[Image above: Ports, Past and Present logo.]
The Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) is pleased to announce that a new collection – Ports, Past and Present – has been published in the Repository by the Ports, Past and Present project. The project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Ireland Wales Co-operation Programme and is a collaboration between University College Cork (UCC), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, Aberystwyth University and Wexford County Council
This collection is an archive of the creative outputs, documentary films, heritage stories and other publications of the Ports, Past and Present Project. The Irish Sea basin forms a distinct node of histories, economies, and identities. Between 2020 and 2023, the Ports, Past and Present project considered five very different ports and their communities on either side of the sea: Dublin Port, Rosslare Harbour, Holyhead, Fishguard and Pembroke Dock.
The project has worked to enhance engagement among port town communities with their own rich heritage and that of the Irish Sea, and to use that heritage in promoting tourism and deepening a sense of shared identity. This was completed through the co-production, with communities, of over 200 online heritage stories, high-quality documentary films, 12 creative commissions, community-focused events, tourism networks including free heritage tourism training, and a heritage tourism app. The collection consists of 353 items and sub-collections explore the themes of location as well as format. You can explore the collection through the Repository now: https://doi.org/10.7486/DRI.ht259b362
You can keep up to date with the Ports, Past and Present project on the news section of their website. You can keep up to date with all of DRI’s new collections by signing up to our newsletter.