Valuable recordings of Galway's history to be digitised

Funding will help preserve decades of lectures

GALWAY City Museum has been awarded almost €26,000 to support the digitisation of the William Henry and John Monahan Collection.

The Heritage Council grant will fund the digitisation and mastering of more than 180 cassette tape recordings of historical and cultural lectures delivered in Galway between the 1970s and early 2000s.

Recorded by William Henry and the late John Monahan, the collection comprises the lectures delivered to the members of the Old Galway Society and Galway Archaeological and Historical Society.

The talks feature distinguished researchers, academics, and authors of local and national renown, including Peadar O’Dowd, Donal Taheny, Jim Higgins, Maurice Semple, Etienne Rynne, Caitríona Clear, Marie Boran, and Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh.

“The recordings capture the expertise and voices of many individuals well known to Galwegians, some of whom are sadly no longer with us,” said Brendan McGowan, Education Officer at Galway City Museum and overseer of the project.

The grant will fund the digitisation and mastering of the tapes, the creation of a searchable bilingual catalogue, a programme of public engagement, and a launch event planned for the autumn.

The work will involve not only the transfer of the recordings to digital format but also cleaning and enhancing the audio to ensure its long-term preservation and accessibility.

In time, the collection will be made freely available to researchers, with plans to release selected recordings as a weekly podcast series for a wider public audience.

“I am in no doubt that my late friend, John Monaghan (President of the Old Galway Society) would be proud to know that his work will form a valuable record in the town he loved so well,” said William Henry, who recorded the bulk of the talks over four decades.

“A well-deserved thank you is also due to all the speakers over many years, who allowed John and I to record their words,” he continued.

Brendan McGowan and William Henry will host a public talk about the project at Galway City Museum on Saturday, August 15, during Heritage Week.

The digitisation process is currently underway and is expected to be completed by the end of August.

For more information, visit: www.GalwayCityMuseum.ie.