Over 4,000 witness accounts, 20,000 pages of sworn statements made by survivors shortly after experiencing their terror. Bosnia? Rwanda?
No Ireland.
Donegal County Museum in conjunction with History Ireland Publications is hosting a History Ireland Hedge School on Saturday 16th April at 3pm in the Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny.
The theme of the Hedge School is the 1641 depositions. The History Ireland’s Hedge School Master is Tommy Graham (originally from Ballyshannon) and the panel of experts which includes Mícheál Ó Siochcrú (TCD), Jane Ohlmeyer (TCD) Patrick Fitzgerald (Ulster American Folk Park) and James Sharkey (Irish diplomat/ Former Ambassador).
And as always with the Hedge schools, the audience has equal say with the panel of experts.
The 1641 Depositions (Archives of Trinity College Dublin) are sworn witness statements mainly by Protestants, but also by some Catholics, from all social backgrounds, concerning their experiences of the 1641 Irish rebellion.
Their testimonies document the loss of goods, military activity, and the alleged crimes committed, including assault, stripping, imprisonment and murder.
This body of material is unparalleled anywhere in early modern Europe, and provides a unique source of information for the causes and events surrounding the 1641 rebellion and for the social, economic, cultural, religious, and political history of seventeenth-century Ireland, England and Scotland.
Propagandists, politicians and historians have all exploited the depositions at different times, and the controversy surrounding them has never been satisfactorily resolved.
This is a unique opportunity for the public to learn more about the 1641 depositions and to take part in a discussion on this controversial period of our history.
Admission is free. All are welcome but booking is essential. For more information contact Donegal County Museum, 074 9124613, or museum@donegalcoco.ie
