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During the Ports, Past and Present project (2020-2023), hundreds of items relating to port history and heritage were collected, created and curated in order to tell the varied stories of the five active ports on the Irish Sea. In ‘Reflections’, academics, artists and project members from Ports, Past and Present speak about a chosen object from the collection that resonates. These include regal visits, literary pilgrimages, artistic commissions, fishing infrastructure, maritime biospheres, migration paths and memorial stones. This Soundcloud offers selected commentary by the Ports, Past and Present team on the seen and unseen layers of human, maritime, geological and economic endeavour that comprise the historic lives of ports and their surrounds.
The Irish Sea basin forms a distinct node of histories, economies, and identities. The Ports, Past and Present project considers five very different ports and their communities on either side of the sea: Dublin Port, Rosslare Harbour, Holyhead, Fishguard and Pembroke Dock. Project partners are University College Cork, Aberystwyth University, University of Wales Trinity Saint David and Wexford County Council. The project seeks to enhance engagement among port town communities with their own rich heritage and that of the Irish Sea, and to use that heritage in promoting tourism and deepening a sense of shared identity. Ports, Past and Present is funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Ireland Wales Cooperation programme.
