A new oral history project is seeking to record the memories and experiences of people connected with Strokestown Park over the decades.
The initiative, Heritage Voices Plus, is being led by the Irish Heritage Trust and delivered by Mac Conmara Heritage Consulting, with funding from the Heritage Council Community Grants Programme.
The project will collect interviews with former staff, estate workers, volunteers, local historians and members of the wider community who have connections to Strokestown Park House and estate.
Topics are expected to include farming, gardening, estate management, domestic life, local traditions and the relationship between the estate and the surrounding community.
While Strokestown Park is best known nationally for its connection with the Great Famine and the National Famine Museum, the project aims to build a broader record of everyday life on the estate and the people who worked and lived there.
Recorded interviews will be preserved through the Roscommon Oral Heritage Project for future research and public access.
Dr Tomás Mac Conmara of Mac Conmara Heritage Consulting said oral history can capture experiences and local knowledge that are often absent from written archives.
The project will also include a volunteer shadowing programme, giving participants experience in oral history methods, interview preparation and heritage documentation.
Dr Tara Carroll, Volunteer Coordinator at Strokestown Park, said the project would help preserve the memories of people whose lives and work formed part of the estate’s history.
Anyone with memories or personal connections to Strokestown Park can contact the Irish Heritage Trust at learning@irishheritagetrust.ie.
