Rising interview collection launched

A COLLECTION of 100 interviews detailing personal accounts of the 1916 Rising was launched recently by Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan, at Dublin Castle.

The interviews with children, grandchildren and other close relatives of those involved in the Rising give a unique insight into the most significant event in Ireland’s history.

The interviewees recount the experiences of their relatives during the events of Easter Week 1916. The relatives give reasons why people participated in the Rising, give personal views on its impact on survivors and their families, and in some cases speak of the pain and suffering that followed the historic event.

Minister Deenihan described those interviewed as

“near witnesses

? to the making of some of Ireland’s most significant history.

Speaking at the launch the minister said:

“Today is an important day in so many ways. It gives us the opportunity to again recognise the importance of the 1916 Rising and the impact that it had.

“It allows us to bring together representatives of some of the families who were part of the Easter Rising story, from a range of perspectives. It preserves these valuable personal recollections for the people, and for future use by academics, historians and the general public.

?

“This undertaking will preserve forever the living words, recollections and insights of those touched directly and personally by the actions of Easter 1916. This collection is an important addition to our information about this time for which we, and future generations, will be forever grateful.

?

At the event in Dublin Castle, each of the interviewees received a copy of their own recording. The original recordings and notes which helped to produce the body of work will be deposited in the National Archives, and copies will also be made available to researchers in libraries throughout the country.

The Minister complemented the work of Maurice and Jane O’Keeffe in cataloguing the material, which he said could be lost forever otherwise.

Some of the voices heard in the collection include relatives of Harry Boland, Michael Mallin, Countess Markievicz, Seán Lemass and Joseph Plunkett.

The collection can be bought on irishlifeandlore.com, or viewed in Dublin libraries and a number of college libraries.