BITE-SIZED HISTORY
Published in Issue 4 (July/August 2023), Volume 31‘AFTER HOURS’ FUNDING SCHEME ANNOUNCED
Cultural institutions will be delighted by news of more funding for the Night-Time Economy Support Scheme and the new ‘After Hours’ strand. Members of the Irish Museum Association and the Museum Standards Programme for Ireland can now apply for up to €10,000 in funding to host late-night events in their institutions. Exhibitions, theatre, live podcasts and night classes are some of the events that potentially fall within the funding strand. Recognising the contributions of museums to Irish society, Minister Catherine Martin noted that ‘they are the keepers of our history, reflect our cultural identity and provide a space for creativity which future generations can enjoy. They play a vital role in smaller towns and villages, supporting open conversations, promoting positive mental health and are inclusive to all.’
PEACE PROCESS MUSEUM FOR DERRY
One of the new Dublin City Council plaques—this one on Westmoreland Street commemorating firemen Christopher Doherty and Peter Burke, who lost their lives fighting a fire at Lafayette’s photographers in 1891.
Against the backdrop of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, there has been much reflection on how best to commemorate the signing of the document and the peace process more broadly. The Department for Communities, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the National Lottery have now announced funding of £2.8 million towards the construction of a Peace Process Museum, as an extension to Derry’s Gasyard Heritage Centre. With Derry the birthplace of John Hume and Martin McGuinness, the museum hopes to be ‘a space for education, reflection, and engagement with the history of the conflict and the ongoing peace process’. In other anniversary news, the exhibition ‘Agreement’ by artist Amanda Dunsmore is currently touring across the North. Dunsmore, artist-in-residence at the Maze prison at the time of the Good Friday Agreement, has created a unique series of portraits examining the signatories of the document.
NEW DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL COMMEMORATIVE PLAQUES
In recent years Dublin City Council’s Commemorations Committee has erected plaques across the city in a new uniform design. Blue branding denotes civic history and green the revolutionary period. Walkers on Dublin’s Westmoreland Street may notice the first of a series of plaques with red branding, denoting a connection to the Dublin Fire Brigade. The city intends to place plaques at the four sites where members of the Dublin Fire Brigade (seven in total) have lost their lives on duty. In unveiling the plaque to Christopher Doherty and Peter Bourke, killed on duty at a fire at Lafayette’s photographers in 1891, Lord Mayor Caroline Conroy noted that ‘in unveiling this plaque today we remember the sacrifices made by two brave firemen in the service of their city and its citizens. In doing so we are also acknowledging the great service that their successors in today’s Dublin Fire Brigade give to our city day in and day out.’
ROYAL HIBERNIAN ACADEMY AT 200
Congratulations to the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA), which marks its 200th birthday in 2023. Amongst the fourteen founding members of the RHA was Francis Johnston, architect of the General Post Office and Nelson’s Pillar. Currently located on Ely Place, the RHA’s original home at Academy House on Dublin’s Lower Abbey Street was destroyed in the flames of the Easter Rising. Plans for 2023 include marking the site of Academy House. The RHA’s Annual Show remains Ireland’s longest-running and largest exhibition of visual arts.
POETRY JUKEBOX
Visitors to Limerick’s People’s Park recently may have noticed the Poetry Jukebox, an interesting initiative funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries Programme 2012–2023. Members of the public can use the Poetry Jukebox to listen to poems commemorating the centenary of the revolutionary period. Turning a handle allows the listener to hear poems by leading poets like Paul Muldoon, Martina Evans, Seán Hewitt, Victoria Kennefick, Stephen Sexton, Chiamaka Enyi-Amadi, Padraig Regan, Aifric Mac Aodha, Nithy Kasa and Bebe Ashley. These poems were commissioned by UCD Library and can be enjoyed on the UCD Library Special Collections YouTube channel. Bringing the poems around the country, via the impressive mechanism of the Poetry Jukebox, is certainly a new kind of outreach for an Irish university.
THE TÁIN AT 50
This is a landmark year for iconic band Horslips, marking a half-century since the release of their album The Táin. Inspired by the Táin Bó Cúailnge, the concept album marked a significant breakthrough for the group, who wore their history influences strongly. The band’s Jim Lockhart has spoken about the strong influence of composer Seán Ó Riada, and how ‘Mise Éire cleaned out everybody’s ears. Everybody said “What the hell is this? This is astonishing”.’ Marking a year of key milestones for the band, 2023 sees the release of the box set More Than You Can Chew, while an event in the forthcoming Dublin Festival of History will explore the band and their career.
MOORE STREET
Recent times have been interesting on Moore Street, with the Moore Street Market scheme from Dublin Town and Dublin City Council bringing new life to the street and supporting independent businesses and traders. Minister of State Patrick O’Donovan has now announced that a series of contracts have been placed by the Office of Public Works that will allow work to commence on the creation of a 1916 Commemoration Centre at 14–17 Moore Street. Competing visions for the street in recent years have focused on what kind of development is fitting, with controversies abounding around Henry Lane, Moore Lane and the 1916 battlefield area. Six years on from the Easter Rising centenary, it seems that things may finally be happening at 16 Moore Street.
