Local beauty on your doorstep production

8 March 2023

A NEW 14-part online video series exploring some of the best and lesser known place names to be found across the district will be launched next weekend.

Entitled ‘On Your Doorstep’ and commissioned by Newry, Mourne and Down Council, the series will be launched next Saturday at the Down County Museum at 11am by Máire Burns and Aodán Mac Ruairí.

There will be a similar event in Newry.

The video series provides an insight into the place names to be found across the district with the guest speakers on launch day sharing specific expertise and historical knowledge of local place names.

They will be able to answer questions from the public, with the project incorporating the contributions of local place names experts, as well as spectacular aerial footage that highlights the beauty of the area that surrounds us.

The online content offers people an additional opportunity to enjoy the language and learn more Irish through watching the subtitled series.

Council chairman, Michael Savage, said the area’s history is written in its place names and that he’s really looking forward to seeing the new series of videos on the local authority’s YouTube channel.

In each short film, a local historian takes viewers on a journey of discovery, to visit the place names that inspire them.

Viewers also get an insight into some of the most interesting place names in the area, with some dating back to pre-Christian times, while others are born from local mythology and lore, or physical features of our rich landscape.

Although next Saturday’s Down County Museum launch is free to attend, it is necessary to pre-book tickets and a free lunch will be provided.

English and Irish will be spoken at the events so people will understand the content of the talks, regardless of their level of fluency in Irish. Additionally, the videos themselves will have English subtitles. Tickets are available at www.newrymournedown.org/gaeilge

During the Covid pandemic, the local authority began creating video content for the public which was shared on its YouTube channel and social media.

Now there is an archive of Irish language video content online for the public to enjoy by visiting www.youtube.com/@newrymournedowndistrictcouncil

Tweets by @TheDownRecorder