SKIBBEREEN’S town hall is to be put to good use as the venue for a nine-day pop-up museum featuring the heritage of Aughadown parish.
From August 16th to 24th, Brigid O’Brien of the Aughadown Irish Countrywomen’s Association (ICA) said their members, with the support of Cork County Council’s heritage officer Conor Nelligan, will give people an opportunity to ‘step back in time.’
From 12-midday until 4pm every day over those nine days, she said people will be able to ‘pop-in to the pop-up’ to look at traditional items used in fishing, farming and households.
In fact, anyone who has items of interest, such as photographs, artefacts or memorabilia, that they might like to offer as a loan can get in touch with the members of Aughadown ICA, or phone 087 9867453.
‘Skibbereen doesn’t have a permanent museum like Bantry, Clonakilty or Bandon, so this pop-up might be an inducement for people to come up with a suitable location where objects from the past can be stored and exhibited,’ said Brigid.
The event is part of Skibbereen’s Heritage Week programme of events and it is being billed as one way of bringing Aughadown’s past to life.
On display will be things that many people may still remember as being part of everyday life such as butter churns, storm and tilley lamps, old chamber pots and zinc baths. There will even be bed quilts that date back to the 1800s.
Another item of interest submitted by Kilcoe National School pupils is a work of art that depicts the tramway that ran from Skibbereen to Schull.
The history of the many forges that existed in the area until the mid-1950s will also be featured.
There’s likely to be a lot of interest too in a recent study of Kilcoe’s medieval ruined church by Kelly Engineers.
Photographs of the 17 Cillíní in the area, as identified by local historian William Casey, will be on display. And a student of Skibbereen Community School has submitted a study of An Cloch Mór – A Dolmen as part of the nine-day exhibition.
