Last Thursday evening (2 December 2010), I had the priviledge of launching the short documentary, “A Brief History of Mahon” in Blackrock Castle. Below is an extract from my speech. Sincere well done to everyone who made this film happen.

Extract from Kieran’s speech:

“Ladies and Gentlemen, many thanks for this opportunity to launch this Dvd this evening. It’s great to be in a building that a one time protected the walled town of Cork from attacks from Pirate ships but is now looking further field to the universe. Can I say at the outset, this is an amazing community based project driven by our retired citizens, many of which put in trojan work to make sure older people are not marginalised and that they is ample opportunity to get stuck in and involved in community based projects, from parties to bowls to art and computer lessons.

The project is also driven by Eddie Noonan and his team at Frameworks Film who also does amazing work in recording the various histories across the city.I know many people in Mahon were interviewed for their perspective on how the area has developed and many of you are here this evening. One of the major aspects I feel that comes across is the strong sense of pride people have in their own place in this part of Cork City, young and old. It’s interesting to see the needs of young people voiced as well as the needs of the older generation. This Dvd is dedicated to the memory of Paddy O’Driscoll, who I met only once in my own travels but whose name goes before him even in death when one talks about the development of community in the Mahon area.

I think Paddy would be proud to see that in the overall sense the sense of pride, the sense of place and identity is very much present but also evolving in the Mahon community. My own experience of Mahon people is one of a strong common sense people which I feel this city and country needs more of in today’s world. This Dvd opens up an interesting box of memories that perhaps have not been open before, certainly not through the medium of film. Mahon has a rich history, an inheritance, physical in its buildings, cultural in terms of the outlook and memories of its residents. The researcher can also talk about community and settlement across 2,500 years in this area, whether it be Bronze Age times or the age of the O’Mahony ringfort, the age of the big house and estate or the age of one of the largest social housing projects in the country.

In the last number of years, I have been beavering away at researching different parts of this part of the City and in the last year have outed two walking trails of the wider area – one on the old Cork Blackrock and Passage Rail Line and the other on Ballinlough. Inspired by this film, there is much need to not only gather historical information about areas such as Mahon and Blackrock but also explore their sense of place. Both I feel are suffering from a case of amnesia – where much of its past is not that talked about in the present – or perhaps it is -but through the role of personal and childhood memories which feature alot in this short film. Apart from the historical, the role of personal memory is enormous in gauging the sense of place of an area.

This dvd at its heart is a celebration of the different parts of the Mahon’s identity. The dvd that we are launching tonight seems to have a great thread running through it as if old friends/ former topics, written about before are being revisited but this time -time has been taken to mull over the memories more.  This dvd at its core seems to be about thinking about, understanding, appreciating and making relevant in today’s society the role of our heritage- our landmarks, our oral histories, our scenery in our modern world for upcoming citizens.”