New ‘Things Around Us’ project coming to Kilanerin

A new community-collection project is coming to a North Wexford village…

The ‘Things Around Us’ is a brand new community-collection project exploring the objects in the hands of ordinary people that reveal the social history of Kilanerin and district.

The project has been devised by artist/folklorist Michael Fortune in conjunction with David Williams and Conor Murphy from Kilanerin Tidy Towns, and during the month of May and June they will be hosting a series of pop-up road-show styled sessions in Kilanerin Hall and inviting people to bring their object along to tell Michael and the team all about it.

The project will be centred around people and the objects they hold and cherish within their homes, their farms, their yards and their lives and invite them to bring forward objects to share their stories and spark memories and conversations across the ages.

These may range from old black diamonds; used from funeral customs, old farming implements or to more recent objects such as an old Bosco mug or to the first mobile phone ever owned.

Every single aspect of Irish social history will be explored through the fascinating objects brought to the roadshows and we hope to widen conversations around our lives and our history. As the village has become home to new residents (from Ireland and abroad) in recent years, effort will be focused on engaging new residents to support and strengthen the sense of community in the area.

So if you have an old letter, an old tool or anything with a story, come along to Kilanerin and share it with Michael, Dave and Conor where they will take photos and record its history. An exhibition of the findings will be presented as part of the Kilanerin Heritage Weekend in early September.