HISTORY AND HERITAGE

Archaeology/Marine Archaeology
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Colin Breen, University of Ulster,
    Coleraine, County Londonderry
Wes Forsythe, University of Ulster,
    Coleraine, County Londonderry
Rosemary McConkey,
    University of Ulster, Coleraine,
    County Londonderry
With its long rugged coastline
and numerous lakes, rivers, and
estuaries, Ireland presents many
opportunities for underwater
researchers. Archaeologists Breen,
Forsythe, and McConkey are on the
faculty of the University of Ulster's
Centre for Marine Archaeology at
Coleraine. In addition to teaching,
the staff undertakes excavations
along the Irish coast and does
extensive fieldwork throughout
the United Kingdom, East Africa,
Australia, and the Faroe Islands.
www.campusone.ulster.ac.uk

Archaeology/Built Heritage
and Archaeology
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Mabeline Gormley, Belfast
    Declan Hurl, Belfast,
Kenneth Shilliday,
    Craigavon, County Armagh
The built heritage and archaeology
staff of Northern Ireland's
Department of Environment and
Heritage Service is responsible
for identifying, documenting, and
protecting the "built, buried, and
underwater remains of human
activity from prehistoric times
to the present." In addition to
approximately 18,000 known
pre-eighteenth-century sites,
archaeologists Hurl and Gormley,
mason/restorer Shilliday, and
their colleagues manage sites such
as prehistoric megaliths, humble
dwellings, large industrial sites,
historic gardens, and designed
landscapes. www.ehsni.gov.uk

Genealogy and Oral History
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Valerie Adams, Public Records Office
    of Northern Ireland (PRONI), Belfast
Philip McDermott, University of
    Ulster/Magee Campus, Londonderry
Christine McIvor, Centre for
    Migration Studies/Ulster American
    Folk Park, Omagh, County Tyrone
Fintan Mullan, Ulster
    Historical Foundation, Belfast
Several of Northern Ireland's most
prominent historical organizations
have joined forces and databases
to introduce visitors to Irish
genealogy and family history
at the 2007 Folklife Festival:
    The Public Record Office
of Northern Ireland (PRONI),
a division of the Department
of Culture, Arts and Leisure,
collects and preserves records
of historical interest to Northern
Ireland and makes them available
to the public for consultation and
research. www.proni.gov.uk
    The Ulster American Folk
Park is dedicated to the study
of immigration from Ulster to
America in the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries. Located on
the grounds of the Folk Park in
County Tyrone, the Center for
Migration Studies (CMS) was
established in 1988 to examine Irish
immigration and assist scholars and
researchers. www.qub.ac.uk/cms
    The Ulster Historical
Foundation, a nonprofit
organization established in
1956, preserves Irish history and
genealogy with particular emphasis
on the province of Ulster. Through
online databases, a membership
association, and publications, it
provides information to people
throughout the world who wish
to explore their Irish ancestry.
www.ancestryireland.com
    Oral historian Philip
McDermott is a graduate student
at the University of Ulster's Magee
Campus in Londonderry.

The National Trust/
Bridge at Carrick-a-Rede
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Billy Stirling,
    Ballybogey, County Antrim
The North Antrim coast features
some of the world's most spectacular
scenery, including the Giant's
Causeway. Established in 1936, The
National Trust protects sixty-three
important sites and 200 kilometers
of Northern Ireland's coastline.
National Trust warden Stirling
grew up in this beautiful area.
He is familiar with the history
and culture of North Antrim
and responsible for the famous
rope bridge at Carrick-a-
Rede.
www.nationaltrust.org.uk

Ulster-Scots Culture/
Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland
David Hume,
    Larne, County Antrim
Jonathan Mattison,
    Hillsborough, County Down
The Grand Orange Lodge, a
Protestant fraternal organization,
was founded in Loughgall in
1795. The group grew rapidly as
autonomous Grand Lodges were
established in Scotland, England,
North America, and Australia.
Strong supporters of their faith
and Northern Ireland's United
Kingdom membership, the group's
politics and parade traditions have
often been seen as controversial,
overshadowing its charitable and
educational work. Historians
Hume and Mattison discuss
Ulster-Scots culture, as well as the
organization's history and its future
in a changing Northern Ireland.