17/12/19 14:24
Kilkenny County Council is delighted to launch an exciting new online resource, entitled “Kilkenny Shopfronts Through the Ages”, available on the Library’s Kilkenny Digital Archive https://digital-archive.kilkenny.ie/. This initiative is the result of collaboration between the Council’s Planning section, the Library Service, Information Systems and Heritage. These photographs show the shopfronts in each street in central Kilkenny city between the late 20th Century and the present.
3 main sources were used to develop this resource: -
The Planning photographic surveys were conducted in 1987, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2018 (approx. 4,200 photos in total)
A survey was carried out by the students of Bolton Street D.I.T. circa. 1970, now entitled “Streetscapes of Kilkenny City” (178 photos)
The Photographic audit was carried out by Trevor Finnegan in 2019 (52 photos)
Denis Malone, Senior Planner, commented “these photos enable us to look at each business in central Kilkenny over a range of years. The entire collection is a fantastic resource for the general public and for the Council for viewing Kilkenny’s ever-changing streetscapes and shopfronts.”
Kilkenny Shopfronts Through The Ages forms part of the Council’s strategy for Shopfronts and Signage, which includes awareness raising and promotion, policy and guidance, and enforcement. This strategy, combined with the Photographic Audit project currently underway by the Heritage Office, will help to focus attention on the heritage aspects and changing nature of Kilkenny’s shopfronts.
The Digital Archive was developed by the Library Service in conjunction with the Information Systems section, to make unique content available and to engage new audiences as well as fulfilling the Library Service’s role as guardians of community memory.
“The Kilkenny Shopfronts Through the Ages project is an example of how a collaborative approach between various sections of the Council can make valuable and rich collections accessible and available to all” comments Declan Macauley, Executive Librarian.
The project also highlights the way shopping has changed over the years and how the High Street in particular is constantly evolving, impacted by the forces of technology, culture and shopping behaviour.
For more information, visit https://digital-archive.kilkenny.ie/ or email shopfronts@kilkennycoco.ie