Pictures: New book launched as Callan students team up with Mount Carmel residents

Coláiste Abhainn Rí and Mount Carmel teamed up to release a new book created through a collaborative project between Transition Year students of Coláiste Abhainn Rí, their families, the residents of Mount Carmel Care Home and members of the community.

The book, ‘What Was It Like?’, was launched at Coláiste Abhainn Rí Secondary School in Callan on Wednesday. The book launch offered attendees the chance to meet the contributors, learn more about the project, and purchase a copy of What Was It Like?

It is the result of a project where Transition Year students interviewed a number of local people, including their families, Mount Carmel residents and members of the wider Callan community.

The intent was to create a social history document that preserves the rich personal and community histories of the residents of Callan and the wider surrounding areas. The students explored key moments from their interviewees’ lives, recording and documenting their experiences.

Retired principal Frank McKenna wrote the foreword, in which he reflects on the importance of preserving such stories.
“People, especially young people, who have been lucky enough to spend time with their grandparents, elderly relations, or neighbours know, or will know, that most people with long life experience are repositories of wisdom,” he says.

Mount Carmel manager Fergus Keane and Dr Joe Kearney, award-winning documentary maker, came up with a vision to collaborate with Coláiste Abhainn Rí.
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Fergus supported the residents in visiting the school, while Joe was responsible for bringing RTE on board. To prepare the students for this project, well-known producer of RTE’s Doc on One, Liam O’Brien, facilitated two workshops in the school where students involved in the project had an opportunity to voice their vision whilst gaining an insight into the interview process.

In Coláiste Ábhainn Rí, English and History teacher, Julia Ova acted as a conduit between Fergus, Joe, and the school, guiding the students through the process, facilitating interviews on the school premises, and edited the transcripts to shape the book.

“The collaboration between Coláiste Ábhainn Rí students, the residents of Mount Carmel, their families, and the broader Callan community has created a truly special project,” says Mr McKenna in the foreword. “It’s a living history, a collection of experiences, and a reminder to future generations to record their relatives’ life stories before it’s too late.”