After my apparent display of enthusiasm, Mervin mentioned that the Nerve Centre had recently paired up with some kids on a movie featuring Tory Island. I was pleased that Mervin and I could connect over something outside of our immediate environment. The movie explores the revival of Séan Nos Nua music on Tory Island. It is an old type of music that passes from generation to generation through very informal instruction. However, just before the development of a secondary school on the island, youth interest in the traditional music started to fade. With the arrival of new technology on the island, educators started to couple modern tools with age-old Irish folk music. This technique sparked a new curiosity regarding Séan Nos Nua. I realize now that I have seen this theme of solidifying a basis for remembering one’s heritage many times.In the lobby of the Nerve Centre there is a Digital Video Archive that was recently compiled to unite a century’s worth of footage filmed in Northern Ireland. It highlights different eras but noticeably it does not focus on any specific aspect of the Troubles (the main purpose of our course), which is something I have been struggling with during my placement at the Nerve Centre (addressed in my next post). This treasury of video stories acts as a tribute to the dynamic history of Northern Ireland. We sorted through videos ranging from an early 20th century circus visit to modern feature length films. Searching beyond my placement, I found another example of logging the past in our lecture on Belfast murals at Belfast Exposed.
On Monday morning, during our first trip to Belfast, Bill Rolston walked us through the history of murals in Northern Ireland. He surprised me in saying that no one before him decided to formally document the mural scene throughout the country. Specific murals have come and gone over the past century, but the tradition is still as strong and seemingly as effective today as when it started. Rolston described the tension between the prevalence of Protestant paramilitary paintings and the more sweeping themes of Catholic ones. Without his mural anthologies and analyses, I would not have realized the significance of changing the faces of walls. Rolston showed us a chronology through different movements and international influences that could only be recognized when comparing murals from different time periods.
Even though the story on Tory Island’s music culture revolves around a town in the Republic of Ireland that does not happen to be plagued by sectarian conflict, I decided to draw parallels anyway. This movie opened my eyes to the current passion for commemorating the past in modes other than sectarian memorials. Prior to watching it, I felt little connection to the Nerve Centre other than recognizing its relevance to my grade. After, I realized that I have the opportunity to be a part of an organization that is leading not only this city and country but the entire island (Ireland) in memorializing its past. I’m hoping to extend this principle of commemoration to our final video project in which we will highlight the impression Northern Ireland made on us as well as the footprints we left in Northern Ireland.
