Blúiríní Béaloidis 35 - The Civil War (with Dr. Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh)

About this episode

The episode discusses the impact of the Irish Civil War and the ongoing Civil War Memory project with historian Dr. Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh.

The Civil War was a schismatic moment in Irish history, and the fault lines it left split families, tore apart communities and turned former comrades in arms against one another in a bitterly divisive period of violence and conflict. According to historian Anne Dolan, ‘The memory of the Irish Civil War has been assumed, distorted, [and] misunderstood. It has been manipulated, underestimated, but most of all, ignored’. Now, 100 years on, in marking the centenary of this period, The Civil War Memory project is currently underway (a collaboration between The National Folklore Collection, University College Dublin and award winning documentary filmmakers Scratch Films) to document and preserve oral testimonies, reminiscences and accounts concerning the Civil War. The collecting project will result in a body of archival material which will be deposited at the NFC for posterity, with two documentaries covering the collecting process being aired on RTÉ this autumn. If you would like to contribute to the project, please reach out to us at bealoideas@ucd.ie To take me through the project, and to discuss this phase of our history in more detail I’m honoured to be joined by my friend and…

People in this episode

Host: Blúiríní Béaloidis

Guest: Dr. Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh

Topics covered

• Irish Civil War
• oral history
• memory
• trauma
• community division
• historical documentation

Keywords

• Irish Civil War
• oral testimonies
• historical memory
• community conflict
• trauma of war

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The National Folklore Collection, University College Dublin, Scratch Films, RTÉ

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