NATIONS CALL - Our Place in The First World War
Lead Research Organisation:
Queen's University Belfast
Department Name: Sch of English
Abstract
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People |
ORCID iD |
| Fran Brearton (Principal Investigator) |
| Description | New discoveries about the Irish experience of the First World War in relation to the 32 counties covered in the radio broadcasts. |
| Exploitation Route | Permanent educational resource for those wishing to learn more about Ireland in the First World War; information for the general public which may revise perception of a contested period of history, with a controversial legacy. |
| Sectors | Creative Economy,Education,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01p33l4 |
| Description | Research expertise has been used to help generate 100 radio programmes about the First World War in Ireland, which have been broadcast by Radio Ulster and Radio Foyle from 2014-16 and archived in perpetuity by the BBC as an educational resource. As well as providing research material for stories, Brearton and Coleman worked with in-house BBC researchers advising them on how to locate appropriate sources for the broadcast material and to develop new areas of exploration. Michael Tumelty - Editor, Factual, of BBC Radio Ulster highlighted the importance of the AHRC-funded researchers saying they 'have been indispensable to ensuring the success and rigour of this flagship BBC project' (see AHRC annual impact report 2014-15 p.36). The broadcasts, in turn, shape and/or revise understanding of the events of the Great War, particularly as they affected Irish people and places. The political complexities of Irish involvement in the Great War have posed particular challenges for the project in Northern Ireland and memory of the First World War remains a politically sensitive issue. The stories generated have explored often divisive aspects of what is nevertheless a shared history. By focussing on individual lives and local places the broadcasts serve to develop, for a wide audience, knowledge of the past, and to build cross-community understanding - to the political, cultural and educational enrichment of society. and in keeping with the NI Executive strategy, which recognises that 'the events of our past will inevitably have economic and social impacts for us now and the way in which these events are marked will also have a significant influence on our continued journey towards a united community'. |
| Sector | Creative Economy,Education,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |
| Title | BBC Radio Ulster WWI at Home website |
| Description | Broadcasts by BBC Radio Ulster archived in perpetuity on the BBC World War One at Home website. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The broadcasts provide an educational resource for future study of the First World War in Ireland as well as serving to inform the general public about aspects of a contested history. |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01p33l4 |
| Description | BBC World War One at Home |
| Organisation | British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) |
| Department | BBC Northern Ireland |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The project involved a collaboration between BBC NI (Radio) staff, and academic staff from Queen's University Belfast (Prof. Fran Brearton and Dr Marie Coleman) to produce 100 short radio programmes uncovering stories about the people and places of Ireland in World War I. The remit of the project was to cover the whole island of Ireland, not simply what became Northern Ireland after 1921, and to produce at least one story for each of the 32 counties in Ireland. The academic contribution consisted of (1) suggesting and researching stories (2) recording on selected programmes (3) checking the factual content of programmes and recommending strategies for re-editing or contextual elaboration where required (4) contributing to and checking the BBC website accompanying text. The academic contributors were also concerned to ensure Ireland's distinctive presence (as it was a part of the UK in 1914-18) in the overall 'World War One at Home' project, but also to uncover and highlight the particular political tensions concerning Irish involvement both before and after the 1916 Easter Rising, tensions which differentiate the Irish experience from that of other parts of the UK. The creation of a database of stories about WWI in Ireland has also been informed by the specific social resonances of commemoration in the context of Northern Irish recent history, and with recognition that the 1914-18 centenary should be handled with a sensitivity towards diversity of cultural expression and experience. The partnership between Brearton (PI) and Coleman (CI) was also unique in the 'WWI at Home' context, in being a collaboration between a historian and literary critic, thereby shaping in distinctive ways the stories suggested across Irish cultural, political and military history. |
| Collaborator Contribution | BBC staff researched, recorded and broadcast the programmes. |
| Impact | The key outputs are the BBC Northern Ireland broadcasts archived at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01p33l4 Specific instances of broadcasts either proposed/researched, recorded, or extensively edited by academic staff are noted in the engagement activities list. There is also an eBook published by the BBC from the project, featuring the distinctive Irish experience of the First World War at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5cvqC8jX2J8gwq93bL6MrdR/world-war-one-at-home |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Arklow: The Kynoch Explosives factory |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Archival research for and suggested editorial changes to a story to correct potential factual errors in a radio documentary for BBC Radio Ulster on the causes of an explosion at the Kynoch munitions factory in Arklow during the First World War. (Coleman) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2015 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01zsz29 |
| Description | Arts Extra radio interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An interview (Brearton) for BBC Radio Ulster 'Arts Extra' (5/6/14) on the subject of First World War commemoration in Ireland, and the 'snowman memorial' in Newtownards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p020hh63 |
| Description | BBC Radio Ulster interview, Marie Coleman and Fran Brearton |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Sunday Sequence radio interview to mark the 100th anniversary of the Armistice |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | BBC Roadshow |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A series of informal talks on Irish literature and World War I were given by Brearton at the BBC Roadshow in Portrush over two days: the sessions consisted of short presentations and discussions repeated 3 or 4 times per day allowing audiences to free flow between the talks and other roadshow exhibits, and their aim was to engage the public with little-known aspects of Irish history and Irish literature in relation to the Great War. The roadshow footfall over 2 days was in the region of 20,000. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.airwavesportrush.co.uk/?event=world-war-one-at-home-tour |
| Description | Belfast 89fm radio interview - Irish soldier poets |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An interview for Belfast 89fm radio on Irish and English writers of the First World War. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Blue Plaque Unveiling |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | An Ulster Historical Circle blue plaque was unveiled at Rockport School in November 2014 by Fran Brearton and George Vance (headmaster) and to the largely forgotten poet of the First World War, Willoughby Weaving, and a short talk given (Brearton) about his life and work. The school children also made a documentary (BBC News School report) about the poet, and he was later used as the subject of the BBC radio broadcast made by Adam Nixon and Fran Brearton, 'Willoughby Weaving the Forgotten War Poet'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.rockportschool.com/my-rockport/latest-news/news/blue-plaque-unveiled/ |
| Description | Carlow: Letters from the King bring recognition |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Suggestion of story and archival research for a BBC Radio Ulster documentary on families who had multiple numbers of sons fighting for the British army in the First World War. (Coleman) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015,2016 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p037bjt0 |
| Description | Cleenish, Co. Fermanagh: Homes fit for heroes |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Research for website text accompanying a BBC Radio Ulster documentary on the provision of houses for servicemen returning to Ireland after the First World War. The text explains the difference between such schemes in Ireland and the rest of the UK and the complications posed by the wider context of the campaign for Irish independence with which it coincided. (Coleman) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015,2016 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p020tp35 |
| Description | Dublin: St Ultan's Hospital |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Recording a radio broadcast for BBC Radio Ulster on the establishment of St Ultan's infant hospital in Dublin in response to the rise of public health problems such as venereal disease during the First World War. (Coleman) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015,2016 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03g491r |
| Description | Irish Poetry of the First World War |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A lecture on Irish poetry of the First World War to a capacity audience, given as part of the Ulster Hall 'Literary lunchtimes' lecture series, February 2016 (Brearton) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://www.evensi.uk/literary-lunchtimes-secret-scripture-belfast-waterfront-and/170592774 |
| Description | Longford: 1917 South Longford by-election and the rise of Sinn Féin |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Recording a short radio documentary for BBC Radio Ulster on the significance of the south Longford by-election and the threat of conscription on the rise of Sinn Féin after the Easter Rising. (Coleman) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015,2016 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03gtb2f |
| Description | Lurgan Courthouse, Co. Armagh: Soldiers' Wives Accused of Drunkenness |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Archival research and editorial changes to a broadcast on soldiers' wives prosecuted for drunkenness in the war years. The programme was re-edited to reflect more accurately the relative proportion of women involved, and to include factual details about the separation allowance and the press treatment of soldiers' wives. (Brearton) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01s94fw |
| Description | Maurice Dease, VC |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Archival research for a short BBC Radio Ulster documentary. (Coleman) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015,2016 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03fz0zt |
| Description | Newtownards, Co. Down: Snow Memorial |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Suggestion of story, followed by reseaching and recording of a radio broadcast on the subject of commemoration and war memorials in Ireland in WWI. The story generated a further radio appearance, by Fran Brearton and the poet Michael Longley, on Arts Extra, where the poet read his short poem about the snowman memorial. It also encouraged research by an aspiring playwright and creative writing student into the possibility of drafting a script based on the subject. (Brearton) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2015 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01zn55b |
| Description | Rockport School, Co. Down: Willoughby Weaving: the Forgotten War Poet |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Suggestion of story, followed by researching and recording a short radio programme for Radio Ulster on the subject of the 'forgotten' First World War poet Willoughby Weaving. The programme was recorded at Rockport School in 2015 and broadcast in 2016. School pupils expressed an increased interest in the poetry of the First World War following the event. (Brearton) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015,2016 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03fcjkp |
| Description | Royal Hibernian Military School |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Research for a BBC Radio Ulster documentary on the students at the Royal Hibernian Military School in Dublin during the First World War and the closure of the school after Irish independence. (Coleman) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015,2016 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02prwfr |
| Description | Secret Scripture: Irish Poetry of the Great War |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A lecture on Irish poetry of the First World War, with particular reference to Francis Ledwidge, given at the Hay Festival in Kells to mark the 100th anniversary of Gallipoli. (Brearton) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/Gallipoli100Kells |
| Description | Slane, Co. Meath: Francis Ledwidge: Ireland's War Poet |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Suggestion of story, researching and recording of a radio broadcast on the subject of Francis Ledwidge, Ireland's best-known soldier poet killed in action in 1917, which involved staff from the Francis Ledwidge Museum in Slane. (Brearton) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2015 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01zvtg4 |
| Description | Sunday Sequence radio interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Fran Brearton and Marie Coleman interviewed for BBC Radio Ulster's flagship Sunday morning current affairs programme, 'Sunday Sequence' on Sunday, 3 August 2014 to discuss the centenary of the start of the First World War and its impact on Ireland. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Sunday Sequence radio interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interview by Fran Brearton for the BBCNI flagship current affairs programme, Sunday Sequence, on 26 June 2016 to discuss the politics of commemoration of the Battle of the Somme. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Tarbert, Co. Kerry: Thomas MacGreevy, the Modernist Poet |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Suggestion of story and preliminary research undertaken for a radio programme about Thomas MacGreevy, the experimental, modernist poet who served at Ypres and the Somme, and later became the director of the National Gallery in Ireland. (Brearton) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p038bglr |
| Description | The Goodbody Jute factory |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Suggestion of subject and research for a BBC Radio Ulster documentary on a jute factory owned by a Quaker family in Ireland during the First World War, that produced jute for sandbags in the trenches. (Coleman) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015,2016 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03fcpyr |
| Description | The Old Town Hall, Belfast: Fortune Tellers in the Dock |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Suggestion of story, archival research, and recording of a radio broadcast for BBC Radio Ulster on the subject of women prosecuted for fortune telling during the First World War. (Brearton) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015,2016 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02prcvs |
| Description | WWI Centenary Seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Panel member (open discussion), Francis Ledwidge Centenary Seminar, Slane Castle, Co Meath. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | WWI at Home website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The archiving of 100 Radio Ulster broadcasts in perpetuity on the 'World War One at Home' BBC website. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2015,2016 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01p33l4 |
| Description | Whitehead, Co. Antrim: Children's Home |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Archival research and editorial changes to radio broadcast and accompanying web text on Whitehead Children's home in order to clarify historical and cultural contexts relation to Methodism in Ireland, and to custody issues and women's rights in the First World War period. (Brearton) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01zk1dl |