The People’s History Initiative allows people to learn about the history of their own and surrounding communities.  The UPC offer an OCN Level 2 course called People’s History designed for groups and individuals who would like to tell the story of their community in photos and written memories and present this in an exhibition or booklet.

Recently Danny McShane and Karen McCartney worked with the Ballymac Ladies History Group to produce an exhibition entitled ‘The Old Ballymac’ which maps changes in Ballymacarratt between the 50's and 70's and which looks to the future of the area.

The exhibition presents political, cultural and societal developments such as the labour politics of the fifties, civil rights, internment, the Ulster Workers Council Strike and the peace process.  Well recognised photographs, such as images of the civil rights marches illustrate these themes.

Woven throughout this broader narrative are people’s personal photographs and interviews with their families about life in Ballymacarratt in the 50s and 70s and a history of the changes in well known local places such as Holywood Arches and Templemore Avenue Baths.

Key aspirations of the group for the future include that Northern Ireland will be a more peaceful place in the future and that there will be more regeneration in the Ballymacarratt area.  They also want to encourage more older people to become involved in community activity.

This exhibition was displayed locally in the Ballymac Friendship Centre, the Ballymacarrat Library and the Ulster People’s College.  It received much interest much interest because it is authentic to this group and this community.

The course has ignited Ballymac Ladies History Group’s interest in learning about history and they have progressed from this course to further history and politics courses with the Ulster People’s College.

Also, in the past few months Jason Brannigan worked with a group from Greencastle Community Empowerment Partnership to produce a fantastic resource for the area, a booklet entitled ‘A short history of Cockletown, the Greencastle area, the Blitz, the post war years and the 1970s’.  This was the first group to produce a booklet as part of the People’s History Initiative with the others opting for exhibitions.

The booklet takes the reader from the establishment of Greencastle’s first mill in the 18th Century to the air raids of the Second World War and the building of the M2 motorway in 1971.

If you would like further information on the People’s History Initiative click here or contact Karen McCartney at the College on (028) 9033 0131 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .