Kitty Leyden. Photograph: Anthony O’Connor.
TULLA woman, Kitty Leyden features as the first guest in a new series of the Clare Oral History Podcast which will be released this Friday.
Eighty eight year old Kitty, a native of Cree is a well-known and much beloved figure there and in her adopted home of Tulla. Her stories range from her fun-filled childhood to talking parrots, and from the cruelty of educators to how her parents’ match was made. Listeners will find out what the “plucking of the gander” is, what to stuff a pigs bladder football with, and what the púca did to haws after Hallowe’en.
Kitty’s episode was recorded live with an audience for Heritage Week.
Produced by Feakle woman Paula Carroll, with sound supervision by Darragh Purcell, The Clare Oral History Podcast showcases the oral histories of Clare people recorded over the last 15 years in the county.
This year’s series will focus on some of the finest storytellers and carriers of traditional knowledge in the Cuimhneamh an Chláir archive. It will give Clare people a chance listen to evocations of times past in the county.
In future episodes we will hear evocations of the historic streetscapes of Clare towns, as well as stories of traditional farming and rural life, stories of children’s lives, of emigration and of the experiences of Clare women.
“Podcasting is the perfect way to share the treasures that are in the Cuimhneamh an Chláir archive” said project manager, Paula Carroll. “Our interviews are audio interviews, they are for listening to, and podcasting is the supreme way to listen to stories these days. It’s a very powerful way to share our archive, because not everyone can come to our public events, or has the time to trawl through full interviews and transcripts of recordings. With the podcast you can choose when you listen, you can listen while doing other things, and you hear stories curated for you on experiences that are of interest to you”.
Series two of the Clare Oral History Podcast launches this Friday with episodes to be published every second Friday from October to December. Earlier series of the podcast can also be found on Apple Podcasts or Spotify by searching The Clare Oral History Podcast on any platform. The Clare Oral History Podcast is funded by The Ireland Funds Heart of the Community Fund.
