For this group assignment, a digital artifact needed to be created. Once the group was formed, we began brainstorming a project suitable for the task. Initially, we considered creating a story map that traced places used for forced confinement in the city of Cork during the last century. However, as the project unfolded, we expanded our scope and planned to build a website with various contents, including the story, map storylines, and a gallery of pictures. The final outcome was a website called “CorkConfinement.”
Subsequently, we distributed tasks among the group members. Some were in charge of hosting and designing the website, while others were tasked with creating content. For my part, I created an overview outlining the purpose of the website. I supported it with a story map called “The Road of Confinement,” which introduced each place of confinement: Cork City Gaol, St. Kevin’s Hospital, and The Good Shepherd Magdalene Laundry. Another contribution I made was the creation of a storyline called “Stones of Despair,” where I briefly described the history and uses of Cork Gaol over time.
Regarding the group work, I thoroughly enjoyed the collaborative effort as all members displayed a high level of engagement in the project. Consequently, the workflow was incredibly smooth, and I believe this is reflected in the final result. It was undeniably a remarkable group work experience.
Overview
If something has demonstrated the history of humanity, it is its essence of contrasts. These contradictions surface even more in tumultuous times, eras marked by wars. Unfortunately, Ireland has experienced this scourge of human beings against themselves firsthand. During the late nineteenth and throughout the twentieth century, the country went through a series of catastrophic events that marked the identity and trajectory of the nation. Today, traces of the tragedy can be seen in places that were the epicentre of great abuses and disappointments, but which also symbolize the struggle, hope, and resilience of the victims. Three of these places can be found precisely in the city of Cork.
Cork Confinement emerges first and foremost as a way to honor the victims. But fundamentally, it is an effort of memory to keep their legacy alive. This virtual journey through the confinement sites is a way to keep the warning alive, not to repeat those horrors, and to deny the possibility that our descendants will ever have to honor any more victims.