“Seen but Not Heard”

MONAGHAN COUNTY MUSEUM IN ASSOCIATION WITH ‘LAMN’ – LOCAL AUTHORITY MUSEUMS NETWORK “SEEN BUT NOT HEARD” MONAGHAN COUNTY MUSEUM IN ASSOCIATION WITH LAMN (LOCAL AUTHORITY MUSEUMS NETWORK) “SEEN BUT NOT HEARD” AN EXHIBITION CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF CHILDHOOD IN IRELAND Comhairle Contae Mhuineacháin Monaghan County Council Comhairle Contae Mhuineacháin Monaghan County Council AN EXHIBITION CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF CHILDHOOD IN IRELAND MONAGHAN COUNTY MUSEUM IN ASSOCIATION WITH ‘LAMN’ – LOCAL AUTHORITY MUSEUMS NETWORK “SEEN BUT NOT HEARD” 01 t t t t Each little flower that opens, Each little bird All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The Lord Godod made them all. Each little flower that opens, Each little bird h Each little flower that opens, Each little bird a t s . l i l n e g s w , s H g e n i m THIS ‘SEEN BUT NOT HEARD’ EXHIBITION HAS BEEN BROUGHT h t a l l d a e e t h d a TO YOU BY LAMN (LOCAL AUTHORITY MUSEUM NETWORK) AND e i r m g s l a o h w o IS AN ENCHANTING COLLECTION OF IMAGES AND MEMORIES i n h g W c , o y l t national touring o h DOCUMENTING MANY ASPECTS OF GROWING UP ON THE u g r i exhibition s , m l H A e d ISLAND OF IRELAND OVER THE LAST CENTURY. m o a G d s e i t t h a e e r i r g t i w n o y Is é gréasán Músaem na nÚdarás Áitiúil (LAMN) a d’eagraigh an H w , l l i e n t g t s h taispeántas seo ‘A bheith le feiceáil ach gan a bheith le clos’ agus is . g T i h m e e r i c bailiúchán is ea é d’íomhánna agus de chuimhní cinn a thugann cur w h t a m h t a s n síos ar ghnéithe éagsúla de shaol an pháiste ar oileán na hÉireann le p i i l n d h n i s A , céad bliain anuas. c a m s e t l h e t , e T e h s e o p t o s o e r y e m SPECIAL THANKS s a u n e v a a t E WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE HARD WORK g h W , e i s H g a CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPERTISE OF THE FOLLOWING ; t y e a , d G y o r PEOPLE AND ORGANISATIONS WITHOUT WHOM THIS d e m v e a r d EXHIBITION WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE e . e h t t h a g e m o T h , r Cheryl Donahue i e g t h a o w r Dept. of Arts, Sport and Tourism e l o h t w Donal McEnroe y l b y , s e A National Library of Ireland h n s d u o r r St. Patrick’s National School, Galway e d h e T r , e y Heritage Council of Ireland d a l t h p e r Kate Buckley i r u o e s r t o pH7 Design a f t e s . T w h o e d p a e u r m p e l e h - T h , d e a o d o e d w n m e e o r u g n e t h a t i n n s i , s t e h e e r t r l l i v a t e r e r h T u . n e n n i o n g y r b e y , The sunset and the morning, That brightens up the sky; The cold wind in the winter, The pleasant summer sun, The ripe fruits in the garden – He made them v them made He – garden the in fruits ripe The sun, summer pleasant The winter, the in wind cold The sky; the up brightens That morning, the and sunset The , e Comhairle Contae Mhuineacháin Monaghan County Council AN EXHIBITION CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF CHILDHOOD IN IRELAND MONAGHAN COUNTY MUSEUM IN ASSOCIATION WITH ‘LAMN’ – LOCAL AUTHORITY MUSEUMS NETWORK “SEEN BUT NOT HEARD” 02 These recollections capture a period in our history of innocence and carelessness. The exhibition recalls a brief moment in all our childhoods. A fleeting memory of a school day long forgotten, a sporting epic fostered in the newly mown grass, the reverential hush of a Sunday Mass ritual. Thoughts and memories are invoked here, providing a unique opportunity to glimpse the childhood that your parents, grandparents and great- grandparents enjoyed. These vivid experiences now passed on to the next generation through story, verse and poem. Time too is afforded for the thoughts and recollections of a younger generation. Those who have witnessed the onset of technology, the passage of the imposition of order from the State and the religious. It spans the history of a time free from electronics and gadgets, when imagination stemmed from necessity, to a period where technology reigns supreme. Comhairle Contae Mhuineacháin Monaghan County Council AN EXHIBITION CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF CHILDHOOD IN IRELAND MONAGHAN COUNTY MUSEUM IN ASSOCIATION WITH ‘LAMN’ – LOCAL AUTHORITY MUSEUMS NETWORK “SEEN BUT NOT HEARD” 03 The last 100 years have seen significant changes in the roles and responsibilities of Ireland’s children. The childhood of the past was for many filled with innocent times, when respect for your elders and an expectation to help with daily tasks exercised discipline and values. As we recall memories of playing outside until bed-time, perennial sunny summers, the independence afforded by a bicycle, the wealth of a coin in your pocket, we reflect now on perceivably tougher times for children of the 21st century. Is iomaí athrú atá tagtha ar shaol an pháiste in Éirinn le céad bliain anuas, ó thaobh róil agus freagrachtaí de. San am atá thart bhí saol an pháiste saor ó bhrú agus ó chur isteach ón saol mór i gcás mórchuid de mhuintir na hÉireann. Inniu bíonn ar pháistí fás suas níos tapúla ná riamh agus ciallaíonn sin nach mbíonn teacht acu ar chuid de na pléisiúir neamhurchóideacha a bhí ag páistí fadó in Éirinn. With increased pressures academically and socially, children today are being forced perhaps to mature faster than those generations before them. A younger society moving at a quicker pace confronted with the internet, mobile phones and a latch-key lifestyle has seen our youth lose some of the innocence that was once a part of being a child of Ireland. Although we may not share the same childhood experiences as our forefathers, we do have one common link; we were, are and will continue to be children. Comhairle Contae Mhuineacháin Monaghan County Council AN EXHIBITION CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF CHILDHOOD IN IRELAND MONAGHAN COUNTY MUSEUM IN ASSOCIATION WITH ‘LAMN’ – LOCAL AUTHORITY MUSEUMS NETWORK nding ewing and me ’d have to do s 04 “We mother would like that. My and things the flour “SEEN BUT NOT HEARD” ets. You’d get made the she il have well, then bo en wash them bags and th w them g and then se and everythin them ake sheets. her and then m For most people, reminiscing about their childhood all toget ere” ely too they w They were lov days recalls happy carefree times where family, friends and play seemed to be primary recollections. Sayings s to “We didn’t know what it wa THE GOOD wn once a such as ‘youth is wasted on the young’ suggest that travel. If you got to leave to a big day we hold these times fondly in our hearts. Thankfully year, once a month, it was o travel all for us. Today children get t OLD DAYS! most of us grew up in a safe, secure society where ’t mean over the world and it doesn authority was enforced by the occasional slap of an travel to anything. It’s no big deal to ouldn’t adult’s hand or ruler. Australia or America. We w ve coped with that” ha For some, however, childhood was a time when strict punishment either at home, school or an institution contributed to the recollection of lasting memories of fear, anxiety and neglect. It may well be that a not so happy childhood forced some to grow up too quickly, to abandon their childhood innocence and carry with them into adulthood anger, bitterness and distrust. Thankfully though, for most of us, our childhoods are richly blessed with memories of pocket money spent on penny sweets, of playing simple games and endless holidays spent outdoors. e weeks away in th for did not mean two to be so tight “Holidays to local r shoes used ant day trips away “You to come to sun. It usually me children used emselves were a you. A load of ord esorts, which in th s, couldn’t aff seaside r l with no shoe of simpler times” schoo hildren to reflection s nothing for c shoes. It wa or with no shoes time you would e into school “In the winter com ted it” ith erybody accep unscrew that and fill it up w coat. Ev t in hot water, you could put tha your bed and your feet were uldn’t lovely and warm but you co e it put your feet near it becaus would roast you” Comhairle Contae Mhuineacháin Monaghan County Council AN EXHIBITION CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF CHILDHOOD IN IRELAND MONAGH AN COUN TY MUSE UM IN ASSOCIA TION WIT “Slaps, very hard H ‘LAMN ones.

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