The Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) is delighted to announce that Cuimhneamh an Chláir / Clare Memories have joined as our latest member.
Cuimhneamh an Chláir is an independent, community based charity that was founded in 2009 with the aim of recording the people and stories of an older time in Co. Clare, and safeguarding those stories in a publicly available archive. They pride themselves in documenting the memories, experiences, customs and traditions that characterise Co. Clare.
Integral to the work they do, Cuimhneamh an Chláir train volunteers known as ’cuairteóirí’ (visitors), to visit people in their own communities to record their stories. This is in homage to the old tradition of ‘going on cuaird’; a practice which centres on respectful listening and on conversation with the elders of a community.
The Cuimhneamh an Chláir archive contains 100+ recordings and transcripts of community wisdom, stories and connections to place.
Paula Carroll, Project Coordinator at Cuimhneamh an Chláir said:
“As Ireland’s only community-led, countywide oral history archive, Cuimhneamh an Chláir is continually searching for new methods of making our archive accessible, in truly meaningful ways.
With expert guidance and support from the Digital Repository of Ireland we look forward to expanding the reach and accessibility of these oral histories, in particular to the communities who created this rich repository in the first place.”
DRI Interim Director Lisa Griffith added:
“Clare Memories are doing a remarkable job at ensuring that the traditions, culture and history of their county are captured and preserved. We are proud to partner with them through our membership scheme to help them preserve their digital collections for the long term. They are leaders nationally in this area and we look forward to learning from them as well as helping them to make their collections accessible to new and broader audiences.”
Cuimhneamh an Chláir join a growing number of local authority archives that are providing access and long-term preservation for collections through membership of DRI. Visit our membership page to learn more about DRI membership opportunities. We provide regular updates on collection publications on our Twitter page and you can also follow us on Instagram to uncover more treasures in the Repository.
Image: Logo of Cuimhneamh an Chláir / Clare Memories.
