Reflection on Speaker Jim Barry (Muireann)

Notes recorded when talking to Jim Barry

1. Why did you join/create the Historical Society for Carrigtwohill? 

Club society. really interested in old things wanted people to know the history of the small village and inform himself and others and try and learn from the past and to keep cultural traditions. joined 8 years ago. 

2. What is your favourite piece of history or folklore on Carrigtwohill and why? 

Jim liked gathering info from folklore and relating it to the present day. Barryscort Castle. especially likes the poet Daibhi O Bruadai who was from Carrigtwohill.

3. How has the growth of the village affected your day to day life? 

hasn't affected him much can still get all the things he needs, facilities are better but not much has changed. the first thing to move in Youghal carpets.

4. Do you think the community struggled with this growth? If so how?

foreigners fit in well and took on a lot of Irish culture such as GAA but feels as the years go on Irish culture fades such as less Irish dancing in schools etc. due to modernisation and new technologies 

 5. What was the village like before the rapid growth in population? 

An ordinary small village, residential and a church. Remembers being in a church when he was young where people sat in groups women on the left couples in another area etc

6. Where can you see the traditional culture mix with the new cultures in the community? 

integration seems to retain a lot of Irish culture taking on most of the attributes of Irish culture but is important not to lose their own culture as we can all learn from one another. modernisation is reducing culture as the years go by but present things such as media he ponders on the question will it last and should we go back to paper.

7. What is your favourite new thing about this community that wasn't there years ago? 

The clubs and societies. improvements such as train station more houses, more efficient shops. He doesn't seem to care for the updated things as much does not affect him sees it as the same village to when he was young. 

8. Is there anything you would like to see changed in Carrigtwohill? 

not particularly we can all give out about the small things but in the end, the expansion is going well. People might complain about the lack of hotels and facilities like that but neighbouring villages can supply things like that so there is no need. He talked about how we need to think about the future and assess if things are necessary. Can't tell the future couldn't predict the pandemic all the things that we thought would be open this time last year are closed.

9. Do you think this community facilitates people of all ages? Why/why not? 

He feels it does facilitate all ages youth clubs are great playgrounds society provide great things for people and good connection.

10. Is there anything you would like to add, or any feedback you’d like to give us? 

he really loved that we asked him questions on his experience as it's not done often enough and that we should always ask questions to people of experience and knowledge to get a conversation going as there is no harm in it and helps us understand what is happening in society and make better decisions for the future.

Post thoughts 

He likes to preserve Irish culture especially since he is in a historical society and asks the question will media last? should we go back to hard copy (photos in shoe boxes) he likes to focus on what we came from and gain knowledge from the past to make better choices now. new up to date serves the same as the old doesn't feel like it changes much in the society as a shop is a shop. Likes when people gain knowledge from people of experience there is no harm in it from learning from an alternate perspective.

he feels people in Carrigtwohill from all ages ethnicities fit in well but when coming to Ireland should adapt more Irish culture. as the saying goes when in Rome do as the Romans do. he touched on how when he was younger that when they went to church people sat in separate groups seems less separated now due to many foreign people arriving in.

talks about the overshadowing of the history/culture due to modernisation and he joined the historical society to try and help not only himself but others understand the history behind the village.

Questions to ask myself after the interview 

What unique insights about the community have you learned?

that not necessarily the fact that new people with separate cultures is reducing Irish culture but the modernisation and readiness of info due to media has seen the decrease in Irish culture more so not unlike most villages.

Was there anything unexpected?

how he thinks that media will not last and that things that we did in the past are more reliable such as storage of photos(albums) etc.

Was there anything inspiring?

it was nice to see how much he appreciated how we wanted to get his insights and that people of our generation should ask more questions to the older generation or more experienced people in their field as there is no harm and creates a better bond in communities 

How are these insights impacting on what you want to find out next about the community?

this colours the community in a different light for me as although they seem to get along it surprised me that no one has asked him questions like this before almost as if the community is living on a surface level in each other's lives and if they asked more questions they might unearth problems and become a closer community due to it.

How will you find this out?

by looking at what the other speakers had to say and if there is a similar consensus from all by reading between the lines 

What obstacles are you anticipating over the next few weeks and what is the most interesting part of the project for you?

I anticipate that due to covid getting peoples stories will be hard. I find that learning about peoples lives and how they similar and how they differ will be interesting to uncover. Then to expose this to the community and make them aware of these stories and feelings.