THE Tower Museum is to launch a new project charting the history of the Civil Rights, Labour and Trade Union Movements in the city over the past century.
The project also includes a digital archive of images collected over the past forty years, relating to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
The project, titled, ‘Speeches, Strikes and Struggles’ will launch at the museum on Wednesday 14th June.
Key Speaker at the event will be Emmet O’Connor, a leading expert in history from Ulster University, who will speak about the importance of the collections and provide an overview of the significant events that have occurred in the past relating to the project.
“This event is free and is a great opportunity for visitors and residents to learn about how the Speeches, Strikes and Struggles project will engage with local communities and schools.
These unique archive and museum collections will encourage learning, dialogue and debate around the significant movements and events that have influenced the recent history of our city’, said the Mayor of Derry City and Strabane, Alderman Hilary McClintock.
She added, “Open to the public is collections such as the Bridget Bond collection, containing items that relate to the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) movement within Derry and Northern Ireland and archive material from the Derry Housing Action Committee (DHAC) and other civil rights related matters.
“Also within the project is the Gerry Lynch Collection, which refers to the trade union and labour movements of the city and the Peter Moloney Collection that deals with the history of significant events in both Ireland and Northern Ireland, spanning over 100 years with a particular focus on the decades from the 1970’s to the present day.
“There are 40,000 catalogued items within the Peter Moloney collection including posters, postcards, journals, badges and digital images of murals and parades.
“This project is open to everyone.
“It will be of considerable interest to historians, historical groups, students or anyone interested in contemporary Northern Ireland history as there will be many workshops, classes’ talks and artefacts on display relating to this period in history.”
Margaret Edwards Museums and Visitor Services Manager at Derry City and Strabane District Council said “Thanks to funding from the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund, Derry City and Strabane District Council has been able to recruit a learning engagement officer who will work exclusively on the project with the purpose of engaging with the community.
“I would encourage everyone to come along to the launch and get involved with the project”
Anyone interested in attending the Speeches, Strikes and Struggles project launch at the Tower Museum on Wednesday 14th June, please RSVP with [email protected] or telephone 028 7137 2411, as spaces will be limited.
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