New videos about History in Mayo: A Cockade from the United Irishmen

Fascinating new videos are showcasing highlights from the famous Jackie Clarke Collection in North Mayo town Ballina. The first one tells the story of a Cockade that was worn during the times of the United Irishmen around 1798. 

The United Irishmen were a sworn society that was aiming at overcoming sectarian differences and started an armed republican uprising in the late 18th century with the help of Revolutionary France. The society's most prominent member was Theobald Wolfe Tone.

"History is more tangible for us with unique items. A French army uniform cockade as was worn by Wolfe Tone. It gives more of a feel of Irish history. For the struggle. Wolfe Tone wore the Cockade, a symbol of republicanism, during his arrest and his trial. He was sentenced to death for his convictions" explained Anne Marie Forbes, acting director of the Jackie Clarke Collection Ballina. 

"We wanted to celebrate our tenth anniversary. We opened in 2013. Instead of having one event, we had many several events. And we decided to have a chronological look at our collection through the centuries. We picked key items, but also bringing in newspapers. Jackie collected many newspapers. When he started, he was a scrap booker, so he would spend hours cutting out important pieces from newspapers and pasting them into scrap books." said Anne Marie Forbes, acting director of the Jackie Clarke Collection.

Every couple of weeks there will be a new video released on the Youtube channel. Just keep an eye out: The next one will be a 'Map of Connachta', dating back to Cromwellian times in the 1600s.  

Watch the video about the Cockade here.