Oral History - guide to resources: Ireland

This project conducted life narrative oral history interviews with individuals who remained in Ireland during the 1950s at a time when so many were emigrating. The purpose of the project was to consider the impact of emigration on those left behind. 50 of the 78 interviews conducted can be listened to online, either in their entirety or in sections. Relevant interview extracts can be located using a keyword or free text search facility.

Topics: People

Keywords: childhood; community; education; family; gender; migration; politics; religion; work

Calum Iain Maclean was a Scottish folklorist, collector, ethnographer and author. A selection of transcriptions and English summaries of Scottish Gaelic folk tales, songs and autobiographical details recorded by Maclean have been made accessible through this online database. The database is searchable by title, location, name of reciter, recording date, classification and keyword. The database is password protected and researchers must apply directly through the site for access. Maclean’s entire collections are held between the National Folklore Archive, University College Dublin and the School of Scottish Studies, University of Edinburgh.

Topics: Anthropology & Folklore

Keywords: ethnology; folktales; Gaelic; songs; stories

This website provides online access to selected audio recordings of the Cork Folklore Project. Interview extracts can be accessed through an interactive map of the Cork area or are searchable by topic.

Topics: Anthropology & Folklore; Arts & Culture; People; Work

Keywords: agriculture; community; death; games; music; sport

This oral history project was commissioned to commemorate the 125th Anniversary of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Oral history interviews were conducted with Irish people about their experiences of the GAA and its impact on their lives. A number of these interviews are available to read on the project website.

Topic: Arts & Culture; People

Keywords: family; migration; religion; sport; women

Recordings of interviews and songs made by oral history pioneer George Ewart Evans are now available for anyone to listen to online through British Library Sounds. The recordings were produced from 1956 and 1977 and were primarily made in Suffolk, with a smaller number also made in Wales, Ireland and Scotland. They document rural life, agricultural work, folk beliefs about animals, medicine and witchcraft, and songs. 254 recorded items and available in total, which include approximately 140 interviews with individuals.

Topics: Anthropology & Folklore; Work

Keywords: agriculture; medicine; music; songs; witchcraft

This website provides access to transcriptions of interviews conducted with elderly residents of the Glens abut their early memories of the area.

Topics: Anthropology & Culture; Arts & Culture; Education; People; War & Conflict; Work

Keywords: agriculture; childhood; community; sport; WWI; WWII

From 2001 to 2002, the Irish Centre for Migration Studies at the National University of Ireland in Cork conducted 11 life narrative interviews with recent immigrants to Ireland. Traditionally a country of emigration, the economic boom during the 1990s encouraged a wave of immigration into Ireland in the latter years of the decade. This project sought to record the experiences of some of these immigrants within their individual and collective life stories. The complete audio recording of six interviews with individuals from Nigeria and the Phillipines are currently available to listen to online.

Topics: People

Keywords: migration; refugees

The Leeds Archive of Vernacular Culture holds a large number of recordings relating to dialect and folk life dating back to the 1950s. There are recordings related to most English counties, as well as Scotland, Wales and Ireland. They cover a wide variety of subjects, including community, society, economics, industrial relations, politics, history, customs and beliefs, traditional medicine, traditional narratives, children's traditions, traditional music, song, dance and drama, as well as traditional crafts, work techniques and material culture. 16 audio extracts from the archives are available to listen to online. The online selection aims to be representative of the range of holdings available at the archive in Leeds.

Topics: Anthropology & Folklore

Keywords: community; craft; dance; language; music; politics; songs

The National Folklore collection consists of thousands of hours of audio recordings of Irish folklore, folk narrative, music, song, custom, belief and oral history. A number of short audio recordings have been made available to listen to online.

Topics: Anthropology & Folklore

Keywords: customs; folktales; music; songs

The aim of this ongoing oral history project is to collect 100 interviews recording the memories and views of key figures in the Irish peace process since the 1960s. The decision was taken to embargo these interviews for up to 40 years in order to encourage frankness. A number of edited interviews with representatives from the women’s movement and education are, however, shortly to be made available through the website. The project website also provides an extensive list of links to previously conducted interviews regarding the peace process, which are now available online, under the Layers of Meaning Online Directory section.

Topics: Politics & Government; War & Conflict

Keywords: art; community; education; politics; sport; union; women

This project, launched in 2000, represents the oral history strand of a research initiative entitled 'Women and Irish Society' run by University College Cork. The project interviewed women about their experiences of paid work, family life and schooling in the Munster counties of Cork, Kerry and Limerick during the period from 1936 to 1960. The project sought to explore how women in Munster experienced or reacted to prevailing social, cultural and legal definitions of women as home-based workers. The audio recordings of 41 individual interviews are currently available to read online, and short audio clips of the interviews are also arranged by category.

Topics: People; Work

Keywords: education; family; gender; women

YouTube provides access to a large quantity of resources, both oral history interviews and information videos on the conduct and practice of oral history. Some organisations, archives and oral history projects have their own YouTube channels.

Topics: Anthropology & Folklore; Arts & Culture; Education; People; Politics & Government; Science & Medicine; War & Conflict; Work

Keywords: portal