RTE’s Mary Kennedy has launched IT Carlow’s 1916 Centenary Commemoration Programme that features a series of exhibitions, seminars and lectures from now until the end of November.
Launching the programme on behalf of IT Carlow, the popular Nationwide presenter spoke of her discovery of her own family’s links with Carlow and their involvement in the 1916 era. Her personal insight was followed by a seminar, by Carlow native Professor Paul Horan of Trinity College Dublin (TCD), on how to trace genealogy using archival material of the time.
Speaking at the launch Dr. Patricia Mulcahy, President of IT Carlow, thanked Professor Horan for his role as advisor to the Institute in developing the 1916 commemorative programme, and the cross-institutional committee members – comprising staff and students - of the 1916 commemoration programme for their sterling work.
“Our 1916 programme, with its strong local context, certainly shows that our Carlovian ancestors had their own significant part to play in Irish independence. We want this great celebration of our history and our independence over the coming months to be one we can share and enjoy as a community and I am certain that the many exhibitions, seminars and lectures taking place to the end of the year will stimulate discussion and debate around the Rising and give us all the opportunity to engage with this unique time in Ireland’s history”, commented Dr. Patricia Mulcahy.
IT Carlow’s 1916 programme features six separate exhibitions. These include an exhibition in March showcasing the involvement of Carlow’s O’Hanrahan family in the 1916 Rising that will feature private family materials, as well as photographs and images from archive. Replicating Dublin Street, opening 26th March at Dublin Street, Carlow in association with Carlow Tourism, will recreate, through posters and pictures, the commercial life of Carlow town in 1916. September will see the opening of an exhibition, curated by IT Carlow art graduate Paula McCulloch, on sporting stories of the 1916 era and the Carlow people involved in same – a must for history buffs and sports fans alike. A special student exhibition, entitled Reflections on 1916 and focusing on the values, ideals and aspirations of the 2016 generation, will open at IT Carlow’s main campus and run for the month of November.
A very special exhibition by three visual artists and lecturers at IT Carlow Wexford Campus will open at Visual Arts Centre in November. Stormy Petrel/Guairdeall is a collaboration between Alanna O’Kelly, Brian Hand and Orla Ryan and comprises a series of art works that include performance, sound and publication. The artists examine the role of women couriers as ‘human telegraphs’ who memorised the Proclamation on their journeys out of Dublin on Easter Monday morning. The exhibition, commissioned by the GPO as part of the national 1916 centenary commemorative, will be on show in the GPO in April before moving to Visual later this year.
Upcoming seminars include Life and Business in 1916 Carlow, delivered by Carlow author and historian Jimmy O’Toole. A seminar on 14th April will provide an insight into Carlow natives Matt Walker and Marie Nic Shiubhlaigh by their descendant Dave Kenny. Matt Walker is responsible for printing Irish War News, Padraig Pearse’s historic first communiqué from the GPO. Marie Nic Shiubhliagh was involved in the establishment of the Abbey Theatre and played the title role of Cathleen Ni Houlihain on its opening night.
Forthcoming lectures to be delivered as part of IT Carlow’s 1916 programme include a presentation, by Carlow Historical & Archaeological Society, on the novelist, Gaelic Leaguer and IRB member Micheál O hAnnracháin, who played an important part in the Rising and was executed in May 1916. It will be delivered by Dr. Conor Kostik, O hAnnracháin’s biographer. Staying on the same historical figure, Micheál O hAnnracháin’s last lecture will be reenacted by Professor Paul Horan from TCD, whilst fire service historian and researcher, Las Fallon, will deliver Dublin Fire Brigade and the Irish Revolution.
IT Carlow will also take part in Proclamation day 2016 (15th March), on which there will be a raising of the Irish flag and a reading, by students Maria Byrne and Ciara Byrne, of the 1916 proclamation.