This article is from page 59 of the 2009-12-22 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 59 JPG
AN INNOVATIVE project by Kail- rush Community School was proving the ideal Christmas present for west Clare people at home and abroad, at the Christmas market in Kilrush on Thursday last.
The Kilrush secondary school de- veloped a 2010 calendar ‘Present- ing the Past’ featuring the people and places of Kilrush as part of a new Kilrush Local History Group, founded by teacher Laura Hogan in November 2009.
Principal Rock Kirwin – said, “Schools are the heart of every com- munity, so it seems only natural that we should take on the responsibility of researching and recording the his- tory of Kilrush town. We have great plans for our local history group.”
Ms Hogan said, “We’ve been con- sidering establishing a group like this for quite a while. As a history teacher, I’ve always been conscious of the rich historical heritage of the town itself and I’ve tried to use it in class wherever possible. I’ve worked with several classes completing projects on local history, and this is the obvious next step: involving the students themselves in researching and recording the history of their home place.”
The group’s first endeavour, the calendar, features many fascinating photos, which give a glimpse into the past. Many have not been widely seen before, like photos taken from the steeple of St Senan’s Church in one
Others show how iconic local buildings have changed, an 1888 photo of Patterson’s Stores is paired with a photograph of its demolition,
and an interior view of the Church of Ireland over 100 years ago is com- plemented with recent photos of its present use as Teach Cheoul.
The calendar is priced at €10, and has proved an ideal Christmas present.
“We’ve included lots of group pho- tos in the calendar. For example, Mags Rush gave us a fantastic photo
of a mouth-organ band formed in the CBS in 1949, and Pat Galvin kind- ly donated a picture of the Kilrush Scouts in 1954. I think people will be surprised by the amount of names and faces that they will recognise,’ said Ms Hogan.
The calendar is available at many different outlets in Kilrush and cop- ies can also be ordered through Kilr
ushLocalHistoryGroup @ yahoo.com or by visiting Kilrush Local History Group on Facebook.