Michael Burns
Since the beginning of 2025, in my role as Research Officer at the Northern Ireland War Memorial, I have interviewed 37 locals about their wartime memories which have been added to the over 400 strong oral history archive already collected. This project is ongoing with interviews continuing, verbatim transcriptions produced (aided by 2 transcription volunteers) and monthly ‘Memory Maps’ highlighted on NIWM social media. NIWM also received Peace & Reconciliation from the Irish department of Foreign Affairs & Trade funding to invite schools from Southern Ireland to the museum- oral history played a key part in this with the creation of 6 StoryMaps which use oral history extracts and map-based exploration built on the learning outcomes of the KS3/4 Southern history curriculum.
I’ve delivered oral history-based outreach lectures/workshops speaking to over 500 individuals, in particular around the VE Day 80thanniversary with an additional 600 attendees at VE Events. These VE Day Oral Histories were further highlighted by an academic journal article in the Journal of the Federation for Ulster Local Studies entitled ‘Victory: Voices from the Northern Ireland War Memorial 80 years on. Finally in December, I worked with NIWM Education Officer in an intergenerational workshop with 2 local schools to design Christmas cards for oral history participants based on their wartime memories.
In 2025, the Strand Arts Centre took part in the Our Freedom: Then & Now, marking the 80 anniversary of the end of the Second World War, this included capturing local memories and producing a short documentary. A new prototype website launched in Autumn 2025 Learning from Rathlin: An Island of Maritime Stories which highlighted oral history interviews conducted by the Rathlin Island Oral History Group in 2019 & 2024- this was done in collaboration with the AHRC Future Island-Island Project.
Within NI academia, work continues on Dr Alison Gardener & Dr Ruth Duffy’s Acts of Union: Mixed Marriage in Modern Ireland (QUB), while a final year Ulster University PHD student Hannah Brown continues to collect oral histories from Polio survivors in Northern Ireland. ‘Our Places, Our Stories’ project, by Public History Centre (QUB), supported by my predecessor, Sam Guthrie, has announced a new PHD Studentship which will launch in 2026.
Finally, a proposed new visitor attraction, Belfast Stories which focuses on storytelling and oral history, has entered into its formal public consultation ahead of its planning application in 2026 with expected opening in 2030.
Sam Guthrie
From January until May I worked with East Belfast GAA to produce an oral history of the club’s first five years of existence. This included scoping, developing, and delivering the project. I support volunteers in developing transcripts and submission to Public Records Office for N Ireland. The project has featured on RTÉ in the latter half of 2025 with plans for a publication in conjunction with DCU in 2026. From January to October, I delivered an NLHF oral history project for St. Patrick’s Church Belfast leading to publication(s) to be delivered in 2026 to mark the church’s 150th anniversary. As part of the project, I delivered a training session to 20 individuals including QUB students and representatives of oral history projects across Northern Ireland in May.
