New training and mentorship programme supporting Mayo’s oral heritage
The programme is equally open to individuals and groups interested in beginning new oral heritage projects.
Groups and individuals across County Mayo are being invited to take part in a new oral heritage training and mentorship programme which will run throughout late September and October 2026.
The programme follows the completion of the county-wide Audit of Mayo’s Oral Heritage Collections and the development of the Roadmap for Mayo Oral Heritage 2026–2036, both key actions of the County Mayo Heritage Strategy. Together these initiatives have established an important foundation for the long-term recording, preservation and use of Mayo’s rich oral heritage.
Delivered by Mac Conmara Heritage Consulting, on behalf of Mayo County Council Heritage Office and with funding from The Heritage Council, the programme has been providing practical training and individual mentorship to community groups, local historians, heritage organisations and individuals across the county.
Over the coming months, a particular focus will be on supporting groups that already hold oral history, folklore or other recorded collections and would benefit from assistance in understanding what they have and how best to organise, catalogue, preserve and manage that material. This may include older collections on cassette or other analogue formats, as well as more recent digital recordings.
The programme is equally open to individuals and groups interested in beginning new oral heritage projects. Training will cover practical approaches to interviewing and recording, ethics and consent, equipment, documentation and metadata, collections management, digitisation, preservation and appropriate approaches to future access.
Alongside collective training, Mac Conmara Heritage Consulting will provide targeted mentorship to participating groups and individuals, allowing support to be shaped around particular collections, projects and local needs.
Dr Tomás Mac Conmara of Mac Conmara Heritage Consulting, who led the Mayo audit and roadmap process, said: “The Mayo Audit demonstrated the extraordinary extent of recorded memory that already exists across the county, in libraries and archives, but also in local heritage groups, community organisations and private collections.
The next challenge is to support the people caring for that material and ensure that important recordings are not lost simply because groups lack the time, technical knowledge or resources to process them properly. At the same time, there are communities and individuals across Mayo who want to begin recording the older generation now. This programme is about giving them the confidence and practical skills to do that well, while thinking from the outset about what happens to those recordings in five, twenty or fifty years’ time.”
The training and mentorship initiative represents one of the first practical actions in the implementation of the Roadmap for Mayo Oral Heritage 2026–2036, moving from the identification of collections towards building local capacity to safeguard, develop and make appropriate use of Mayo’s recorded heritage over the coming decade.
Dr Deirdre Cunningham, Heritage Officer with Mayo County Council, said: “The audit has given us a much clearer understanding of the remarkable oral heritage that has already been recorded throughout County Mayo, but it has also highlighted the need to support the people and communities who hold these collections. This programme is an important next step in putting the recommendations of the Roadmap into practice.
“We would particularly encourage groups who may have recordings stored away, even if they are unsure of their significance or what to do with them, to come forward. Equally, we want to support communities that recognise there are voices and memories around them today that should be recorded for future generations.”
The training and mentorship programme forms part of a significant expansion of oral heritage activity supported by Mayo County Council Heritage Office in recent years. This includes the Creamery Years Oral History Project, documenting memories of Mayo’s creamery and dairy heritage, the Asahi Oral History Project, recording the story and legacy of the former Killala manufacturing plant, and ongoing work to identify and develop other important oral heritage collections across the county.
More recently, the Cillíní Oral History Project has begun recording memories and local knowledge associated with children’s burial grounds, preserving testimony around places and experiences that have often remained undocumented. Together, these initiatives demonstrate a growing commitment to ensuring that Mayo’s lived experience and community memory are recorded and preserved alongside its physical heritage.
The training programme taking place from late September and October 2026, combining collective training with more focused mentoring and support for participating groups.
Expressions of interest are welcome from historical and heritage societies, community organisations, cultural groups, local archives and collection holders, as well as individuals interested in recording or preserving Mayo’s oral heritage. Those interested should email [email protected] or phone 086 2747230.