Maghera group bringing history to life and connecting the local community

A County Derry group has been leading the way when it comes to local history and community connection.

Maghera History, Education and Tourism Trust (MHETT) was established only six months ago and has gone from strength to strength since.

The County Derry Post spoke to chairperson of the group Joseph McCoy and Dr Séamas Ó Donnghaile, MHETT Education Officer, to get a feel for the group and what they are all about.

Séamas, who lives in Swatragh, is a school principal in Belfast and volunteers his spare time to the Maghera group.

Explaining the purpose of the group, he said: “The whole basis of the organisation is number one service to the community through education about our history and our heritage. We have big plans and visions for the future of the town. My job in the group is to help the community in any way that we can, for example delivering lecturers, talks and workshops. We have a strong emphasis on community education. We have called it The MHETT Communiversity. This idea has been done in many communities before such as in Dublin and Brighton in England. In essence what you are trying to do is bring people back into education who thought they had missed the opportunity.

“We have a band of volunteers who are serving or retired teachers or people who have a particular skill such as mechanics, or crafts such as pottery. Most of the teachers would have an area of specialism which they provide. So we are really trying to build a strong community organisation built on community volunteers.

“What we see in the community especially for older people we need to be more attentive to our community. That is one of the issues here all of us are dealing with an aging population. There is a real need for this service in the community. Our job going forward is to work hand in hand with the community to see what services we may be able to provide for them. At this early stage it is mostly about providing classes and letting them know that there is something out there for them. Going forward we want to be a support for people out there who maybe don’t have a lot on their timetable through various factors such as age or family moving away. We want to be a real friend to the community. The group is a great way to bring the community together and the group that we have at present is a great reflection of the diversity we have.

“We kicked off two weeks ago with our first Communiversity class which was an ‘Introduction to Irish’. It was very well attended. We have also had interest from members on the history of the area and local studies. We even have a target interest in providing basic numeracy and literacy.

“We are very grateful to the support we have received on this so far. Especially to The Lurach Centre a special word of thanks goes to them for letting us have that space to meet and connect. It helps to have a great spirit and great people around us.”
Joseph McCoy, chairperson of the MHETT spoke about what the group means to him.

“My main ambition with the group is to try and get the community and young people involved because they are history in the making. I also wanted to promote and make people aware of the importance of local historical sites and archeology. I want to get as many interesting talks on the locality together as possible for the community to avail of. I want to make more people in the community more motivated and operational in a voluntary manner. I have done countless historical walks about the town, even a hunted history walk at Halloween which was very popular. We are a friendly group that is open to all walks of life. The group is all about networking, meeting people, making friends, bridge building and learning.”

The group holds meetings in various locations throughout the town including The Lurach Centre, Studio 3, local church halls, the local Gaelic club.

If attending, the group asks for a small donation, whatever you can afford for running costs.
For more information the METT and their upcoming events you can visit their Facebook page Maghera History, Education & Tourism Trust.