Learn to Explore your Community's Amateur Drama History

This workshop offers a basic introduction to the skills you require to begin to research and collect this history. A professional historian and research consultant, and specialist in this field of research, will facilitate. An interactive workshop, it will look at why this aspect of our history is so important and provide a toolkit to help start your project. Topics include: how to identify and locate sources, how to research and collate your information, how to evaluate your evidence, the different methods of research you can use, such as exploring archives, and how to record people’s stories and memories in an ethical manner. It will also explore the different options about exhibiting or publishing your project.

The amateur dramatic tradition was awarded formal State recognition in 2024 and is now inscribed on the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

This project received funding through a joint initiative by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport and the National Monuments Service, to support practices inscribed on Ireland’s National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Ireland’s National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage is managed by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sports and can be viewed at https://nationalinventoryich.ccs.gov.ie. The National Monuments Service is delighted to support this initiative that highlights the strong relationship between tangible and intangible heritage.