Local oral history project aims to shed light on the story of emigration to Argentina

Westmeath and Longford County Councils are jointly embarking on an oral history project focusing on the story of emigration to Argentina. They are looking for volunteers in both counties to share stories about relatives who emigrated to ‘The Argentine.’ The project is funded by the Heritage Council and run by the Heritage Office and the Archives Service in Longford and the Heritage Office in Westmeath.

For a century from the 1820’s onwards, people from both counties, and other parts of Ireland, emigrated to Argentina with many becoming successful in farming or business. The Longford-Westmeath Argentina Society is very active in keeping alive awareness of this story. This is the first oral history project on the subject to be conducted in either county. The organisers are very conscious that there are knowledgeable people in both Westmeath and Longford with information that could be of great value to the project.

Adrian Roche of The History Trail, who is an experienced oral history consultant, will carry out interviews with a selection of people from the two counties. The interviews will be deposited in the archives in both places and will be important sources for present and future research. It is also hoped that people with family documents might be willing to allow them to be copied for research purposes.

Cathaoirleach of Longford County Council Cllr Mark Casey, welcomed the project saying, “This oral history project is a great opportunity to gather information about an important part of the story of emigration from Longford. Many people in the county do not know about the connection with Argentina and this project will shed light on these unknown stories and open this part of history to a new audience.”

Longford County Council Chief Executive Paddy Mahon, acknowledged the value of a two-county project saying, “We are happy to be collaborating with our neighbours in Westmeath on this very worthy initiative. The collaboration will, hopefully, allow us to better understand the lives of those emigrants who embarked on a new life to Argentina and the project will also facilitate comparisons between the two counties.”

If you would like to be participate in the project, please email heritage@longfordcoco.ie or archivist@longfordcoco.ie, or phone 043-341124, before Tuesday, June 3.