'Survivors' Stories' Launched by Minister Katherine Zappone
Posted 17 May, 2019
Pictured above: Project lead Dr. Emilie Pine (UCD), Carmel McDonnell Byrne (Christine Buckley Education and Support Centre) and Katherine Zappone, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs
Survivors’ Stories, a collection of the recorded stories/transcripts of some survivors of residential institutions for women and children in Ireland, was launched this week by Katherine Zappone, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. The Minister, when praising this project, said it was fitting that these stories are curated, preserved and made available as part of the national memory of Ireland, within the National Folklore Collection, one of UCD's Heritage Collections.
This event is to mark the 10th anniversary of the publication of the Ryan Report (Report of the Commission to Inquire into Institutional Child Abuse 2000-2009), and the 20th anniversary of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern’s official state apology to survivors of institutional child abuse.
Survivors’ Stories is an oral history project, led by Dr Pine and Dr Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh, in collaboration with the Christine Buckley Support and Education Centre for Survivors of Institutional Abuse. This project has collected some of the stories of survivors of Irish institutions. Over 8 months, the project leads have worked with 16 individuals to tell their stories, and add them to the national collection.
This was the final stage of Dr Pine’s Irish Research Council New Horizons Industrial Memories project (2015-19), to qualitatively engage with Ireland’s history of abuse, and to respond to survivors’ needs ((opens in a new window)industrialmemories.ucd.ie).
The ‘Survivors’ Stories’ project is a collaboration between the Christine Buckley Education and Support Centre, and the School of English, Drama and Film and National Folklore Collection at UCD.
Further information:
- Irish Times, Tuesday 14 May 2019: (opens in a new window)"We have a culture of not listening to abuse survivors"
- Irish Times, Tuesday 16 May 2019: (opens in a new window)"A decade after the Ryan report: Launch of ‘Survivors’ Stories' "
- (opens in a new window)Industrial Memories