The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys TD, has today (Thursday) said that a new website developed by Mayo Library and Heritage Office is a great example of how local communities can get involved in the Decade of Centenaries. Minister Humphreys is in Mayo to launch CentenaryMayo.ie which commemorates the Decade of Centenaries (1913 to 1923) by offering a glimpse into life in Mayo 100 years ago.
“Communities all over the country are getting involved in the Decade of Centenaries, and I want to harness this support and interest as we continue to develop plans to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising.
“The Centenary Mayo website will be a great way for both local people and those much further afield to keep up to date with all of the events happening across the county. And of course, it also provides a fascinating snapshot of what life was like in Mayo 100 years ago.
“There hasn't been a week since I took office in which at least one local group has not hosted a commemoration, published a resource or held a meeting or event. I am fortunate to be regularly asked to participate in local and community led events around Ireland, in Northern Ireland and abroad. These events have made me hugely optimistic about the commemorations to come next year and, of course, in 2016.
“Major milestone events to date in the Decade of Centenaries have benefitted from huge community interest. I am very conscious that my job is not to interpret history, but to mark it as it happened. And it’s an opportunity for all of us to try to understand the events of 100 years ago, and to recall the sacrifices made by ordinary people living in extraordinary times.
“I hope that everyone who uses this new website will come to understand some aspect of the history of the time better. I would like to commend all of those involved in developing the website; all at Mayo Library and Heritage Office as well as the PHD students from NUIG who designed the site, showing us how the early twentieth century can be brought to life by the technology of the twenty first.”
Note to Editors:
More about CentenaryMayo.ie:
The site includes the following features: A general introduction to the period, a timeline of events, biographies of the major Mayo figures of the time, a selection of images, a map showing places where events of the period occurred and where there are commemorative monuments or plaques, a list of the dead, article and images from local newspapers of the time and links to the major national and local sources on the subjects.
Mayo Library and Heritage Office have commissioned a number of academics to write essays on some of the major events such as World War One, the War of Independence and the social life of the time. The site has been designed by PHD students at NUIG.