This project showcases a collaborative effort involving participants from Killybegs Day Care Centre, healthcare staff, and the local community. Over three weeks in the Summer of 2024, I explored specific sites in Bruckless, guided by Ute Daly’s detailed pamphlet ‘Walking through local history’ (2014).
The participatory element of the project engaged the Wednesday group in the Day Care Centre in a series of literary participatory sessions. Almost all participants in the Wednesday Group in Killybegs Day Care reside in Bruckless, fostering relevance and engagement. These participatory sessions revolved around reimagining and rediscovering the rich history of Bruckless, County Donegal, as originally documented in Daly’s work.
Eleven participants, healthcare staff, and I discuss, retell, read, listen to, and critique historical stories about Rahan Castle, once a stronghold for the Clan Suibhne around the 13th Century, the Great Bruckless Drowning in 1813 with particular reference to the local witch who then lived in the Rose Cottage, the old Tannery shipping high-quality leather from Bruckless Pier in the 19th Century, and the life of Communist Thomas Roderick Fforde who lived in the Georgian Manor ‘Bruckless House’ in the early 20th Century.
Over the sessions, poems were written collaboratively by the group through conversation, free prompts, imagery generation, discussion of key elements of contemporary poetry (e.g., identification of positive titles, endings, voltas, atmospheres, moods) and visual writing (e.g., creating original imagery through visualisation, interrogation of the five senses during imaginary storytelling, etc.). Through the use of collaborative poetry skills, each other’s creative potential, interest, and learning was enhanced.
Most delightfully, some participants responded individually to the delivery of the sessions. One participant, at home, sat down and hand-wrote her own poem based on her ‘stroll down a lovely lane’ in rural Donegal to share with the group. Additionally, a healthcare volunteer also responded to the stories brought to the participatory sessions, and was inspired to write her own poem to share with the group in support of the project. One lovely participant also brought in her daughter’s painting of Bruckless Pier, painted over fifteen years ago to inspire the group and showcase how the village of Bruckless continues to inspire. To me, this demonstrates that the impact of the participatory sessions expanded past the Day Care Centre, and into participant’s lives at home.#
The output of this project is a professionally-printed pamphlet that combines literary explorations and visual arts relating to the project, capturing the collective creativity and creative learning of the Wednesday Day Care Centre participants.
I was most delighted to bring this small-scale project into my hometown of Killybegs, and I am indebted to the support of Creative Ireland Programme, Donegal County Council, and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media.
A warm thanks is also due to the help of Ann-Marie Trait, the fantastic Day Care Coordinator, and the commitment of healthcare staff Stella Watkins and Dina Gill.
