History and aims of The Northside Folklore Project {short description of image}

The Northside Folklore Project was instigated in 1996 as an initiative of the following groups:

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  • Béaloideas, Folklore and Ethnology at University College, Cork.
  • Northside Community Enterprises Ltd.
  • Blackpool Historical Society
  • Mayfield Historical Society
  • Cork City Partnership


It was decided that a folklore project which studied urban folklore would be be a useful contribution to folklore studies, both locally and abroad, through the building up of an archive of material, which would be stored in the community in which it was recorded. It was also intended that this material be made available on the internet.

Nine individuals were recruited through the community employment training programme and specialised training was designed and implemented, with the following elements at its core:

Folklore and ethnology, an introduction | communications | audio/visual technology | library and archive usage | computer applications | multimedia skills | using historical sources | traditional music | internet technology |

Since then over 40 topics have been researched and more than thirty individuals have worked on the project.

Process and Product

During the initial period, staff underwent training at the project base at Millfield, Cork. Then, areas of interest were identified for research purposes. Questionnaires were designed and contacts were made with possible informants. Recordings and interviews usually followed shortly afterwards and this process was usually complimented with the taking of photos and, in some cases video footage.

The results are indexed and stored in the project's on-site archive.

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