Douro Heritage Group

08/07/2026

Great to be sharing our story in the places where it began!

𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚?

Places are filling up for Carved in Stone: Preserving a Community's Heritage, taking place on Thursday, 20 August in Mitchelstown as part of National Heritage Week.

The evening will explore the remarkable connections between Ireland and Canada, uncovering stories of emigration, community and heritage that continue to link both sides of the Atlantic.

Families referenced during the presentation include Tobin, Leahy, Moher, Fitzgerald, Fahey, Conway, Sullivan, Kavanagh, Allen, O'Brien, Crowley, Heffernan and Condon.

Could your family be part of the story?

Book your free place today and discover the people, places and histories that helped shape communities across generations.

📍 Saint George's, Mitchelstown
📅 Thursday, 20 August
🎟️ Free admission – advance booking is required via our website: https://www.ballyhouradevelopment.com/Event/carved-in-stone-preserving-a-communitys-heritage

We look forward to welcoming you to this unique National Heritage Week programme supported by The Heritage Council.

07/28/2026

Great event for Ireland's National Heritage Week coming together tracing our Peterborough County communities across the Atlantic!

As part of National Heritage Week 2026, Ballyhoura Development CLG is delighted to present "Carved in Stone: Preserving a Community's Heritage", a programme exploring how gravestones, memorial inscriptions and historic burial landscapes preserve the history, identity and collective memory of communities across generations.

Bringing together local history, archaeology, genealogy and cultural heritage, the programme reveals how communities have preserved their stories in stone - from local burial grounds in North Cork to the wider Irish diaspora in Canada.

The evening begins with "Irish Names in Canadian Stone: A Transatlantic Heritage", presented by Canadian historian Patrick Leahy and Irish archaeologist John Tierney of Historic Graves Ireland. The presentation explores the legacy of the 1825 Robinson Emigration, when more than 750 people from the Cork, Limerick and Tipperary borderlands emigrated together to Canada. Through historical research and gravestone archaeology in both Douro Township and North Cork, supported by a Royal Irish Academy (RIA) research grant, the presentation traces family histories spanning centuries and examines how gravestones preserve names, places and memories carried across the Atlantic.

Following refreshments and music from the Kilworth Guitar & Music Group, the evening continues with "Gone Underground: A Heritage Preserved", a guided exploration of Brigown Cemetery, examining how burial landscapes preserve the social structure, cultural memory and identity of communities long after they have disappeared from everyday life.

Participants are welcome to attend either event individually or enjoy the full programme.

📅 Thursday, 20 August 2026
🕡 6:15pm – 8:30pm
📍 Saint George's Arts and Heritage Centre & Brigown Cemetery, Mitchelstown
🎟️ Free admission – advance booking is required via our website: https://www.ballyhouradevelopment.com/Event/carved-in-stone-preserving-a-communitys-heritage

We look forward to welcoming you to this unique National Heritage Week programme supported by The Heritage Council.

07/07/2026

Check out this great presentation, Saturday July 11th!

Mark your calendars! On Saturday, July 11th, Mike and Nancy Towns are giving a special presentation on historic Douro's "Rural Life and Small Town Commerce". Come to the library and step back in time - take in the stories, photographs, and oral histories of 19th and 20th century Douro. 10:30AM-Noon.

06/26/2026

In late April, we launched a new project - The Douro Folklore Collection.

We have inherited a unique storytelling tradition here, whether it be tales of things that happened over a hundred years ago, or last week.

We want to preserve what you know - stories of the people, placers, and happenings that make Douro special.

This project has drawn inspiration from the Irish Folklore Commission, which did this across all of Ireland in the 1930s- preserving the memories and stories of local people for the future.

To do this, we are handing out a series of notebooks- fill them up as you please with memories, stories, and recollections. Bring them back to us, and we will digitize them, preserve them, and hope to publish a collection from these stories in 2027.

We greatly appreciate the support of the Township of Douro-Dummer towards making this endeavour happen.

This video from April shows a taste of the project - local people, memories, and the appreciation for a good yarn which we all have.

If you're interested in getting a notebook to fill in, send a message and we will make sure to get you one!

04/24/2026

📖 Introducing the "Douro Folklore Collection"! 📖

Drawing on our strong tradition of storytelling and taking inspiration from the Irish National Folklore Collection of the 1930s, we are excited to launch this new initiative tomorrow night.

Douro is a unique place, with strong connections to the land, its people, and our shared past. This project helps us protect our special legacy and preserve it for those who will come after us.

We are encouraging people to record stories of local people, places, happenings, legends, and traditions.

Fill in the stories you want to share in one of the “Douro Folklore Collection” notebooks and then return them to us or send a typed version to [email protected]. They will be transcribed for digital preservation, and we hope to publish from the collection next year.

Be sure to come out on Saturday April 25th to find out more and pick up your notebook!