A display from the Tower Museum’s acclaimed exhibition ‘Mabel Colhoun: A North West Pioneer’ will take temporary residence in Inishowen when it comes to the Buncrana Library for one month from Wednesday September 6th.
Mabel Colhoun was a pioneering local archaeologist and photographer who dedicated her life to charting the heritage of the north Donegal peninsula and the exhibition boasts a vast collection of her personal belongings, artefacts and teaching resources.
The temporary satellite exhibition is being hosted in partnership by the West Inishowen History and Heritage Society, Buncrana Library and the Tower Museum.
Wednesday’s launch at 6.30pm will explore Derry native Mabel’s close ties with Inishowen through speakers from the society who have been working closely with the Tower Museum in cataloguing her vast collection, uncovering exciting new information along the way.
“We are very excited about bringing Mabel’s collection, in many ways, back home to Inishowen,” said Acting Education Officer at Derry City and Strabane District Council Ronan McConnell.
“Mabel’s work on uncovering the rich archaeological heritage of this peninsula is unparalleled, and indeed she has family connections to Buncrana itself, as her mother lived in Swilly Cottage for a time.
“The exhibition here in the Tower Museum has been a great success and this mini-exhibition is a fantastic opportunity for us to carry out some cross-border work on archaeological material that transcends any historical borders in the region for thousands of years.”
The exhibition will feature a display case of a selection of items from Mabel’s collection, including letters and archaeological artefacts relevant both to the area and Mabel’s wider work.
At the launch there will be some readings from Mabel’s letters as well as some new findings from the collection highlighted by WIHHS members.
Sinead Mc Laughlin from Buncrana Library noted the importance of having local heritage displayed locally.
“We are delighted to host the Mabel Colhoun exhibition in partnership with WIHHS and the Tower Museum here at our library,” she said.
“It’s very important to our community that there is a place they can go to find out more about the incredible legacy Mabel Colhoun left behind and to find out more about what is on our doorstep.”
Buncrana Library opening hours are: Tues 9:30 – 5:30, Wed 12:30 to 8, Thurs 9:30 – 5:30, Friday 9:30 to 5:30 and Sat 10-2.30.
The mini-exhibition forms part of a series of events by the Tower Museum to highlight the life of Mabel Colhoun.
The series continues on Saturday September 9th at the Tower Museum with a sketching workshop led by local artist Chris Walker suitable for ages 12+ and encouraging participants to sketch objects from Mabel’s collection in pen and ink.
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