Mid Ulster District Council Chair, Councillor Paul McLean, was at The Burnavon Theatre, Cookstown recently to launch a temporary exhibition, 'Dividing Ireland – The Origins, Impact and Legacy of Partition'. The exhibition is on loan from the Derry City & Strabane District Council Museums Collections, and comes from a successful exhibit at the city’s Tower Museum. It will be open to the public for free from 5th July to 20th August inclusive.
Council Chair, Councillor McLean spoke at the exhibition launch, saying:
“I'm sure this touring exhibition will be of great interest to many people who want to learn more about a significant period in history. Marking the importance of historical events and learning about both sides of our story in the making often gives us the opportunity to imagine ways to consider the past and shape society for a better future for all.
“We’re grateful to Derry City & Strabane District Council Museums Collections for the opportunity to bring this fascinating collection of items that explores the events of the early twentieth century to Mid Ulster, and I encourage everyone to call into the Burnavon to view the collection. Having started here, I look forward to other events that Council and others in the district have organised in the weeks and months ahead that illuminate the significance of our shared past, especially so for the generations of the future.“
Events at home and around Europe from 1912 to 1922 oversaw monumental changes to the political and social structures of the island of Ireland. The exhibition explores some of those events through objects and documents in the Tower Museum's collection.
Topics will range from Partition and the work of the Boundary Commission creating the border between north and south, to the War of Independence and the Irish Civil War – all of which had a significant impact on life in the North West.
The Dividing Ireland exhibition is part of the Understanding the Decade of Commemorations project, supported by the European Union's PEACE IV Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). The project is match-funded by the Executive Office in Northern Ireland and the Department of Rural and Community Development in Ireland.
Mid Ulster District Council has also approved the delivery of a programme of activities and events for the Decade of Anniversaries – commemorations period 2021/22, including a series of online lectures, educational activities, drama productions and exhibitions.
There will also be an education programme delivered in conjunction with the Nerve Centre that will help students to understand the significance of our past and provide an outlet to express their creativity through digital technology such as filmmaking, green screen and podcasting.
Mid Ulster District Council’s Good Relations Unit will also be offering a series of online lectures working in conjunction with local historians and focusing on the period of 1921. These lectures will be delivered through online provision and venue based events.
For more information on the ‘Dividing Ireland’ touring exhibition, please visit:
https://www.creativecentenaries.org/resources/dividing-ireland-exhibition-virtual-tour
For exhibition open times, contact the Burnavon on 028 8676 9949 or search for the Burnavon theatre on Facebook.