KDHS Lecture: THE ROLE OF TURF IN FAMILY LIFE IN WEST CLARE
- Teach Ceoil, Grace Street, Kilrush, County Clare
Clara Hoyne's lecture entitled "Drawing home the turf: the role of turf in family life in West Clare" will examine the economic, social and cultural impact that turf had in the area and its contribution to life in west Clare.
Bog and turf were in abundance in County Clare, especially in the west which had vast areas of blanket bog. Little has been recorded about the history of turf cutting, but Clara's research provides rich material regarding turf in agriculture and in daily family life.
Interviews were conducted by the author in the course of the research as well as exploring the National Folklore Collection and the local oral history repository, Cuimhneamh an Chláir.
The findings confirm that turf played a vital part in all aspects of life in west Clare and sustained many families, in a range of trades and in an area with poor agricultural land. This study demonstrates the central role that turf played in the local economy. The talk will examine some aspects of turf harvesting, including its transport by boat, train and road; turf in family and home life and the general traditions and culture of turf cutting.
Clara Hoyne undertook an MA in History of Family in 2013, pursuing her interest in genealogy and social history. She has recently retired as secretary of the Clare Roots Society having served a number of years in that role. During her time as secretary she was involved in many projects; editing many of the publications, organising community training for recording the graveyards of County Clare and organising three successful family history conferences attracting attendees from the UK, the US and Australia. More recently she contributed several articles to a local history publication in Clarecastle. Having since changed her research focus, she is currently a PhD researcher in Psychology in Mary Immaculate College, Limerick.
KDHS lectures are free to members, EUR5 for non-members. New members are welcome. The annual membership fee (July-June) is EUR20.
You can contact the Society here...
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for dropping by. All comments are moderated before publication.