Fingal Oral Heritage Project

Fingal Oral Heritage Training

Want to capture stories that have never been told? The history of a life? Memories of events? Join members of Oral History Network Ireland for an introduction to project planning, ethical considerations, interview techniques and potential outputs. This free training is designed specifically for community participants.

Tuesday 4th March 2025, 5.45pm-9pm, Lusk Community Cultural Centre. Register here. 

Oral History Network Ireland

Arlene Crampsie is an historical geographer in UCD’s School of Geography and has been involved in oral history since working on the GAA Oral History Project from 2008. Her research lies at the intersection of Irish political, socio-cultural and environmental geographies, focusing on the evolution of everyday lives and landscapes using a combination of archives and oral histories.

Daniel Carey is the chair of the events committee of the Oral History Network of Ireland. A postdoctoral researcher based at the School of Communications in Dublin City University, his PhD was an oral history of Irish journalism. He has also worked at University College Dublin and the University of Limerick.

Fingal Audit of Oral Heritage Recordings

Photo: Peadar Bates of Donabate Historical Society (Mac Conmara Heritage Consulting)

Fingal County Council Heritage Office, with assistance from the Heritage Council, commissioned Mac Conmara Heritage Consulting in 2024 to undertake an audit of oral heritage recordings in Fingal.  The project aimed to identify recorded collections of oral heritage and folklore that have been undertaken over the decades, in both private and public bodies, as well as by individuals. This involved examining reels, cassette tapes, mini disks, VHS, Videos, Digital records, podcasts, links to online video pieces.  

A total of 676 recording items were identified, consisting of both long and short form interviews and recordings, with an estimated 750 interviewees from the Fingal area. The latter relates to thirty-five collections, with thirty-two holding institutions or collection holders. Fieldwork research at the National Museum of Northern Ireland, led to the discovery of a significant and little-known collection of seven sound recordings made in Fingal, as part of the Tape-Recorded Survey of Hiberno-English Speech (TRSHES) between 1972 and 1981. Nine of the collections (25%) were generated by national bodies including the National Folklore Collection, the GAA as well as RTE and TG4. Local heritage groups including Balbriggan, Garristown, Donabate and Swords Historical Societies, account for 20% of collection holders, who generated recordings for the purpose of local history research/ documentation.

The report can be viewed here.