An archive of over 1,500 recordings has been compiled by Maurice and Jane O'Keeffe since 1990. As they are commissioned by the Local Authorities of each county, they travel the highways and byways of Ireland recording the oral history there. Each recording is produced on an individual CD of approximately 1 hour in duration.
Every topic under the Irish sun is included in the recordings - local and national history, family histories, folklore, music, local customs, traditions and beliefs, teaching and schooling, fishing and farming traditions, boglands and turf, rural electrification and the growth and development of rural villages and towns, the Economic War and the Emergency Period, the 1916 Rising, The War of Independence and The Civil War.

New Digitised Format A Master Catalogue in two Volumes with Index, has been compiled in hard copy, which includes information on all 1,600 recordings compiled in the Irish Life and Lore Series since 1994. Digitised versions of all of the recording and catalogues have also been produced - the recordings are in 128kbps mp3 audio format and the catalogues are in pdf format. For more information on this new digitised format, please contact us. Irish Life and Lore Collection Launches The Fleischmann Collection will be launched at the in Cork on 13th April 2010. This Collection celebrates the life and work of the late Aloys Fleischmann, composer and Professor of Music UCC in his centenary year. The Meath Collection and the Donegal Collection will be launched in Spring 2010. The Falkland Islands Collection, compiled in November 2009 and funded by the Shackleton Scholarship Fund, and additonal funds raised locally, is now completed. Irish Life and Lore Photographic Exhibition This very popular exhibition is now in on display in Skibbereen Library in West Cork, having spent several months at the National Museum of Country Life in Mayo. Irish Life and Lore on Lyric FM Lyric FM will broadcast two features on the late Aloys Fleischmann and his work, using some of the Irish Life and Lore recordings, on Saturday 3rd and Saturday 10th April at 7pm. (96-99FM). Irish Life and Lore Books Work is well underway on a new book relating to ten of the recordings compiled by Maurice O'Keeffe in Cork City over the past two years. The book is edited by Jane O'Keeffe and will be published in early Summer, 2010. The new Irish Life and Lore Master Catalogue, in two volumes with index, is now available. Liberties Press in Dublin recently published "Written in Stone" by former Kilmainham Jail archivist, Niamh O'Sullivan. The book relates to the grafitti on the cell walls of the Jail, written by Republican prisoners during the War of Independence and Civil War. Included within the covers of the book is a recording on CD compiled by Maurice O'Keeffe as he walks through the cells with Niamh O'Sullivan, describing the grafitti and remembering the people who wrote it. Sample Audio from the Fingal Collection Listen to an hour of audio snippets from the recently published Fingal (North Dublin Collection. Sample Audio from the Fingal Collection The Old Kerry Journal - Second Edition The Second Edition of the Old Kerry Journal has been published by Russell McMorran and Maurice O'Keeffe.more » Irish Life and Lore on RTE's Nationwide The Irish Life and Lore series were recently featured on RTE's Nationwide programme.more »

 

Most of the recordings in the Irish Life and Lore archive have been divided into Collections according to the counties in which they were compiled. Each Collection is comprised of individual CDs accompanied by an illustrated catalogue giving a brief synopsis of each recording. Each CD may also be purchased individually. The Collections of recordings with relevant catalogues are also available in digitised format.

Some special Collections have also been compiled: Cork Institute of Technology Collection, 1916 Collection, Bord na Móna Collection and Falkland Islands Collection.

The most recent Collections completed are:

First Cork County Collection (43 CDs)   Email Us to purchase individual CDs Cork IT Collection (51 CDs)   Email Us to purchase individual CDs Cork City Collection (52 CDs) North Cork/Duhallow Collection (45 CDs)   Bord na Mona Collection (28 CDs)   Email Us to purchase individual CDs   First Kildare Collection (36 CDs)   Email Us to purchase individual CDs   First Kilkenny Collection (51 CDs) Second Kilkenny Collection (52 CDs)   First Tipperary Collection (45 CDs) North Tipperary Collection (50 CDs)   First Galway Collection (26 CDs)   First Clare Collection (39 CDs) Second Clare Collection (45 CDs) Third Clare Collection (50 CDs)

First Kerry Collection (119 CDs) North Kerry Collection (54 CDs) Third Kerry Collection (92 CDs) Fourth Kerry Collection (50 CDs)   Clara Collection (29 CDs)   Email Us to purchase individual CDs   First Carlow Collection (50 CDs)   North Dublin Collection (78 CDs) South Dublin Collection (61 CDs)   First Laois/Offaly Collection (50 CDs) Second Offaly Collection (70 CDs)   Wexford Opera Collection (62 CDs)   West Limerick Collection (47 CDs)   1916 Collection (33 CDs)

	Featured Wexford Opera CD Dr Tom Walsh No. 1 This is a compilation of interviews recorded. The first clip was recorded by Dr Tom Walsh when the first Wexford Festival Opera was announced. In the second clip, Tom Walsh’s sister Nellie Walsh speaks about the professional approach relating to performance. The third clip is a talk by Dr Tom Walsh about his young life, and his introduction to the ... read more »» Featured Cork City CD Connie & Joe Fahy, Dan Jones No. 2 Connie Fahy, the oldest in the group of three masons, has seen all the changes in the craft over the last half-century, and proudly speaks about the buildings in the city in whose construction he had been involved. Joe Fahy speaks about his craft as a bricklayer, and about the sources of the bricks and their differences in colour. Dan Jones’s ... read more »» Featured North Dublin CD Michael Gaffney Michael Gaffney was an only child whose father died when he was very young. From the age of six he was brought up by his mother, a very determined woman, who ran a small shop at the top of Hill Road. There she sold vegetables which she had grown. While browsing through some old photographs, Michael recalled the days when he would bring a cartload ... read more »» Featured South Dublin CD Peter Clarke Peter Clarke is from Coleraine, Co Derry. His father was from Howth, in North Dublin and he married Eithne Marsh, whose father owned Woodtown Park. He later recalls the history of the house, and is deeply engrossed in its preservation and conservation. Happily it has retained its former splendour. He describes the difficulties of trying to ... read more »» Featured Second Kilkenny CD Billy Neary Billy Neary recalls his days growing up in Ballylarkin, near Callan. When land came up for sale in Cuffes Grange, he purchased it, taking advantage of the Land Reclamation Scheme. He amalgamated 16 fields into one, a fact which he says he now regrets. He talks about his retirement and of driving a bus for the local school over the last few years. read more »» Featured 1916 CD Michael Howard In early April 2005, I was invited to Knockerra National School in Co Clare to record local resident Michael Howard, as he spoke to the children of the school and answered their many questions on local history. Several of the children were curious about events which occured during the years 1916 to 1923 and as Michael answered their questions, I ... read more »»

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