Turn your forgotten possessions into Ireland's National Treasures
A new social history project is calling for household belongings that could help create a digital archive spanning 100 years
It's time to raid the attic, clear out the cupboards and scour your shelves – there could be objects hidden away in your house which hold a crucial place in Ireland's recent history.
RTE and the National Museum of Ireland are gathering together items perhaps thought to have little value beyond sentimental, to help chart our story from 1917 until now.
The project, titled National Treasures, will result in a new digital archive exploring the cultural heritage of the whole island of Ireland over the past 100 years, with a focus on the everyday life experience. A piece on the RTE website states:
By collecting objects and revealing the fascinating stories behind them, we want this project to form a unique crowd-sourced tapestry of modern Irish history, one that emphasises the voices of ordinary Irish people. Sometimes the simplest object can be a trigger for an amazing piece of social history and significant cultural value can be found in the strangest items.
People in Northern Ireland are encouraged to bring along their findings to a public roadshow at Titanic Belfast on October 22, one of four events being filmed for an upcoming series about the project to be broadcast on RTE One in 2018.
At the free event, which will take place in the Andrews Gallery from 10.00am-5.00pm, submitted objects will be 'professionally photographed, their attached story logged and ultimately it will added to the National Treasures digital archive.'
Some of Ireland's leading historians will also be on-hand to assess items for possible an upcoming exhibition at the National Museum of Ireland in County Mayo next April.
Examples of items submitted so far include memorabilia from President John F. Kennedy's visit to Ireland in 1963, a till receipt belonging to Michael Jackson when he visited a craft shop in 2006, and a vintage 'Bosco' mug, a must-have for every young RTE viewer in the late '80s.
For nostalgia more closely linked to north of the border, users of the National Treasures website will be taken back by a money box modelled on the Ulster Bank mascot Henri Hippo. Meanwhile a member of Barry McGuigan's fanclub received a card for their 12th birthday from the boxer, who was born in Clones but represented both countries at different points in his career.
Do you have a small piece of history collecting dust in your house? Even something you've long intended to throw away could be a window to a meaningful moment for so many others.
Browse the archive so far, submit yours online and find out more about the project at www.nationaltreasures.ie.