An exciting exhibition from the National Museum of Ireland, featuring a selection of 20^th century travel and tourism posters opened on Saturday 2 August ‘08 at the Foyle Valley Railway Museum in Derry City. The exhibition is entitled ‘Come Back to Erin’ and will run until the end of September 2008.

These strikingly colourful posters feature the work of world famous artists like Paul Henry and the distinctive images will be a trip down memory lane for many people.

In the early decades of the last century mass tourism began to develop and with it came a surge in promotional activity. A very popular and highly visible element was the travel poster. Some posters, such as the ones by Paul Henry, became best sellers almost immediately and are still essential images of Ireland and are traded internationally.

Initially the posters were commissioned by Irish and British railway companies. These include CIE and its predecessor Great Southern Railways. Very appropriately, ‘Come Back to Erin’ originally ran in association with Iarnród Éireann.  After World War II, airlines such as Aer Lingus, Sabena, TWA and American Airlines began to issue posters about Ireland as an important part of their marketing campaigns. Irish tourist boards also began to promote Ireland and there is an interesting use of symbolic and stereotypical imagery as well as turn of phrases. This will be of interest to those interested in marketing and promotion, not to mention history and politics.

The exhibition focuses on some of the prime examples of Irish poster art. Many feature famous Irish tourist locations such as Killarney, Connemara, and the Giants Causeway. Other images are not place-specific but feature familiar scenes of upland well-proportioned landscapes, big skies, lakes and coasts. Of course there are also stereotypical Irish images of thatched houses, ruins, round towers, jaunting cars and inscribed high crosses. The aim was to create an attractive marketing image, presenting Ireland as happily old fashioned, but which could be visited by the most modern means of travel.

Derry today is served by just one railway system, which reaches to Belfast, Dublin and beyond.  At one time, however, it was served by four different systems which stretched throughout Ireland.  The Foyle Valley Railway Museum celebrates the outstanding railway history of the northwest, hosting a fascinating collection of narrow gauge railway engines, railway memorabilia and a substantial collection of archive items from the heydays of the four railway companies.

Admission to the exhibition is free.  Opening times: August-September 2008, 10am-5pm, Tuesday to Saturday.

Bernadette Walsh
Archivist, Derry City Council

In 2008 the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society will celebrate forty years of work promoting the appreciation and enjoyment of built heritage in the nine counties of Ulster. Central to the year’s activities is ‘Defend and Inspire’ a touring exhibition aimed at highlighting the significance and potential of our built heritage. It will include panels from ‘Modern Ulster Architecture’ a recent exhibition by the Society and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, together with information on local buildings that have been rescued and others that remain at risk.

After a busy schedule of touring the exhibition will open in Derry City’s Tower Museum on 3 November 2008.  The exhibition is an excellent opportunity to also view some of the architectural drawings from the Derry City archives.  With funding from the Heritage Council a number of drawings have been selected from the collection to be conserved, digitally photographed and framed for display.

A series of lectures will also coincide with the exhibition which will remain open to the public until the 15 November. For further information please contact Bernadette Walsh, archivist, Derry City Council at Heritage and Museum Service, Harbour Derry BT48 6AF; Tel: 028 71377331; Fax: 028 7137633F.

Bernadette Walsh
Archivist, Derry City Council

Following its launch on the 10^th September at the Old Courthouse, Lifford, the exhibition remained in Lifford at the Archives exhibition area, First Floor, Three Rivers Centre, Lifford for one week. It then moved to Letterkenny Public Service Centre the following week and over the next couple of years the exhibition will move to the other Public Service Centres and to libraries throughout Donegal.

Niamh Brennan
Donegal County Archives Service

Local Authority Archivists Group: Local Elections Exhibitions

In an effort to encourage people to use their vote in the forthcoming local elections, the Local Authority Archivists Group (LAAG) decided to put together an exhibition on the subject which would travel to all participating local authorities for a limited period, and be supplemented by items from the county archives collection there.

The Heritage Council committed itself to part funding of the project, and the research began. Colm McQuinn, who acted as exhibition co-ordinator for the LAAG, met with Caitriona Crowe of the National Archives to discuss their “Lovers of Liberty Exhibition” which was held in 1998 to mark 100 years since the passing of the 1898 Local Government Act. Catriona Crowe allowed Colm to view the panels and materials used and offered advice on the mounting of an exhibition. The publication, which had accompanied the National Archives exhibition, proved an invaluable source of information on the first elections following the 1898 Act. Staff at the Department of Environment and Local Government was helpful in supplying dates of all local elections held (and cancelled). Liam Kenny, Director of the Association of County and City Councils also provided many useful suggestions.

The focus of the display was to be two-fold: the first, a background history of local elections since the Local Government Act 1898, and the various changes made to how they are run since; and the second, an explanation of how elections are run now, how a candidate is nominated, who is entitled to vote, and how the voting and counting is carried out.

After much discussion eight subject headings were decided on:

• The Local Government Act 1898 & The Franchise
• The First Local Government Elections – 1899
• Results of First Elections and Its Consequences
• Famous Elections
• Election Campaigns
• Legislative Changes & Election Years 
• Modus Operandi 
• The Public Use Their Vote to Have Their Say

Individual archivists volunteered to compose the text for each panel, though, Cecile Chemin, Mid-East Regional Archivist, ended up supplying the text for two panels. The texts, which were limited to 250 words, were sent on completion to Michael Lynch, archivist in Kerry County Council for editing and to impose a consistency of style.

All of the seventeen local authorities involved were then asked to search their collections for any material relating to local elections in their area. Some local archives had many items and others had little or none. Items were scanned and sent to Colm McQuinn, who engaged Legato Design, based in Gardiner Street, Dublin to design panels for the exhibition. The brief given to Legato Design was to create an ‘official’ rather than ‘historical’ look, as this was a local government information project, as opposed to a purely archival or heritage type of display.

It was decided to get the panels printed onto pop-ups for ease of transportation and set-up, and at a meeting of the LAAG in 2007, the panels designed by Legato were approved. With the draft panels now completed, the Chairperson of LAAG, Joanne Rothwell secured the promised funding from Dr. Hugh Maguire of the Heritage Council. The LAAG also hope to fund a second set of pop-up display panels to ensure that every Local Authority which has contributed to the exhibition can host the exhibition for sufficient time to advertise it and give the general public time to view it. The only regret is that, as not every local authority has either a full-time or even part-time archivist among it’s staff, some authorities will not receive the exhibition at all.

The exhibition will be launched on the 3^rd November in Fingal County Council’s County Hall and it is hoped that John Gormley, Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government will be able to attend.

Colm McQuinn
Fingal County Archive Service