For participants in Ireland
Main Street, Carrickmacross, with a view of the Old Courthouse
Photograph by Milena Komarova
Why Carrickmacross?
Our work in Ireland will be conducted in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, and the surrounding rural area. The site was selected for its location, its good connections to major urban centers and the vibrancy and size of its population, all of which align closely with the objectives of the LINLOSS research project. A town since the 17th century and a long-established market and trading center, the social and economic fortunes of Carrickmacross have fluctuated, and reflect both national and global economic booms and busts over the past couple of decades.
Since the 1990s the town has benefitted from its geographical proximity to Northern Ireland (as part of another major EU market) and its good infrastructural and commuting connections to Dundalk and Dublin. These have made it a desired destination for new and returning population and, currently, the site of the most active construction market in Co Monaghan. While some of the town’s traditional industries and businesses have closed in recent times, there is also a greater level of economic diversification in the area, with a multitude of indigenous businesses (including in renewable energy, logistics and haulage), and multi-national companies in the food and agri-food industries that provide employment locally.
The proportion of part-time farming in the rural area has increased, while successful enterprises based on this transition include dairy processing and agri-tech industries. The 21st century has also seen notable population growth in the area, with a clear proportion from other countries, including from Eastern Europe. Carrickmacross nowadays has its challenges around dealing with economic changes in the aftermath of Covid and the growth of new populations. It is, however, also still a bustling market town with an air of vibrancy, whose communities see it as a good place in which to live.
The Carrickmacross Workhouse Visitor and Community Centre
Photograph by Milena Komarova
Main Street, Carrickmacross, with a view of St Finbarr’s Church of Ireland
Photograph by Milena Komarova
Research Plan
The first phase of fieldwork – from December 2024 expected to end in June 2025 – will involve interviews with key contacts: local leaders, decision-makers, and individuals with expert or long-term knowledge of Carrickmacross community and history. These participants will contribute to our initial mapping of the social space and help identify potential participants for the next stage of the study.
The second phase – scheduled to begin in the summer of 2025 – will consist of biographical interviews with local residents of Carrickmacross. Each participant will take part in two sessions, each lasting approximately 90 minutes. The first interview will take the form of a free flowing life history narrative, focused on the own life and memories of family, community and local change. The second session will give a chance to reflect upon and discuss the story people have told, and to explore their connection to local places.
All interviews will be conducted only after obtaining ethical approval for the study from the two universities of Maynooth in Ireland and of Silesia in Katowice. We expect this phase to run from summer of 2025 to summer of 2026.
Community Archive
From the collected materials made available by the participants, such as photos, chronicles, fragments of interviews, we will create a publicly accessible Community Archive, which will be a database of the social memory and cultural wealth of the communities.
Interview Process
Each interview will be audio-recorded, transcribed, and anonymized to protect participants’ identities. Audio files and transcripts will be stored securely: recordings will be deleted from recording devices after transcription and transferred to an encrypted, password-protected storage system accessible only to the research team.
Following the conclusion of the project, and subject to participant agreement, anonymised data will be deposited in designated qualitative research repositories in both Ireland and Poland, in accordance with FAIR data principles and participant consent.
The former market in Main Street, Carrickmacross
Photograph by Milena Komarova
If you are unsure whether the person contacting you is a member of our research team, please refer to the Research Team section of our website.
For any questions or concerns about the study, you can contact the researcher who reached out to you or email us at linloss@mu.ie