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 on emigration to Argentina.

They are looking for volunteers in both counties to share stories about relatives who emigrated to ‘The Argentine’.

The project is being run by the Heritage Office in Westmeath and the Heritage Office and Archives Service in Longford, with funding from The Heritage Council.

For a century from the 1820s onwards, people from both counties, and other parts of Ireland, emigrated to Argentina.

Many became successful in farming or business.

The Longford-Westmeath Argentina Society is active in keeping alive awareness of this story.

This is the first oral history project on the subject to be undertaken in either county.

The organisers are conscious that there are knowledgeable people in both places with information that is of great value.

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 hoped also that people with family documents might be willing to allow them to be copied for research purposes.

“This oral history project is a great opportunity to gather information about an important part of the story of emigration from Westmeath and Longford,” says Westmeath heritage officer Melanie McQuade.

“Many people in the county do not know about the connection with Argentina,” she says.

“We are happy to be working with our neighbours in Longford on this initiative. The collaboration will, hopefully, allow us to better understand the lives of those emigrants who went and facilitate comparisons between the two counties.”

Longford County Council Chief Executive Paddy Mahon, acknowledged the value of a two-county project: “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.”

• To participate: heritage@westmeathcoco.ie or 044 9332098, before 3 June.