An Inishowen community group launched its online documentary series on Friday with huge success.
Inishowen Community Media Network (ICMN) has been working on a digital media project, Croí na Farraige – Heart of
the Sea, to tell the story of the peninsula’s rich maritime heritage.
ICMN commissioned Crana Communications to research and produce a documentary series on the current state of our once-thriving fishing industry and way of life, told through the life stories of locals who made a living from the sea.
The project also looks at ways in which our coastal communities are fighting back and diversifying to continue to
make a living from the sea.
ICMN spokesperson Martha McCulloch said that they were delighted with the response from the local community, many of whom came forward to tell their stories.
“Some of those who feature in the series spent a lifetime at sea and some of the younger contributors are trying to make a living from it.
“The idea behind the project is to document material for future generations that would otherwise be lost. All the recorded
material is being archived and will be free for the public or schools and libraries to use for research or promotional purposes, e.g. Greencastle Maritime and Dunree Museums.”
The videos feature a wide range of subjects including the Foyle Fishermen’s Co-op, the oyster-farming Kearney family from Carndonagh, Seamus Bovaird and the Greencastle Maritime Museum, Andrew Ward of the IDP, Owen Doyle from BIM, old seafarers Johnny Kelly and Jim Cavanagh and younger men like Gerard Kelly and Cara Rawden.
These are all sea-folk with stories to tell, some nostalgic, some sad and some with hope for the future.
The project was funded by the BIM Fisheries Local Action Group and Donegal County Council, through MalinWaters, are kindly supporting the launch.
Production began in October last year and the crew had a busy time interviewing and visiting locations throughout Inishowen in the months since then.
Jim Doherty of Crana Communications was keen to point out that the project is far from over.
“What we have produced and uploaded so far is only the tip of the iceberg.
“We have a lot more content to add to the archive. Harry Kerr of the Memory Factory needs to be acknowledged for the camerawork and editing and we have Peter Homer to thank for the wonderful drone footage. We could only do so much in the few months we had to work on this.
“This is really a much bigger project than we had time to do, there are many more stories to be told and hopefully they will be heard.”
