COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF RATHFARNHAM/TEMPLEOGUE-TERENURE AREA COMMITTEE
Tuesday, October 09, 2018
MOTION NO. 5
MOTION: Councillor D. Looney
"That this Area Committee asks the Chief Executive to consider the roll-out of the Historians In Residence scheme, currently underway in the City Council area, to the area under the remit of this Committee."
REPORT:
Historians in Residence
There has been 8 history/heritage events, two exhibitions and three heritage walks as part of Ballyroan library programme of events held to date this year.
These included two events for children; ‘Irish History Live’ facilitated an event in July which featured the history of Irelands great women from Grace O'Malley to Countess Markevicz and in August children were invited to rebuild ‘Rathfarnham Village of 100 years ago’ with Lego. These events were held with the aim of promoting the heritage of the area and in fostering an interest in history.
The events for Adults have ranged from those focused on the local area, such as;
‘Rathfarnham touched by faith- surrounded by history’ which was a guided walk of the historic Whitechurch area which was part of the library’s heritage week programme of events, which was attended by over 50 participants.
Two talks were given by local historian David Power on ‘The Great War- the Rathfarnham Connection’ and ‘The History of Tallaght Aerodrome’ which was attended by 47 people.
To those with a more international focus, such as;
‘America's entry into WWI’ and a talk on ‘Martin Luther King and the US Civil Rights Movement’ to mark the 50th Anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King.
All of the events and exhibitions have proven to be very popular with the library’s patrons.
As part of the Redline Book Festival leading historians Liz Gillis, Sinead McCoole and Dr. Kate O’Malley will be joined by RTE broadcaster and author Joe Duffy for a series of fascinating lectures and discussions on how times have changed for Irish women in politics and society. It will take place in the Civic Theatre on 13th October.
It is our intention, budget permitting that we will continue to host history and heritage themed events throughout next year which will include exhibitions, talks, with a focus on the Irish War of Independence and a weekly genealogy course run over four weeks that will provide information to participants on how to research their family tree.
The Historian in Residence scheme for South Dublin County Council could be looked at in conjunction with the Heritage and Arts Officers subject to budget resources permitting.