Save Our Stories

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An Oral History Project

‘Save our Stories’ is an Oral History Project to preserve the living memories and stories of Kildare residents is being launched with an open Seminar on in the Kilcullen Heritage Centre. The event will provide an introduction to Oral History and launch a pilot training course for Kildare participants on recording oral histories of the County.

About

Oral histories seek to capture and preserve first hand information of life stories or events that would otherwise be lost.

There is a growing interest in recording oral histories among local heritage groups and local history enthusiasts in Kildare. Kildare Leader Partnership invites participants to acquire the knowledge, understanding and skills to record the oral history of County Kildare and in doing so allow Kildare to develop an archive of local oral recordings.

The seminar

The seminar will be held on the 20th October in the Kilcullen Heritage Centre. It will be an introduction to the fascinating subject of Oral History open to all members of the public. Topics will include:

  • Oral Histories in Ireland- An overview
  • Introduction to the National Folklore Collection in Dublin
  • Examples of Oral Recording Projects in Ireland
  • Introduction to the Kildare Leader Partnership Project
Time: 10.00am - 12.30pm Saturday 20th October 2012 Venue: Kilcullen Heritage Centre, Main St. Kilcullen, County Kildare. Admission: free

The Training Programme

Closing Date: Monday 29th of October 2012

The training will include the following topics:

  • An Introduction to Folklore, Oral History and the National Folklore Collection
  • Outcomes and uses of Folklore and Oral Histories
  • Preparation for the Project
  • Sources of Local Research
  • Interviewing Skills - Theory and Practice
  • Equipment and Archiving- Theory and Practice
  • Transcribing and Publishing
  • Copyright and Data Protection
  • Radio skills - Introduction
DATE Content to be covered Venue
Saturday 3rd November 2012 Intro to National Folklore Collection
Uses of Oral History
Naas Community Centre McAuley Place
10am – 3pm
Wednesday 14th Nov 2012 Project preparation
Sources for Oral History
Naas Community Centre McAuley Place
7pm - 9pm
Saturday 24th November 2012 Interview skills Naas Community Centre McAuley Place
10am – 3pm
Wednesday 5th December 2012 Equipment and archiving
Theory & practice
Naas Community Centre McAuley Place
7pm – 9 pm
Saturday 15th December 2012 National Folklore Archive - Site visit
Recording and editing
National Folklore Collection, UCD
Christmas break
Wednesday 16th January 2013 Copyright Naas Community Centre McAuley Place
10am - 3pm
Saturday 26th January 2013 Leixlip Library visit
Radio skills
Preparation Library
10am – 3pm
Wednesday 6th February 2013 Review session Naas Community Centre McAuley Place
7pm - 9pm
A final output from the course will be a CD containing oral recordings from the course participants.

The course will take place over a number of Saturdays and one evening a week or a combination.

The course will avail of the following resources:

  • National Folklore Collection at UCD
  • The recording studio in Leixlip Library
  • Use of the oral recording devices in the Local Studies section of Kildare Libraries Service (Newbridge)

The course will be a practical course with participants learning through doing.

Dates: Commencing Saturday 3rd November and running for approximately 8 weeks Venue: Naas Community Centre, Sallins Rd, Naas, County Kildare.


Tutors

Gillian Boland and Dr Kelly Fitzgerald have previously collaborated on educational and training projects in Higher Education and have complementary skills and experience in the field of Folklore and Education.

Gillian Boland

Gillian Boland has an Honours Degree in English Literature from London University, a post graduate degree in teaching from Greenwich University, UK and a post graduate diploma from the School of Education Trinity College. She lectured in communications studies in the UK for several years and currently runs a learning support department in Higher Education in Dublin. She conducted an extensive oral history project Through Different Eyes in the UK and is a member of the Oral History Network of Ireland.

Kelly Fitzgerald

Dr Kelly Fitzgerald studied in University College Dublin where she gained skills in ethnographic fieldwork through the disicpline of folklore. She was awarded her PhD entitled 'Céitinn Leabhar an tSeanchais: literary and oral interaction in Irish folklore' in 2009. Her research interests include the influence of the printed word on oral narratives, and the study of the creative process behind the verbal arts. She has collaborated on a number of creative projects that engage with oral histories acting as the catalyst for artisitc work.


Location

The Seminar

Date: Saturday 20th October 2012

Kilcullen Heritage Centre,
Main St.
Kilcullen,
County Kildare.

The Training Programme

Dates: Saturday 3rd November and running for approximately 8 weeks

Naas Community Centre,
Sallins Rd,
Naas,
County Kildare.


Participate

Participation Form

To participate in the seminar or the course download the form below, fill it out and return it by email to savingourstories@gmail.com

Download Participation Form

Contact & Enquires

For all other enquires or for more information please mail savingourstories@gmail.com or contact Deirdre Daly on  087 777 3348.