On Saturday 17th August, as part of Heritage Week 2024, Cuimhneamh an Chláir’s Paula Carroll will host a live recording of the Clare Oral History Podcast.
This is a public interview with Kitty Leyden from Tulla. Kitty embodies an important part of the story of Co. Clare in the 20th century. She was the youngest of 11, born on a small farm in West Clare. She emigrated to New York and lived her young years in that teeming city.
Returning to Co Clare she settled in Tulla in East Clare, where she raised her 8 children. Hers is the story of the ordinary joys and hardships of women’s lives in mid- to late 20th century rural Ireland. The difference is that she tells it with great humour, insight, compassion and a turn of phrase that only the gifted storyteller has.
Kitty entertained visitors to Bunratty Folk Park for years. She participated in oral history workshops for Transition Years in Tulla Secondary School for years. A huge supporter of traditional music, she is known and loved by musicians and dancers all over the county.
Whether it’s stories of bareback donkey riding, of West Clare house dances, of domestic work in convents, or the delights of emigrant New York, Kitty Leyden shows us how to feel, as well as think about, our social history.
Please join us in the Cnoc na Gaoithe, Tulla, Sat 17 Aug.
Doors 6.30pm. Interview starts at 7pm sharp.
The event is free, but ticketed, and all are welcome. Please pre-book tickets here…
Sat 17 August will also see the demonstration of Cuimhneamh an Chláir’s oral history collection at the Digital Repository of Ireland, and how to access the diverse oral histories of ordinary Clare life recorded in the last 15 years.
With funding from the Heritage Council we are currently ingesting a large part of our archive to DRI. DRI is the national digital repository providing long-term preservation and access to Ireland’s humanities, cultural heritage and social sciences data. (www.dri.ie).
Cuimhneamh an Chláir / Clare Memories is an independent, voluntary charity, which digitally records, archives and shares the oral heritage of Co. Clare, through interviews with the county’s older citizens in its diverse communities.
Cuimhneamh an Chláir is supported by The Heritage Council through its Heritage Organisations Support Fund. Our archival project with the Digital Repository of Ireland is supported by the Community Heritage Grant Scheme.