Search is on for Kilkenny's oral history recordings - can you help?

Kilkenny County Council’s Heritage Office has launched a project to identify, locate and list all existing recordings of oral history made across or about the county.

The aim is to uncover invaluable stories, personal memories and local insights that have been captured over the decades, but which, in many cases, remain largely undocumented and unused.

Recordings of folklore, or any recollections of life in the county, documented on reel to reels, cassette tapes or digital devices, are sought.

The Audit of Oral Recordings for County Kilkenny is not only about voice recordings from professional collections but also shoeboxes full of old cassette tapes.

The project began in 2019 and now sees a second phase, aimed at finding many more precious recordings. There was a hugely positive response to the first phase of the project - 52 collections, a total of 1,230 recordings, were identified and listed.

The audit, which will be delivered by Mac Conmara Heritage Consulting, experts in the field of cultural heritage, will involve collaboration with local historians, cultural and heritage groups, libraries and communities, as well as a public call for anyone in possession of oral history recordings to come forward.

Regina Fitzpatrick, Heritage Officer for Kilkenny County Council, explained that the audit will, for the first time, compile a database reflecting what has been collected over the decades relating to Kilkenny.

The pandemic delayed the completion of the project until now, and, Regina said, they are very excited about what else they will find. Recordings that document the voices and memories of Kilkenny people, particularly those who have since passed away, are of immeasurable importance.
The information that will result will be of huge interest to the people of the county, both now and in the future.

Dr Tomás Mac Comara, Director of Mac Conmara Heritage, said they will work with people to bring the information together so we will have a clearer understanding of how many voices telling the stories of Kilkenny are on record.

The project is not seeking to physically take collections, but will compile information about the collections, like their location, format, content etc. Contact Mac Conmara Heritage Consulting on 087-916073 or macconmaraheritage@gmail.com.