Shedding light on the story of Irish emigration to Argentina
Longford and Westmeath county councils are jointly embarking on an oral history project focusing on the story of emigration to Argentina.
They are looking for volunteers in both counties to share stories about relatives who emigrated to ‘The Argentine’.
The project is funded by the Heritage Council and run by the Longford Heritage Office and archives service and the Westmeath Heritage Office.
For a century from the 1820s onwards, people from both counties, and other parts of Ireland, emigrated to Argentina, with many becoming successful in farming or business there.
The Longford-Westmeath Argentina Society is active in keeping awareness of the story alive.
This is the first oral history project on the subject to be conducted in either county.
The organisers are conscious that there are knowledgeable people in both counties with information that could be of great value to the project.
Oral history consultant, Adrian Roche, who is also the founding member and director of the Oral History Network of Ireland, will conduct interviews with a selection of people from the two counties.
The interviews will be deposited in the archives in both counties and made available for important sources for present and future research.
The organisers of the project are also calling on people with relevant family documents might be willing to allow them to be copied for research purposes.
Cathaoirleach of Longford County Council, Cllr Mark Casey, said that the oral history project is a great opportunity to gather information about an important part of the story of emigration from Longford.
Cllr Casey said: "Many people in the county do not know about the connection with Argentina and this project will shed light on these unknown stories and open this part of history to a new audience.”
Longford County Council chief executive, Paddy Mahon, acknowledged the value of a two-county project.
Mahon said: “We are happy to be collaborating with our neighbours in Westmeath on this very worthy initiative.
"The collaboration will, hopefully, allow us to better understand the lives of those emigrants who embarked on a new life to Argentina.
Mahon also said that the project is intended to "facilitate comparisons between the two counties".
Those who would like to be participate in the project should email [email protected] or [email protected], or phone 043-341124, before Tuesday, June 3.
