Audit of Mayo oral heritage collections underway

THE Mayo Heritage Office is currently undertaking phase 2 of an audit of oral heritage collections for County Mayo.

If you have recorded or know of any audio recordings about life in Mayo in the past, they'd like to hear from you.

The first phase of the project saw an overwhelmingly positive response, with over 4,168 individual recordings identified, encompassing both long and short form interviews, with an estimated 3,500 interviewees from across the Mayo region.

The recordings span 47 collections, held by 40 different institutions or individual custodians, reflecting a rich and diverse oral heritage landscape.

Building on this strong foundation, phase two of the project - again led by Mac Conmara Heritage Consulting - will continue the important work of identifying and documenting recordings of oral heritage and folklore across the county. The project remains focused on spoken word recollections, distinguishing these from musical or singing performances.

They are looking for any known recordings, whether professionally gathered by bodies like the Irish Folklore Commission, or informally recorded by individuals or communities, such as family interviews, capturing local traditions and memories. You might have something in a drawer, attic, or a shoebox of old cassette tapes. If you do, they'd love to hear from you.

Please note: This is not a call to take physical possession of any materials. Instead, the audit seeks to compile a comprehensive record of what exists, where it is held, and its condition, format, and content.

To share information about relevant recordings, complete a short survey at forms.office.com/e/QGcjrHJh0T.

For more information, contact Tara or Tomás at macconmaraheritage@gmail.com or (087) 9160373.

The project is funded by The Heritage Council and Mayo County Council.