Local historian Cllr Kieran McCarthy has announced that the date for the Cork City schools’ award ceremony of the Discover Cork Schools’ Heritage Project is Wednesday 28 February (7pm, Concert Hall, City Hall) whilst the county schools’ award ceremony is on Thursday 1 March (7pm, Silversprings Convention Centre). A total of 39 schools in Cork took part in the 2018 Discover Cork: Schools’ Heritage Project, which included Schools in Ballinlough and Douglas. Circa 750 students participated in the process with approx 180 projects books submitted on all aspects of Cork’s local history heritage. The Discover Cork: Schools’ Heritage Project, in its fifteenth year is a youth forum for students to do research and offer their opinions on important decisions being made on their heritage in their locality and how they affect the lives of people locally.  The aim of the project is to allow students to explore, investigate and debate their local heritage in a constructive, active and fun way.

    Co-ordinator and founder of the project, Cllr Kieran McCarthy noted that: “The project is about thinking about, understanding, appreciating and making relevant in today’s society the role of our heritage – our landmarks, our oral histories, our landscapes in our modern world for upcoming citizens. The project also focuses on motivating and inspiring young people, giving them an opportunity to develop leadership and self development skills, which are very important in the world we live in today”.

   The City Edition of the Project is funded by Cork City Council with further sponsorship offered by Learnit Lego Education, Cllr Kieran McCarthy, Lifetime Lab and Sean Kelly of Lucky Meadows Equestrian Centre. Full results for the City edition and the County edition of the project are online on Cllr McCarthy’s heritage website, www.corkheritage.ie.