How a childhood hobby developed into an award winning folk museum

In Curraghboy on Monday last, a group of national school pupils from Mullingar were being led on a journey through the past. At the Derryglad Folk Museum they were being exposed to ancient bog butter, horse-drawn machinery, tradesmen"s tools, as well as old household items and school implements. The man who was explaining these goods - all remnants of life in Ireland as it used to be - was Charlie Finneran, proprietor of the museum which first opened over a decade ago. Charlie"s lifelong interest in heritage and folk culture began at the age of twelve, when he made an unusual discovery. The youngest of eleven children, he came across a horizontal slate sundial in the thatch of his old family home, which is a stone"s throw from the museum site in Derryglad. After investigating the matter further, he learned that the slate had been engraved by his great great grandfather in 1839. Today the sundial is proudly displayed at Derryglad Folk Museum. The facility, which is operated by Charlie and his wife Bridie, was officially opened by the entertainer Brendan Shine in June 1998. 'Back then we had 1,400 items in the museum. We have over 5,000 items now,' said Charlie. 'We"re adding to it all the time.' A welder by trade, Charlie has been out sick in recent months but is hoping to help Bridie manage the museum over the course of the summer season. He said that his profession was another factor which contributed to the establishment of the museum"s collection. 'As a welder, I used to be out doing work in the farmers" yards. I would see all the old farm machinery there and I thought it was a pity to be losing it,' he said. 'I was always interested in the way our great grandparents lived and worked, and I started to collect the old farm machinery. That"s what started it all, and it continued on from there. 'I was about twenty years collecting before we opened at all. It started off as a hobby - now I call it a hobby that went wrong!' he laughed. 'But it"s very enjoyable and interesting if you"re into it. You have to really be into it and have a love for it.' Walking around the folk museum is a fascinating experience for anyone interested in Irish history and culture. The items on display are beautifully laid-out. They range from a slab of bog butter - thought to be up to 10,000 years old - to the boots and socks worn by local footballer Donie Shine during Roscommon"s victory in the All-Ireland minor football final of 2006. In 2007, a stone monument commemorating local lives lost during the Great Famine was erected at the museum. The inscription on the monument tells the tragic story of John Kelehan (aged 12) and his brother James (aged 10), who were ejected from the workhouse in Athlone during the famine and died while walking home to Grange, Curraghboy. In Kiltoom and Cam parish 2,487 people died or emigrated between 1841 and 1851, and the monument is the only local commemoration of those losses. The museum is popular with school tours and active age groups alike. 'The items bring back great memories for older visitors,' said Charlie. 'We had big groups here last weekend and they love it. The bus driver had to come in several times to get them to go! 'They were looking at so many different things and they were chatting and reminiscing among themselves. There"s nowhere else that they could go that has such a varied collection of items. These are things that the older generation grew up with, and that"s what they like about it. It"s the simple stuff that they used to have. 'It"s good for them to see these things. They say in some of the hospitals that it"s therapy for them. We do a lot with the Irish Wheelchair Association, ladies clubs and many other groups as well.' While the Derryglad Folk Museum is currently busy with school tours, Charlie feels that more could be done to promote tourism in the region. 'Tourism in this area is not nearly as well promoted as it could be. We"re doing our level best ourselves but we"d like more help. The local hotels are good, they"re starting to promote it, but up to this point we"ve been finding it slow enough. Tourism is definitely down this year. I know we"re in the early days of it yet but we"re hoping June, July and August will be better,' he said. Discussing the growth of the museum since 1998, Charlie indicated that there"s always room for new and interesting exhibits. To commemorate the museum"s fifth anniversary in 2003, a new photography section, containing the contents of Jim MacCormac"s long-running photo studio and shop in Athlone (from 1948-2002) was opened, and Charlie said this has been 'a big hit.' After last Friday"s elections, political followers feeling nostalgic could do worse than visit the photography exhibit, which includes a photo of Athlone TD Mary O"Rourke and her late husband Enda on their wedding day, as well as portraits of the late Brian Lenihan, the late Senator Liam Naughten, the late Senator Sean Fallon, and a very youthful-looking Deputy Denis Naughten. More recently, a "cobbler"s shop" was added to the museum in honour of the last cobbler to work in the area, Brideswell"s Peter Glennon. 'People in general are very good when it comes to donating items. Whether the item is big or small there"s always a story behind it, and it all adds to the collection,' said Charlie. Asked about the value of the collection of goods at the museum, he said that no figure has been attached to the display. 'Because we"re not selling, we have no interest in that side of it,' stated Charlie. 'What"s important is the value these items have to people when they see them.'