Terrence McDonough
School of Business and Economics, NUI Galway
Projects
I am currently involved in a number of on-going projects. They are described and linked on these pages.
Hidden Ireland / Global Ireland
Hidden Ireland / Global Ireland is a research project housed within the Moore Institute at NUI Galway. We currently have two on-going projects. We are working with the Irish National Famine Museum at Strokestown Park to create a movable set of exhibits on the causes and consequences of the Great Irish Famine. We are also developing a community-based Famine era archaeology project in the Burren, County Clare.
Strokestown House Park and Famine Museum
The Strokestown House Famine Museum is the only museum in Ireland dedicated to the Irish famine. Since opening in 1994, the museum has been educating the public about the story of the famine. The museum has built its educational efforts into a self sustaining enterprise which attracts visitors from both Ireland and many points abroad.
Recently, the museum has intensified its links with Irish academia and is considering the revamp and updating of its exhibits to reflect this deepening academic involvement. This would be conducted in cooperation with the National University of Ireland, Galway and its Moore Institute.
Links
The Strokestown Park National Famine Museum >
Strokestown Project: Views of the Famine (blog, Jan 2011) >
Strokestown Famine Museum Project (Pue's Occurences blog) >
Practical Investigation of 19th Century Ridge Agriculture
As part of a project to reinvigorate the exhibition space in the museum it was decided to plant lumpers in potato ridges, using traditional 19th century Irish farming methods
in the Strokestown vegetable garden area. Subsequently, the group prepared a panel describing potato ridges and their importance in the famine era.
This panel was installed in the garden next to the ridges.
View pictures >
View video online (22m:01s) >
The Burren Community Archaeology Project
This is a community-based research project on the Archaeology of the Famine and 19th Century Rural Life in Ireland. The main focus for the time being is on the north of the Burren around Ballyvaughan although related projects are being developed with research students in East Galway and South Connemara.
The aims are to:
- investigate the lives of women, children and men in the 19th century with a particular focus on the Famine period
- establish what archaeology may tell us about social relations and social change at that time complemented by yet independent of other sources of information including oral history, cartography and historical texts
- assess the significance of this heritage today beginning with the communities whose heritage is being investigated as part of this project
- generate public debate about the topic
- develop methodologies for community-based approaches to such work
Recent Archaeology field trip
Hidden Ireland / Global Ireland is working with Maggie Ronayne of the NUI Galway Archaeology Department over the next three years on the archaeology project.
Field trip, August 2011, led by Maggie Ronayne, NUI Galway.
View pictures >
View more pictures >
A website for Hidden Ireland / Global Ireland is currently under development.