21st September 2000

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A major project to document and record the stained glass windows in some of the most important buildings in Londonderry is being undertaken by the Centre for Cultural Heritage at the Magee College campus of the University of Ulster.

The Windows on Our Past project is one of several research projects currently in progress at the Centre, which was launched in June this year.

Research officer Dr Billy Kelly says that while many people are impressed with the magnificence of the glasswork in buildings such as the Guildhall, St Columb’s Cathedral, St Eugene’s Cathedral and Long Tower Church, most people would admit to knowing very little about their significance.

"The stained glass windows in these buildings are an undiscovered heritage. The aim of this particular project is to reveal that heritage to local people and visitors to Derry."

He explained that the objectives of the project were threefold: to help preserve an important aspect of the city’s heritage; to develop an educational resource; and to promote tourism in the city.

If successful, said Dr Kelly, the pilot study on stained glass windows in Derry could lead to additional research on other windows elsewhere in Ireland and Europe.

"An analytical study of these windows will undoubtedly help raise their profile and, this in turn will contribute to their future preservation. The windows provide a history, not only of Derry but also of important aspects of the British, Irish and indeed European history as they illuminate aspects of the political, cultural, social, intellectual and economic life of the city during different periods of its history.

"We also propose to produce brochures for each site to give visitors a better understanding of the individual buildings."

An area of research, which he hopes will raise the international profile of the Centre for Cultural Heritage is Commentarius Rinuccinianus which involves translating from Latin the memoirs of Archbishop Rinuccini, the Papal Nuncio to the Irish Confederacy in the 1640s.

The project to translate and publish an edited and annotated edition of the Commentarius Rinnuccinianus has already attracted the support and encouragement of historians at home and abroad.

“This collection is a critical research tool for the history of Britain, Ireland and indeed Europe in the seventeenth century. It is especially important for Irish history given that the records of the Confederacy were destroyed during the Civil War at the beginning of this century.”

Dr Kelly pointed out that contrary to what some people may believe, culture and heritage are not solely the preserve of academia.

“The primary objective of the Centre is to provide a focus for academic research excellence in a subject area which concerns not only academics but public institutions and stakeholders in the wider community.

“Heritage is a very wide concept, embracing issues of historical tradition, social groupings, ethnicity and nationality, material culture, the environment, popular culture and, of course, employment.”

A project currently underway at the Centre in conjunction with the Faculty of Informatics at the university should be of interest to anyone studying economic, social or military history. It will digitise photographic archival material detailing the history of Derry and the north-west. One of the archives to be digitised contains over 7,000 photographs of the port of Londonderry.

Although up and running only a matter of months, the Centre already has a number of completed projects under its belt. The Centre acted as consultant to the Donegal History Society on the commemoration and erection of a monument to the Battle of Scarriffhollis at Letterkenny in June 1650.

The Centre also provided consultancy advice for a major international conference on Fortress Cities to be hosted by UNESCO in Suwon, South Korea next month. It is hoped that the conference will give representatives from Derry an opportunity to further their application to have the City Walls declared a World Heritage Site.

In collaboration with colleagues at the Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow, the Centre for Cultural Heritage plans to host a major conference at Magee College next Easter on the theme Ulster and Scotland, a Common Heritage, Language, History and Identity, 1600 - 2000.

According to Dr Kelly, despite what some commentators believe, globalisation and the information society will help strengthen, not weaken distinctive national cultures.

“New information and communication technologies will promote cultural exchange and strengthen our own heritage by promoting cultural and linguistic diversity.

“This is why in recent years, the University of Ulster has played an increasingly important role in the research, development and management of cultural and heritage activities locally. The challenge for the Centre of Cultural Heritage is to increase public awareness on heritage developments and to ensure that such developments are founded in professional knowledge and expertise,” said Dr Kelly.

For further information, please contact:

Press Office Department of Communication and Development
Telephone: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk