‘Cogair Irish Story and Oral History Archive’

My project arose from my personal experiences of stories and places for stories in the small Irish town of Clones, located right on the Irish border. Through conversations with locals I was made aware of the importance of the Irish oral tradition and how places for information exchange are valued.

Plan View of the Gogair Archive
Section through the Cogair Archive

As a result of this my project is a place for Irish stories to be preserved and enjoyed- an all Ireland audio archive specially designed to house records arising from the recent Troubles conflict and to allowing future generations to deposit stories they see as important and listen to past generations, securing the future of the Irish storytelling tradition and making Clones a town of national importance. 

Section through the Cogair Archive

The scheme is built around a castle ruin from the 17th century that is retained and used as an auditorium for listening and around this space includes unique facilities including confessional recording rooms. The scheme is named ‘Cogair’ , an Irish word meaning as something between “whisht” and “Come here to be now”, a sort of invitation to share a secret.

Interior Sketch

Portfolio Excerpts

For further enquiries please contact at:

email: alexandermccormick335@gmail.com