24 December 2020
By Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
A collection of cherised Christmas memories and beloved traditions
Cork County Older People’s Council has published an anthology of festive stories, Memories of a Real Cork Christmas, collating Christmas memories from older citizens across the county.
This unique collection contains stories and history from the 1940s onwards. The stories were collated and published as part of “A Real Cork Christmas”, an initiative of Cork County Council.
The collection of stories covers life in the four corners of Ireland’s largest county and promises to preserve a trove of Christmas traditions and childhood memories for future generations.
Under the umbrella of Cork County Council’s ‘A Real Cork Christmas’ initiative, the Cork County Age Friendly Programme invited members of Cork County Older People’s Council to send their stories of Christmas Traditions and Childhood memories of Christmas.
Such was the volume and quality of the response, the decision was taken to formally collate them and put them on the record using Cork County Council’s library network.
Mayor of County Cork, Cllr Mary Linehan Foley says,
“Cork County Older People’s Council has been working tirelessly to support those who may feel alone and vulnerable, particularly this year. These citizens are amongst our most valuable, as their wisdom is a constant source of guidance and their stories deserve to be told. Every story in this collection is a personal one and helps show us how much our world has both changed and stayed the same. Ahead of what is a challenging Christmas for all of us, I would like to thank the members of the Cork County Older People’s Council for their efforts. I would like to thank every one of the authors for sharing their memories and wish them a very Happy Christmas.”
Deputy Chief Executive of Cork County Council, James Fogarty says,
“These are stories that clearly bring great happiness to the writers. 2020, for its many faults, has given us an opportunity to share that happiness more widely. These stories will now be preserved for the ages through a publication stored in our County Libraries. I would like to sincerely thank the Cork County Older People’s Council and the staff of Cork County Council for bringing this idea to fruition.”
