The CD

The Irish Network Stevenage welcomed radio DJ and urban music artist “Erb n Dub” (Pete Chapman) to the project.  But far from entertaining everyone with his DJ skills, Pete came to Stevenage to record a radio programme capturing the authentic Irish stories and the incredible journey from Ireland to Stevenage that Irish residents had embarked on.  Peggy Lyons and Hilda Warwick were willing volunteers as Pete set about recording their heart-warming stories.

Oral History Training

Key members of the Irish network committee undertook oral history training and this training enabler them to contribute significantly to interviews for the planned book on the Irish contribution to the building and development of Stevenage as a new Town.  The training was facilitated by Andrew Green (MA Cantab), who was a senior visiting research fellow of the University of Hertfordshire. The Workshop proved to be a great success.

Documentary

Documentary film-maker Stephen Folorunsho met with the Irish Network committee to discuss a series of memories days in which small groups of Irish elders got to discuss key memories in detail. The memories days fed into the documentary process.

Irish Dancing Workshops

Maria Grant School of Dancing completed some fantastic workshops with local junior school pupils.  The children loved the dancing and were fascinated by the history behind this important part of our culture.

Rap Workshops

These were provided to local senior schools pupils and were proven to be extremely popular and successful– the rap that was produced is a testament to the hard work of the pupils and is a great modern resource output for the IC Project.

Educational Workshops

With changes locally amongst both senior and junior schools, Mark Straker from Positive Strides UK started the implementation of a number of workshops in local schools.

INS Visits the Lottery

Mark Straker from Positive Strides UK, and Elaine Connolly from the Irish Network Stevenage visited Kate Fry at the Heritage Lottery in Cambridge.  The meeting was a fantastic opportunity for Kate to get a detailed understanding and appreciation of the project and it enabled both Positive Strides UK and the Irish Network to focus clearly on the deliverable outcomes of the project.

Stitching Ireland

A Stitching Ireland course was held with the help of Zinc – an arts charity – who helped to develop our textile techniques, using patchwork, appliqué, embroidery, cross stitch and knitting. We started making an Irish Network themed banner for public display.

Recipe Book

The inspiration for this book was our members.  It started one afternoon at one our social events as members were reminiscing about the recipes they were raised on, talking about the regional variances and how they never needed to write these recipes down as they were handed down from generation to generation.  We quickly realised that these traditional Irish dishes were being lost, children growing up today were losing touch with the dishes that their parents were raised on and that it would only be a matter of time before these dishes disappeared completely.  It was decided to record these recipes in a book that could be handed down through the generations and that would be something mothers and fathers could teach their children and grandchildren.  We wanted a book that would be more than just recipes, a book that would remind people of where they came from and get families talking about their childhood, how they were raised and the times they spent with their mothers in the kitchen, we wanted to help bring families back into the kitchen together and with this book, we have achieved that.

Working in Partnership with the University of Hertfordshire

The project was fortunate to secure the services of the University of Hertfordshire’s oral history department.  They were delighted to assist the Irish Network Stevenage with the history book project and the oral history book. Following a series of meetings with the University a strategy was put in place for the information gathering process relating to the history book.

Interview with the Irish Embassy

Jane Connolly from the Irish Embassy was interviewed as part of the Irish Contribution Project and was delighted to be involved in the project.  Throughout her interview, Jane discussed the work we have been doing and the Care in the Community Project, and the work that has already been completed as part of the Irish Contribution Project.

The interview with Jane formed part of the outcomes for the Irish Contribution project and is a valuable insight into the role of organisations such as the Irish Network Stevenage and the Irish Embassy.