Killyleagh Remembers: sharing local Catholic and Protestant stories of war

Zena McAllister leads a First World War walking history trail in Killyleagh

First World War: Then and Now

28/04/2014

Crossgar and Killyleagh

Newry, Mourne and Down

Best of Killyleagh

£7900

"There had been a Unionist and Protestant tradition of remembering the War but many families had had difficulty finding a way to publicly remember their shared histories."

Chris, Project Manager

Catholic and Protestant communities were brought together in this project investigating the impact of the First World War on the local area.

The Killyleagh Remembers project focused on the stories of people from Killyleagh and Shrigley who volunteered and served in the First World War. It was delivered by 13 community groups including the Best of Killyleagh.

Local families from both Catholic and Protestant communities publicly shared their memories of the impact of the war on their families.

The volunteer-run, 4-month long project produced a significant number of outputs. Three exhibitions were held, with the most successful being Memories and Medals Day, which attracted around 150 people. These stories were combined with research from the Sloane History Group to create a book. A Facebook page was developed.

The project was carefully organised to appeal to a cross-section of the community: events were held in church halls of different denominations.

There were also walking tours and a scrapbook of photographs and stories for primary school children. Over 20 young people were inspired by the real-life experiences of their families and by a visit to the Somme Centre.