A ‘Travel to School’ project from Robert Burns and the Museum of Childhood Ireland
The Museum of Childhood Ireland’s Majella McAllister and Chloe Browne introduce a new project in collaboration with Robert Burns.
Robert is a civil engineer and director of Fingal County Council. He grew up in the Monaghan countryside in the 70s and 80s, moving to Roscommon in the late 80s. He now lives and works in Dublin. Robert has a passion for creating safe, vibrant, attractive and sustainable public places and communities.
In his time as director with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council he led on a range of projects to build new cycle lanes, create people-friendly public spaces, revitalise towns and villages, and foster community input and engagement. He feels that our roads and streets are becoming increasingly hostile places for children as a result of the prevalence of cars, something that has changed dramatically since his own childhood. He argues for the reclamation of street space away from cars for the health, safety and enjoyment of children and the local community.
In 2020 for BackToSchool day the Museum of Childhood Ireland posted: Thinking about routes to and from school, the games that we played, the friendships we formed… Our interest is in the glimpses of childhood in those relatively unsupervised moments between home and school, acknowledging the freedom afforded by walking, cycling or taking the bus to school, and the lifelong impact of that…
The 1st photo is Dublin City C.1929. Baby O’Neil ( later McAllister) walking home from Eccles St. School.
The 2nd photo is of the iron bridge over the Esk stream on the Beara peninsula, built so children could cross safely en route to and from school.
Photo credits: 2020, Museum of Childhood Ireland, Músaem Óige na hÉireann
Information leaflet
The ‘When We Were Kings and Queens’* collaborative project explores the ways in which people travelled to school in the past, when there was less reliance on cars as a means of transport, where children could safely and freely cycle their bikes around the roads without high levels of imminent danger, and indeed when we turned more to physical or pedestrian modes of transport, or buses, rather than an increased use of cars.
*Our project title is inspired by Patrick Kavanagh‘s poem,
Inniskeen Road: July Evening
The bicycles go by in twos and threes –
There’s a dance in Billy Brennan’s barn to-night,
And there’s the half-talk code of mysteries
And the wink-and-elbow language of delight.
Half-past eight and there is not a spot
Upon a mile of road, no shadow thrown
That might turn out a man or woman, not
A footfall tapping secrecies of stone.
I have what every poet hates in spite
Of all the solemn talk of contemplation.
Oh, Alexander Selkirk knew the plight
Of being king and government and nation.
A road, a mile of kingdom, I am king
Of banks and stones and every blooming thing
Over the coming months we will be sharing memories, stories and anecdotes from a broad spectrum of Irish and International society, as we revisit the roads of our childhood, and explore the changes to travel and our environment in the years in between.
See the stories published so far here:
The Museum of Childhood Ireland and Robert Burns would like to thank all of our wonderful participants for their time and their stories. We hope you will enjoy following along with us in the coming months.
Have a story on this topic and want to get involved? Contact us on our social media sites, or email us at cbrowne@museumofchildhood.ie or info@museumofchildhood.ie
We would love to hear from you!
Note: In order to participate you will need a paragraph or two on your childhood experience of the journey to and from school at Primary or Secondary level, a childhood photo and a more recent one.
Museum of Childhood Ireland and Robert Burns intend to curate an online exhibition, physical exhibition and publication of a selection of the stories submitted in due course. Please note that any stories submitted may be used in such publications, exhibitions, and for relevant media interest. Every effort will be undertaken to ensure that such reproductions are true and authentic representations of the stories received.
The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not represent or reflect the views of the Museum of Childhood Ireland or Robert Burns.