2020 Being a Child in Drogheda
“Sometimes I talked to my toys to keep me company… I missed my grandparents and cousins…”
“A lot of violence has happened on my streets that made me a little scared to go out again but it was ok I guess.”
“Back in January all of the gang violence things started. It didn’t really affect me but it was scary. I wasn’t allowed in the Glen for a while. While my sister was in the hospital, where we would park, there was a bunch of police cars. It was terrifying. The helicopters were so loud. Covid is scary, it helped some people but it hurt some people.”
First mooted by Genesis Louth back in early 2020, the original was to give voice to the feelings of children about the violence and criminality in the town, but then the world got even more complicated with the arrival of the Covid-19 Pandemic. These are just a few of the quotes from “Being A Child In Drogheda in 2020” an intriguing and thought provoking online exhibition featuring 218 local primary school children.
Burnt out houses, speeding squad cars, sirens blaring, Garda helicopters overhead combined with lockdown, school closures, social distancing, mask wearing, home schooling and restrictions on travel to turn everyone’s life upside down and Drogheda's children were there to witness it all. Life before Covid was a distant memory.
What emerged was an unprecedented snapshot of a time in modern history seen from the perspective of eight to eleven year-old children.
Each child wrote a short paragraph about their experiences with the help of their teachers, and over the course of three weeks, created a collage of images and words expressing their experience both positive and negative. As with the writing, each visual response was different, a testament to the individuality, care and attention that each child offered in making this beautiful and important snapshot of time.
Artists Yvonne Gardiner and Vivienne Byrne would like to sincerely thank the following people and organisations for their support of this project: Fionnuala Ní Earcáin, Marymount National School; Emer Collins, Presentation Primary School; Vivienne Lamont, St Joseph’s National School; Niamh Redden, St Patricks and St Brigid’s National School; Droichead Arts Centre; Jenny Callanan Photography and Genesis Louth for their funding as well as the two hundred and eighteen children for their thoughtful responses and great artwork. Exhibited at Droichead Arts Centre Drogheda June 2020
The children involved, all aged eight to eleven, are from Marymount National School, St Patrick’s and St Brigid’s National School, Presentation Primary School and St Joseph’s National School in Drogheda.