Stories of the Sea: A Typological Study of Maritime Memorates in Modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic folklore traditions

In folklore studies, memorates are an under-studied area. Defined as personal accounts of supernatural happenings, memorates are centered around various phenomena of human life and constitute an extremely popular and productive folklore category. They include a variety of extraordinary experiences at sea and other accounts, which occur in liminal spatio-temporal contexts, such as sea-shore, streams, fords and bridges. These stories typically involve encounters with ghosts and other beings, and portents of death symbolised in phantom boats. Initial appraisal of the material suggests that maritime memorates form an important component of the narrative tradition of coastal communities. Focusing on this genre makes for a study whose size and scope is suited to the prescribed timescale.The project will assemble a collection of personal accounts of Irish and Scottish fishermen, boatmen, and beachcombers, recorded from the end of the 19th century to the present day, and will seek to uncover the distinctive character of the maritime memorate as a specific genre.
Four hundred maritime memorates, equally divided between those collated in Modern Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and English, contained in the printed sources, in the National Folklore Collection at University College Dublin and the School of Scottish Studies Archives (University of Edinburgh), including thirty items of digitised sound recordings from UoE and ten from UCD, and video recordings (if available), will be identified, transcribed and furnished with English translations (when necessary), as well as analysed, captured in digital format, and edited in XML in accordance with TEI guidelines for transcription and representation of primary sources. The figures are justified by the abundance of relevant data (see 'Stories of the sea - Pilot exercise results.pdf'). Criteria for selection were determined during the pilot exercises, conducted by PI and Co-PI in May 2008, April and July 2009 ( www.arts.ulster.ac.uk/research/celtic/mm/ ), based on the subject of the story (fishing, sea voyages etc.), key themes (shipwrecks, sea visions etc.), geographical location, date collected, and social background of the narrator. The collection will be furnished with a conceptual framework, presenting a system of cross-references, based on a taxonomy of various methodological principles (see Project Methodology section in the 'Case for Support'). Other factors, including locations described, cultural, occupational and educational background of the speakers, and sub-types of memorates distinctive to particular areas, will also be considered.
Project Timescale: Phase 1.1 (Sep-Nov '10) (a) the project bibliography will be completed; (b) the data selection criteria will be determined;(c) the memorates from printed sources collected and digitised. Phase 1.2 (Dec '10-Jan '11) (a) XML mark-up and search-engine framework will be determined; (b) printed sources digitised; (c) copyright permissions of those sources sought. Phase 2 (Feb-Oct '11) The archive material will be collected, digitised and annotated; first project's roadshow in collaboration with local coastal agencies organised. Phase 3.1 (Nov '11-Apr '12) (a) Analytical markup of the data in XML completed; (b) Resource search-engine tested. Phase 3.2 (May '12-Aug '12) (a) Web-resource, & (b) Hardcopy of the collection (with DVD) will be published; (c) Second project's roadshow organised. Few electronic resources of discrete categories of Irish and Scottish Gaelic folklore are available and their provision is still in its infancy. This pioneering project will remedy this. It will also be innovative in its employment of the most appropriate theoretical framework in contemporary folklore studies. Not only can the project be stand-alone in terms of research and fill a huge gap in Irish and Scottish cultural memory, but it can also provide a foundation for a research network on the study of maritime memorates throughout the North Atlantic.

The bulk of the archival data to be employed on this project was collected over a long period of time. Its importance was recognised as far back as the mid-nineteenth century; since, the archives have continued to grow, receiving support primarily from various public agencies. One of the major aims of the present project is to make this data (largely neglected up to now) available to wider audiences and to bring it up to date. The retrieval and dissemination of the materials are important to society for a number of reasons: (1) Many of the memorates were collected among members of coastal communities when these communities still pursued a way of life which has since virtually disappeared. The archival data will fill an important gap in the cultural memory and will give voice to the concerns and identities of coastal communities, simultaneously raising awareness of their unique contribution to the cultural life of Ireland and Scotland. (2) The study will further our understanding of the impact coastal communities have had on the economic and commercial life of these regions. Fishing and related industries have played a vital role in promoting the health and stability of coastal areas. Dissemination of information on maritime memorates will raise awareness among the public of the role these industries have played in the past and the part they continue to play in a number of regions: the first-hand accounts recorded from the perspective of the subjects (both male and female) - fishermen, boatmen, beachcombers - will add significantly to focusing attention on crucial aspects of the history and culture of these regions in the overall mosaic of wider Irish and Scottish social customs and practices. (3) The project's innovative methods of data collection, classification, and analysis can be applied in the future to the study of other unpublished archival materials relating to further aspects of the cultural, social, and commercial life of the regions. The researcher working on the project will develop transferable skills in data management which will enable him/her to gain employment in a variety of sectors (museums, archives, and community-based projects). (4) Collaboration with Scottish and Irish communities and cultural organisations in North America and Europe gives the project another kind of international dimension and impact over and above the purely academic. Both the PI and Co-PI can play an important part in fostering these links. The PI has organised summer courses which have promoted various aspects of Northern Irish society among members of the general public. This has involved the participation of the public in readings and discussions, public performances, exhibitions, and radio podcasts, and has received national and international recognition for its impact on the community. The PI is Secretary and the Co-PI President respectively of Societas Celto-Slavica association which has been involved inter alia with the organisation of national and international cultural events (art exhibitions, poetical readings) attended by members of public in Northern Ireland, Russia, Croatia, Poland and Armenia on permanent basis at its colloquia. The users of the Societas's web-resource (www.celtologica.com) have noted its impact as a rich repository of data in promotion of various aspects of Scottish and Irish heritage. (5) Open access to the project's collection, and the participation of its staff in public seminars on the content of the archive and its relevance to the culture and everyday life of the people, will lead to close interaction with the local communities and enhance the project's impact on the cultural life of the regions. Previously, the Co-PI has been involved in working with community organisations throughout Ireland on mumming performances and re-enactments through the experience of the 'Room to Rhyme' project. The pres