Killeeneen National Schoo lis hosting a Heritage Day on Thursday 25th February (the day before the General Election) from 2 to 5 pm as part of Beo, the most extensive Irish schools based heritage project since the 1937 Folklore Commission.
The school would really like to add lots more so please pass the word around. The school invites anyone who has any photographs of those involved in 1916 or indeed anything related to the school or the wider community (e.g. class or school photos) to bring them along that day where they will be scanned and returned to you while you wait.
We are appealing to residents of the locality to bring along old photographs, films and memorabilia that will provide an interesting insight into life in Killeeneen in days gone by. So please check through your old family album, attic or wardrobe for those little gems of local history! The images may be of your family, your neighbours and your friends together at a sports match, in school, attending a communion, a dance or a wedding, of working in the bog, of baling hay, feeding hens or of cycling to the village.
The photographs, films and stories recorded will be placed on a publicly-accessible online digital heritage archive being established by Galway County Council, Galway Education Centre and the Insight Centre at NUI Galway. The present day pupils will also be available to record stories from those present that would like to have their memories saved for posterity.The aim of this fascinating project known as BEO (Irish = ‘alive’) is for each participating school to become a major catalyst in the collecting, digitising and online storage of rare material associated with its locality which otherwise would be lost to future generations. If successful, it will represent the biggest schools-based heritage project since the Folklore Commission of 1937. Photographs from over 120 schools have already being uploaded thanks to the assistance of schools, active retirement associations, community groups and GAA clubs.
There are a few photos on the archive already, available to view at https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishbeo/sets/72157637158174683/