indeed are simply interested the events that took place during it - are invited to meet and discuss same with professional archivists and expert historians, in a friendly, informal setting.
Also present on the day will be a number of local & national historical groups with a particular specialism in this period, such as the Irish Volunteers Commemorative Organisation, the Irish Labour History Society, the Irish Women’s History Society, and the Western Front Association, among others. Members of the public can browse their exhibits, purchase commemorative items, register as members, and so on. Members of historical re-enactment groups, dressed in period attire, will also be present, as members of the IRA, Crown forces etc., and will deliver short talks ‘in character’ about their aims, their equipment, and so on. Finally, there will be a special participatory session devoted to younger members of the audience.
Roadshow co-organiser Gabriel Doherty of UCC’s School of History says: "The event is being organised in response to public demand following the first roadshow. We are very keen to emphasise that the event is not just for the public, but it is by the public, for it is they – their memories, their artefacts, their documents, their interests – who are the stars of the show. In many ways Cork was the real epicentre of the ‘revolutionary decade’ in modern Irish history, and it is no accident that many of the defining events of the period took place in the county, and many of the key individuals came from here. So we wish to invite all the residents of the modern city to come and talk with us, and with each other, about the role of the people of Cork during those momentous years in the life of the city, and the country."
For more information contact Gabriel Doherty in the School of History, UCC, at 021 4902783, or g.doherty@ucc.ie The Nemo Rangers GAA complex, off the South Douglas Road in Cork city.