Cork Folklore Project

Since 1996, the Cork Folklore Project has digitally recorded, preserved and shared the voices, memories, heritage and folklore of almost 1,000 people in Cork. It is recognised as a leader in the oral history community nationally, with innovative approaches to documentation and outreach. This includes the work with health organisations in Cork, to investigate the health potential for oral history, the Cork Memory Map using technology to link memory to place, the annual free journal, access provision through their community-based archive, support and mentoring of community groups and individuals, and collaboration with day care centres and nursing homes, to document the life stories of older people.

In 2017, the Project received Good Causes funding for a digital Memory Wall, which enabled the presentation of over 150 segments of audio recordings from their broader collection. This was then installed at the North Cathedral Visitor Centre for the public to visit, free of charge, and engage with material. In addition, they utilised this more accessible material for school tours, old folk’s groups and other visitors to draw attention to broader material. Funding in 2018 further developed the Online Catalogue, which presents users with a detailed breakdown of the collection and the capacity to easily search for material relating to their area of interest. This project has been ongoing for over seven years and has involved in-depth international research in order to deliver the most user-friendly and effective formula, thus expanding the reach of material to the broader public.

We’re proud to support such a hard-working team and important heritage project.