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Oral histories
By Noreen Bowden | July 24, 2009
There has been a wonderful trend in recent years of collecting emigrants’ oral histories. Many of those contributing their memories are elderly, and these books, films and websites are an invaluable record of the struggles and triumphs of ordinary people, many of whom have extraordinary stories. Know of any other oral history projects? Drop me a line or fill in the comment box…
Britain
Irish Oral History Archive – a reference archive and resource for the contemporary and historical spoken narratives of Irish people at home and abroad, especially as they relate to the story of emigration.
MovingHere.org.uk: Luton Irish Forum – a variety of individuals detail their moves to England
I Only Came Over For a Couple of Years… 2005 – Interviews with Irish elders in England who arrived between the 1930s and 1960s. (Half-hour documentary, £7 plus postage and packaging)
Dunne, Catherine. An Unconsidered People: The Irish in London. Dublin: New Island, 2003 – a book detailing the experience of older emigrants.
Canada
A story to be told: Personal Reflections on the Irish emigrant experience in Canada (book)
Memories of the Past: Reflections from Ottawa’s Irish Drop-In group – a collection of memories and recipes
United States
Archives of Irish America – Interviews with a range of notable people in the New York Irish community, discussing their life history and sense of identity.
When Mem’ry Brings Us Back Again – the stories of 35 people who moved to New York between 1927- 1964. Available as both book and DVD.
An Irish (American) Story (film, 1997) – The 96-year-old grandmother of the filmmaker recalls her emigration as a 17-year-old in 1911.
The Gathering: Collected Oral Histories of the Irish in Montana – Funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs, this project is based in the University of Montana.
Irish Dance in Arizona – Tracing the history of Irish dance in the American southwest since 1942.
Crossroads Irish Oral History Project Archives of the San Francisco Bay Area – Funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs, the project looks at the Irish and Irish-American communities of the San Francisco Bay area.
Molloy College – documenting the Irish of Long Island and the greater New York area.
University of Notre Dame – Director of Notre Dame’s Department of Anthropology Deb Rotman is working on a developing an online archive of Irish-American oral histories.
Australia
The National Library of Australia – has a number of Irish-related recordings in its oral history catalog.
New Zealand
National Library of New Zealand – has several oral history collections; contact them for Irish-related materials.
Global and Irish-based
GAA Oral History Project – recording what the GAA has meant to the Irish people, in their own words.
Breaking the Silence: Staying at home in an emigrant society – examines the impact of emigration on those who stayed through 78 oral narratives and 12 text contributions.
Returning to Ireland
Narratives of Migration and Return – Stories of returning emigrants
Coming Home: “Stories of young men and women who left Ireland and, after many years in exile, closed the circle of emigration by coming home again� – produced by the Safe Home project – also see their True Lives page.
Topics: publications and research | 2 Comments »
June 25th, 2010 at 9:17 am
In December 2008 I published a collection of 24 narratives of Irish immigrants and some descendants to the Wellington area of New Zealand – ‘Irish Voices’. Available online: http://www.nzbookshop.co.nz
April 8th, 2011 at 1:28 pm
[...] I’ve updated my GlobalIrish.ie list of Irish oral history projects. Am I missing any? Let me [...]