A Dunquin Update

Hello from Colorado! I am back from an incredible two months in Dunquin, and will be updating this blog space with work specifics, photos, stories and interview highlights. My time in Dunquin was inspiring and intense, and a wondrous, amazing learning experience. For the first month, I worked nearly everyday in the archives and library in the Blasket Centre, a wonderfully rich and unique resource. Many of the books and other research resources in the Centre are in Irish, but I was able to read many books and articles in English. I also had the opportunity to view DVDs and listen to cassette recordings of interviews and radio programs. For the last three weeks or so, I did video interviews and captured wonderful histories and stories. I worked very closely with the good folks at the Blasket Centre, and my wonderful partner, Brian, took amazing, artful photographs of the interviews – providing a deep visual record of my work process.

Over the coming months, I will be adding posts that provide details of daily work and reflections, travel experiences, and interviews and stories – from Springfield, MA and Dunquin, Co. Kerry, Ireland. In a few weeks, Brian and I will be headed back to Springfield for a few days, to do some follow-up interviews and take more on-site videos.

Thanks to everyone involved in encouraging and supporting this project, and I look forward to sharing my ongoing work and hearing your comments and stories. Please pass along this blog address and feel free to encourage the Blasket Islanders and descendants that you know (here in the US and elsewhere) to share their stories under the “Your Stories” tab on the front page of this blog.

Special thanks to all of the good people in Springfield and Dunquin who shared their time and stories so generously.

This project is about telling Martin Kearney’s story – as an islandman, an Irishman, and an American. In this quest to discover Martin Kearney, I found a community. Thank you, Springfield and Dunquin friends. I look forward to our continued work, stories and friendship!

About these ads