Iarsmaí- Airs on TG4 Wednesday 9 October 9.30pm and on BBC Two Northern Ireland and BBC iPlayer on Sunday 13 October at 9.50pm.
Date Posted: October 7, 2024
YouTube Clip: https://youtu.be/5sWGxonJU7U
Museums and institutions around the world are actively decolonising their collections and practices to provide a renewed perspective on the history of their artefacts.
Iarsmaí (Remnants) explores the issues around decolonisation, which is partly a response to the Rhodes Must Fall and Black Lives Matter campaigns and a more progressive approach to dealing with the past.
This new feature length film, which airs on TG4 Wednesday 9 October 9.30pm and on BBC Two Northern Ireland and BBC iPlayer on Sunday 13 October at 10pm, was made for BBC Gaeilge and TG4 by Dearcán Media and Tua Films with support from Northern Ireland Screen’s Irish Language Broadcast Fund and Coimisiún na Meán.
From stolen skulls in Trinity College Dublin, to the ongoing presence of colonial artefacts in museums in Belfast, Dublin and Oxford, the film examines the legacy and ethical issues associated with artefacts that are historically linked to the time of British Empire.
At the Ulster Museum, Hannah Crowdy, Head Of Curatorial for National Museums NI, says “curation is an act of storytelling” and talks about the museum’s ongoing work to trace the provenance of objects and how they were collected, including Aboriginal artefacts. While historian Fearghal Mac Bhloscaigh talks about the colonial geography that is reflected in Belfast’s street names and statues.
Irish broadcaster Ola Majekodunmi takes a tour exploring the city of Oxford’s colonial past and reflects on the ongoing campaign to remove the Cecil Rhodes statue.
Ola, a Dubliner who was born in Nigeria, is on a journey of discovery to the city of Benin in her country of birth to find out more about the colonial period and the global campaign to repatriate the Benin Bronzes which are held in museums across the world.
At the National Museum in Dublin, Ola meets Aoife O’Brien, curator of the ethnographic collection. Aoife explains how some of the objects were stolen or taken unethically while Ireland was still part of the British Empire, but others were collected and gifted and discusses the importance of establishing where an object came from.
The film also follows the story of 13 skulls that were stolen from a graveyard on Inishbofin, a small island off the coast of Galway, in 1892. A group of islanders lead by Marie Coyne and assisted by historian Ciarán Walsh, have been engaging with Trinity College, Dublin where the skulls have been housed. They are seeking to have the skulls repatriated from the Museum of Anatomy at the College for burial on the island.
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Iarsmaí – craolfar an clár seo ar TG4 Dé Céadaoin, 9ú Deireadh Fómhair ag 9.30i.n agus ar BBC Two Northern Ireland agus BBC iPlayer Dé Domhnaigh, 13ú Deireadh Fómhair ag 9.50i.n.
Tá músaeim agus institiúidí ar fud an domhain ag díchoilíniú a gcuid bailiúchán agus a gcleachtas le dearcadh athnuaite a sholáthair ar stair a ndéantán.
Fiosraíonn Iarsmaí gnéithe an díchoilínithe seo, próiseas atá ag tarlú, go pointe, mar fhreagra ar fheachtais amhail Rhodes Must Fall agus Black Lives Matter, agus ar chur chuige úr maidir leis an am atá caite.
Déanadh an fadscannán úr seo do BBC Gaeilge agus do TG4 ag Dearcán Media agus Tua Films le tacaíocht ó Chiste Craoltóireachta Gaeilge Scáileáin Thuaisceart Éireann agus Coimisiún na Meán. Iarsmaí – craolfar an clár seo ar TG4 Dé Céadaoin, 9ú Deireadh Fómhair ag 9.30i.n agus ar BBC Two Northern Ireland agus BBC iPlayer Dé Domhnaigh, 13ú Deireadh Fómhair ag 9.50i.n.
Idir bhlaoscanna goidte lonnaithe i gColáiste na Tríonóide, Baile Átha Cliath, agus dhéantáin choilíneacha atá suite go fóill i músaeim Bhéal Feirste, Átha Cliath agus Oxford, téann an clár i ngleic le gnéithe oidhreachta agus eitice bainteach le déantáin nasctha le ré impireacht na Breataine.
Ag Músaem Uladh, deir Hannah Crowdy, Ceannaire Coimeádaíochta Músaeim Náisiúnta TÉ, “Is gníomh scéalaíochta í an choimeádaíocht.” Labhraíonn sí ar obair leanúnach an mhúsaeim chun stair shaoil na n-oibiachtaí, mar aon le modh a mbailithe, a thuiscint – déantáin bhundúchasacha san áireamh. Insíonn an staraí Fearghal Mac Bhloscaidh dúinn faoi thíreolaíocht na coilíneachta atá le feiceáil in ainmneacha shráideanna agus i ndealbha Bhéal Feirste.
Glacann Ola Majekodunmi, craoltóir Éireannach, ar thuras muid le hamharc ar stair choilíneachta chathair Oxford agus déanann sí a machnamh ar an fheachtas leanúnach le dealbh Cecil Rhodes a bhaint anuas.
Tá Ola, ar Áth Cliathach a rugadh sa Nigéir í, ar aistear follasaithe chuig Cathair Bheinin i dtír a breithe, le foghlaim faoin tréimhse choilíneachta agus faoin fheachtas domhanda le cré-umhaí Bheinin, atá á gcoinneáil i músaeim ar fud an domhain, a fhilleadh ar thír a ndúchais.
Ag an Mhúsaem Náisiúnta i mBaile Átha Cliath, buaileann Ola le hAoife O’Brien, coimeádaí an bhailiúcháin eitneagrafaigh. Míníonn Aoife mar a goideadh, nó mar a glacadh go mí-eiticiúil, cuid de na déantáin agus Éire go fóill mar chuid d’Impireacht na Breataine, ach gur bailíodh nó gur bronnadh cuid eile acu. Agus pléann sí cé chomh tábhachtach is atá sé oibriú amach cad as a dtáinig na hoibiachtaí.
Leanann an scannán scéal 13 blaosc a goideadh ón reilig ar Inis Bó Finne amach ó chósta na Gaillimhe in 1892. Tá grúpa oileánach faoi cheannas Marie Coyle, le cuidiú ó Chiarán Walsh, ag plé le Coláiste na Tríonóide, Baile Átha Cliath, áit a bhfuil na blaoscanna i Músaem Anatamaíochta s’acu. Is mian leis an ghrúpa go bhfillfí na blaoscanna le go n-adhlacfar ar an oileán iad.
