BY HELEN RIDDELL

THE Irish Community Archive Network (iCAN) has added five more Cork groups to its digital network, Baltimore, Rath and the Islands Community Heritage Group, Glanworth Community Archives, Inniscarra Historical Society, Macroom History Group, and Rosscarbery and District History and Heritage
Society.

The groups were officially welcomed to the network at an event held in County Hall on Tuesday June 16th which was attended by Cork County Mayor Cllr Mary Linehan Foley and council chief executive Moira Murrell.

The groups join the four others who were the first to be part of the community archive network in Cork County, Bere Island Projects Group, Kilmurry Historical and Archaeological Association, Kilshannig Heritage Group, and Youghal Community
Archives.

The Irish Community Archive Network was established by the National Museum of Ireland in 2008 to encourage and support communities throughout Ireland to collect and digitise their local heritage collections and share these archives online. Working in partnership with local authorities, to date, iCAN has supported the creation of 55 online archives across Ireland with plans to increase this to 80 by 2027.  The project is also supported by the Heritage Council.   

The online archives feature photos, documents, videos and oral recordings from each area.   

Lorna Elms, development officer with iCAN, said: ‘It’s a special day for us all to celebrate the launch of the five new groups on the Heritage Cork portal,  providing a rich and diverse array of local heritage, and I applaud the time and effort that groups put into running their community archives, and making them accessible to a worldwide audience.’

Cllr Mary Linehan Foley expressed her support for the expansion of the project.  ‘This is a wonderful initiative by The National Museum of Ireland in partnership with The Heritage Council and I am proud of Cork County Council’s ongoing support of the project through our own heritage unit led by Conor Nelligan,’ she said.

‘Preserving our heritage is so important in a place like Cork with its rich heritage, a county which has links to every major moment in Irish history from the Great Famine to the formation of the Irish Free State. At Cork County Council we work every day to preserve and protect our past for future generations and to remember the people that once called Cork their home.’

The Mayor gave thanks to all the Cork community groups involved in the project.  ‘Your work is invaluable and we cannot give enough credit for the work that you do to preserve your local history.’

Moira Murrell noted: ‘This is a fantastic initiative and wonderful to see such extensive involvement in it by groups from County Cork. As Chief Executive, I would like to express gratitude to the Irish Community Archive Network, the National Museum of Ireland, and the Heritage Council.’

The archives can be accessed at www.corkheritage.org