TLRH | The Hublic Sphere | Past, Present and Potential at the Museum of Childhood Ireland

Recorded March 15, 2022. In this episode, Lorraine McEvoy speaks to Majella McAllister (founder, head of Youth Voices Team) and Professor Mary O ’Dowd (head of History Team) about the Museum of Childhood Ireland (MOCI, https://museumofchildhood.ie), “Ireland’s first Island-wide / diaspora / global, social history Museum of Childhood.” The ultimate aim of the voluntary group behind the Museum is to establish a physical, interactive and community driven museum, which seeks to be research based, critically engaged and more than simply a repository of nostalgia. They aim to provide both a museum and a platform; connecting the history of childhood with the experiences of children today. As they pursue the establishment of a physical museum, the team have worked on numerous traveling exhibits, community initiatives and projects such as the “Children’s Voices Project 2020/21: Together, Le Chéile” which sought to provide an outlet for children, in addition to creating an archive of children’s responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode, we talk about topics ranging from the origins of the Museum to the range of its voluntary teams and initiatives, definitions of Irish childhood and how we can respectfully include the full range of childhood experiences. The Museum has a very active social media presence, and you can find them on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter (@museumofci). Please take a moment to let us know your thoughts on the Hublic Sphere podcast through this short survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/766ZBLF Learn more at: https://www.tcd.ie/trinitylongroomhub/