Tag Archives: The Gathering 2013

The Roundstone Time Capsule

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Roundstone

Looking out towards the twelve bens from the pier in Roundstone.

On the first day of January 2013 a time capsule was interred in the new public space dedicated to Alexander Nimmo close to the pier in Roundstone, Co. Galway.

Memorial to Alexander Nimmo in the new public triangle close to the harbour in Roundstone.

Memorial to Alexander Nimmo in the new public triangle close to the harbour in Roundstone.

The time capsule project was the bright idea of Padraic McDonagh from the Shamrock bar in Roundstone and an energetic committee brought the idea to fruition. The project sought to encourage everybody with a connection to Roundstone to submit a letter to the future generations containing life stories, memories, family trees, old/recent photographs. The entries had to be submitted on acid free paper and envelopes which were available to purchase for €10. The capsule will be opened 50 years from now in 2063.

I caught up with Richard Duc de Stacpoole from the organizing committee who explained the genesis of the project and the rationale behind the idea. It was in many ways a project designed to capture the memories and stories of local people so that they could be shared with future generations.

The project really caught the imagination and hundreds of letters and photographs were submitted to the time capsule by Roundstone residents and those with an association with Roundstone from around the world. The capsule was open for submissions during the summer of 2012 and attracted visitors throughout the year. Padraic Lydon and Corina both from Carna but with strong connections to Roundstone were one of the first to submit a letter which they did one evening during the summer of 2012. That same evening late last summer they met a family group from Australia who had travelled to Roundstone in order to submit a letter. Padraic and Corina were excited to be in Roundstone for the closing and burying of the capsule. Padraic was a fisherman for forty years and in the audio below he talks about his memories of Roundstone and the changes he has seen over the years.

I also caught up with Francis Sullivan who arrived at the pier with a letter from his son which will be added to the capsule before all the submissions are vacuum packed and it is fully sealed next week. Francis thought the time capsule was a great idea and the package from his son contained some old photographs of Roundstone as well as a letter.

The time capsule was brought down to the new public triangle close to the pier by local children following twelve O’clock mass. A short well attended closing and burying ceremony then took place on a beautiful winter’s afternoon in one of the most scenic and picturesque settings in the west of Ireland. The Twelve bens glistened in the low sunlight and the sea in the harbor was flat calm.

It was one of the first events of the Gathering Ireland 2013 following the spectacular launch of the yearlong celebration on New Year’s eve in Dublin. There was a huge turnout in Roundstone for the official closing and burying ceremony with people gathered around the pier for most of the afternoon. As we heard from Richard de Stacpoole the ceremony attracted a group of twelve visitors from Italy who had never been to Ireland before let alone this beautiful village on the west coast.

Fixing the posts.

Fixing the posts.

Following the burial of the time capsule Connemara rugby club continued the festivities on the pier with a novel fund raising event. Music and food were provided and a set of rugby goal posts was floated in the middle of the harbour. A goal kicking competition set against the spectacular back drop of the twelve bens provided a focus for the afternoon and a large crowd were kept entertained. The local hostelries were doing a great trade serving hot and cold refreshments.

Getting set to split the posts in two.

Getting set to split the posts in two.

Padraic McDonagh the instigator of the Time capsule project was kept busy for the afternoon fishing rugby balls from the water.

Patrick McDonagh recovers rugby balls from the harbour.

Patrick McDonagh recovers rugby balls from the harbour.

The Time Capsule Project epitomises the ethos of the Gathering with a local community providing a novel and enjoyable celebration of their own place enjoyed by local and visitors alike. The event also encouraged a discussion about Roundstone today and the direction the community would like to steer for the next fifty years before the capsule is opened in 2063.

Crowds on the pier at Roundstone after the burying of the time capsule.

Crowds on the pier at Roundstone after the burying of the time capsule.

The Gathering rolls into Roscommon

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Imelda is part of The gatering team tha helped to organise the community event in Roscommon

There was a huge turnout in Roscommon last night for the first of the Gathering Irelandcommunity events. These events will be taking place in every county in Ireland over the coming months and are an opportunity for the gathering team to spread the message about what the gathering is and for communities to learn how to become involved and to generate ideas for local gatherings across the country.

Ciaran Mullooly was the MC for The Gathering community event in Roscommon

The MC for the event was RTE journalist and proud Roscommon man Ciaran Mullooly. The Mayor of Roscommon Cllr. Eugene Murphywas on the spot to welcome all the attendees and promised his full backing and encouragement to the Gathering. The Gathering can be a hard thing to pin down and the first definition of the evening was offered by Ciaran Mullooly when he described it as ‘a Hooley and a yearlong celebration’. Ciaran expressed the hope that the evening would be about idea generation and judging by the buzz of conversation during the first discussion session that wasn’t going to be a problem in Roscommon.

The conference room in the Abbey Hotel had been divided into circular tables and at each table was a local facilitator. The 200 + attendees all took a rigorous part in the discussion sessions and some brilliant ideas were captured.

Following the first discussion session the director of the Gathering project Jim Miley took to the microphone to explain in more depth what he felt the Gathering was about. Jim believes that the Gathering is simply about getting people with emotional ties to Ireland to come and visit in 2013. This will in turn will help a national recovery and get revenues flowing to local communities. Jim defined a gathering as ‘anything more than two people together’ and went on to relate how the Miley family will be inviting their American cousins back to Ireland in 2013.

This was the thrust of what Jim had to say. That while there are headline events being organised throughout the year the important thing was that everybody would play their part and ask people to come. If this happens then the targets of bringing 325,000 extra visitors into the country and generating 170 million in increased revenues will be met.

Part of the team that help to organise the community meeting in Roscommo

The Gathering website has lots of resources for those planning to organise events and it will also become a key marketing tool in promoting these events as they move from planning to reality. There is a dedicated gathering team currently working on the upcoming community events but at the same time developing supports and marketing strategies to promote the Gathering events in 2013.

I caught up with Imelda Rey a member of that team and she agreed to answer a couple of questions.

The Historic Graves Project is actively working with local communities to record their historic graveyards and related multimedia stories. We hope to play our part in the Gathering by continuing to build a resource in partnership with local groups which will encourage visitors to come to Ireland in 2013 and also to provide authentic experiences that will engage them when they do come.