Projects and Publications

Projects:

NIMC Specialist Collections – Mabel Colhoun collection

The Mabel Colhoun collection is a collection containing a wide variety of items from archives, photographs and private records to textile, costume, archaeology material and ethnography material.  Mabel Colhoun died in 1992 and this collection was donated to Derry City Council’s, Heritage and Museum Service by her family.

Mabel Colhoun was an active member of many local historical and archaeological societies across the North West.  She had an interest in many areas including archaeology and local history.  In 1940 Mabel began to record archaeological sites in the North West, she visited the sites often by bicycle and later by car, until the late 1970s.  She was a head teacher of a local school and was also active in local nursery groups.
 
The Mabel Colhoun Collection is very varied but it has been possible to put the items into a number of categories – mainly – correspondence, documents of historical interest, newspapers, household items, nursery related material, geology, archaeology, photographs and slides, and textiles.

Much of the written material and correspondence relates to her survey of Inishowen and the majority of newspaper cuttings are related to the history of Donegal and Derry. The household items are general and range from knitting kits to picnic sets – most of these items would not at present be regarded as of particular historical interest, however to have a collection which is representative of almost ninety years is significant in itself.  The nursery materials range from teaching booklets to posters used for teaching purposes in the classroom.  

Funding from the Northern Ireland Museums Council, Research Grant programme, has allowed the Heritage and Museum Service to box, label and cataloguing the collection.  A collection report detailing and listing the collection has been completed.

The report is available for download here.

Ireland - What was that about? 

This booklet reprints the text from the exhibition “Ireland – What Was That About ?– Toms and TOM remember.

It tells how the recent political and military conflict in Northern Ireland played a significant part in the lives of two groups of people from Great Britain. These groups are:

• Toms – or Tommies, slang for soldiers of the British Army.
In particular, Toms who served in Northern Ireland during ‘Operation Banner’, which ran from 1969 to 2007.

• TOM – or the Troops Out Movement and similar organisations. TOM was based in Great Britain and their members campaigned against the presence of the British
Army in Northern Ireland, calling for British political and military withdrawal.

Download 'Ireland - What was that about?' booklet

NIMC Specialist Collections - Archaeology Project

Between 1976 and 1980 a series of rescue/salvage archaeological excavations were carried out (almost continuously) in the centre of Derry under license (and principal funding) from the DOENI, mainly on bomb-sites. The sites pertained (mostly) to the seventeenth-century walled city of Londonderry rather than to the medieval and earlier sites that had preceded it. The excavations were rich in artefacts but perhaps not so informative in terms of the specific archaeological contexts. Many thousands of shards of post-medieval pottery and associated objects were retrieved. This is probably the largest collection of its kind in Ireland.

Various pieces of post-excavation work were in progress when, in 1984, the project was summarily evicted from its long-standing premises. The collection has remained in a storage room and is inaccessible to researchers, members of the public and to a degree, museum staff.

The collection is particularly important as the Heritage and Museum Service prepare to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Plantation 2009.

Funding from the Northern Ireland Museums Council has allowed the Heritage and Museum Service to begin work on the collection. A collection report detailing and listing the collection has been completed.

The report is available for download here.

Any requests or queries concerning the collection or publication information must be directed to the archivist at bernadette.walsh@derrycity.gov.uk or at the Harbour Museum 028 7137 7331

Valuing Heritage by Valuing Memories Project

Sharing the Past in the Present
Derry city Council Heritage and Museum Service is one of the four museum partners involved in this three-year reminiscence and recall project run by Reminiscence Network NI and funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Other museums include Craigavon, Newry and Mourne, and the Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh. The Project aims to preserve living heritage or lived experience by encouraging people of all ages to use the everyday activity of reminiscence to appreciate their life stories as a rich resource for themselves, their families and their communities.

Bringing the Museum to You

Reminiscence Loan Box Service
As part of the project, Derry City Council Heritage & Museum Service recently launched a loan box service, which aims to support individuals and community groups in reminiscence activity in many different localities and organisations throughout the local area.

Each box of ‘memories’ contains everyday objects that can be used as memory triggers for different types of reminiscence activities.

The boxes are accompanied with a resource file with useful suggestions, poems, stories and reading lists. Loan box themes currently available for loan from the Workhouse Museum Derry include;

Rural Life
Home Life
At the Seaside
1950’s
Leaving Home
Schooldays

Visiting Your Museum

Reminiscence Workshops
Plan a visit to your Derry Museum’s and have a great day out with our tailor –made reminiscence activities .We can enhance your experience of our permanent and temporary exhibitions by devising workshops to suit your groups specific needs. This includes support and advice from our resident reminiscence worker and use of the museum’s community facilities such as the training room, exhibition areas, activity rooms and other museum resources

Adult & community Learning

Reminiscence Training and Networking
Reminiscence training ‘Introduction to Reminiscence Work with Individuals and Small groups’ is also on offer several times a year. If you are interested in attending a training course or if you are a local network interested in creative reminiscence and heritage activity, please contact

Deirdre Doherty
Reminiscence Worker
Workhouse Museum
Derry
T 028 7131 8328
E deirdredoherty@rnni.org

Irish Historic Towns Atlas: Derry City Council

The Irish Historic Towns Atlas project was established in 1981. The aim of the project is to record the topographical development of a selection of Irish towns both large and small. Each town is published separately as a fascicle or folder and includes a series of maps complemented by a detailed text section. The Irish Historic Towns Atlas is part of a wider European scheme, with town atlases containing broadly similar information available for a number of countries. Thus Irish towns can be studied in their European context. The Royal Irish Academy, Dublin coordinates the publication and research. The Irish Historic Towns Atlas, Derry/Londonderry was published and launched in the Guildhall in December 2005; alongside W.S Ferguson’s catalogue of maps, plans and elevations of the city.

For further information contact: bernadette.walsh@derrycity.gov.uk
Tel: 028 7137 7331

North West Digital Film Archive

The North West Digital Film Archive Project is a partnership project with Derry City Council Heritage and Museum Service, Donegal County Museum and Archives, Donegal Arts Centre and the Nerve Centre, Derry. The project had two central aims:

· The development of an interactive learning resource and digital archive of life in Derry and Donegal in the twentieth century.

· The provision of an education program of ‘hands-on’ ICT workshops and creative projects for secondary schools and youth groups in the Derry and Donegal area.

The underlying ethos behind the Archive was that it should not be a heritage project alone but also an educational one, concerned with the application and usage of the archive, not just a static resource.

World War II memories – DVD

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the ending of World War II a range of events and resources were planned as part of the Their Past Your Future programme in 2005. The programme, funded by the Big Lottery in association with the Northern Ireland Museums Council resulted in a range of innovative projects. The Heritage & Museum Service of Derry City Council and the Causeway Museum Service produced a DVD containing a selection of personal testimonies from people who lived through the war. Participants from Coleraine, Limavady, Ballymoney and Derry included members of the Armed Forces, and civilians with stories from the Home Front on rationing, blackouts and the excitement surrounding the time with the arrival of so many different nationalities to these shores. The DVD is available for schools, libraries and local groups, from the Harbour Museum.

World War II Digitisation Project

As part of Their Past Your Future a selection of World War II artefacts and archives have been digitised and are available to view on the Derry City Council web site. http://www.derrycity.gov.uk/ww2

Plantation of Ulster Commemoration

In 2007 Derry City Council’s Heritage and Museum Service held a series of events to commemorate the Flight of the Earls in 1607. This was the beginning of an ambitious programme to mark the 400th anniversary of the Plantation of Ulster. The major event of 2008 was a conference in the city’s Guildhall to mark the 400th anniversary of the Sir Cathair O’Doherty Rebellion, assessing the role this event had on the subsequent plans for the Plantation of Ulster.

In 2009 we worked with the University of Ulster on a number of key conferences – The Plantation of Ulster 1609 – 2009 – A Laboratory for Empire

We will lead on this project, working with other sections within the City Council as well as external partners including the Honourable the Irish Society and the University of Ulster.

Planning for the commemorative programme is now under way. The main aims are:

• To increase knowledge and understanding of one of the key events in the history of these islands
• To contribute to a greater understanding of and tolerance of the differences between Protestant/British and Catholic/Nationalist traditions in our society
• To celebrate richness in diversity
• To attract visitors to the city for their enjoyment and the city’s economic benefit
• To provide a legacy for future generations

At the heart of the commemoration will be a major exhibition telling the story of the Plantation of Ulster with particular emphasis on the building of the city and the Londonderry Plantation.

Download Plantation leaflet - pdf 2.64 MB

Connections and Divisions

This project is part of a new Heritage Lottery Fund Initiative, called Collecting Cultures. Derry City Council’s Heritage & Museum Service in partnership with Fermanagh County Museum, the Inniskillings Museum and the University of Ulster’s Museum Studies Department based at Magee Campus has been successful in getting a grant of £100,000.

The aim of Connections and Divisions is to focus on the Pre and Post Partition era of 1910 –1930. This new partnership will now work on collecting materials, which reflect this period of history and the impact of the border on the local communities in this region.

This will include the purchase of photographs, paintings, documents, objects, costume and film which will be used to link the people, places and objects to historical events including the move towards Home Rule, World War 1, the Easter Rising, Partition and the Civil War. Personal stories and experiences of every day life will also be explored and incorporated into the project.

Public involvement and enjoyment of the collections will be increased through a series of learning and outreach activities, which will include an online blog and the production of interactive maps and educational packs.

The project began in January 2009 and will be completed by 2011.

Publications:

Legacy of World War II- ‘Our Lives’

‘Our Lives’ looks at the legacy of the WW II and life after the war. Following on from the success of the DVD this new resource book entitled ‘Our Lives’ was published in 2006. It deals with areas such as housing, education, entertainment, employment and emigration. This new book accompanies the World War II DVD and acts as an additional resource for schools. ‘Our Lives’ was edited by Jane Williams, 2006.

Other Publications:

Atlantic Memorial: The Foyle and The Western Approaches 1939-1945; reprinted May 2005
Derry and the North West, 1846: The paintings of John Noah Gosset;
Fabrics and Fabrications, catalogue to exhibition; 2001
The Irish Heritage Series: Historic Derry and Siege City; 1988

Education Resources:

Education packs are available on the following:
Early Christian Ireland (Key Stage 2)
Plantation & Siege in Derry (Key Stage 3)
Derry Workhouse (Key Stage 2)
Printed activity trails are also available which complement National Curriculum targets in subjects such as History, English, Cultural Heritage and Technology.
Citizenship/Community Relations discussion trails available for An Armada Shipwreck – La Trinidad Valencera.
Community Relations Museum Service CD ROM- Our Present Past

Loan Box Service

There is no charge for barrowing these boxes. The loan period is for a maximum of two weeks. The barrower is required to collect and return the box to the Education Department at the Workhouse Museum Derry and is responsible for the safe return of all the items barrowed.

Derry City Council Heritage and Museum Service in partnership with the Valuing Heritage By Valuing Memories project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.