An Ireland-based oral history organisation, Irish Life and Lore, invites educators and scholars with an interest in Celtic Studies to browse its rich archive of audio material and books.
Founded in 1990 by Tralee-based oral historians Maurice and Jane O’Keeffe for the purpose of preserving oral history across Ireland, Irish Life and Lore has compiled, catalogued and archived over 3,000 hours of audio material, arranged into Oral History Collections.
Each themed collection captures a version of the past, which represents the views and sentiments of Irish communities and explores particular aspects of historical experience that are rarely recorded. Many important topics are covered in the collections, including the Irish revolutionary period, the arts, sport, literature, emigration, local history, folklore, family history and much more.
Some popular Oral History Collections within the archive are:
This archive is valuable to those who are interested in, or involved in, social or local Irish research, education, modern history, social history, genealogy, sociology and linguistics. Irish Life and Lore’s work is commissioned by government Departments, Local Authorities, universities, businesses and professional bodies.
Visit the archive and browse Oral History Collections and individual recordings at
www.irishlifeandlore.com.
*This article first appeared in IrishCentral Mar 25, 2019.