The story of the Irish has been woven into the Dictionary of Sydney, a permanent online record of Sydney’s story, from past to present. Irish convicts, Catholic churches and the celebration of St Patrick’s Day in 19th Century Sydney are just some examples of the new content available in the Dictionary of Sydney.
Dr Lisa Murray, Chair of the Dictionary of Sydney and City Historian, notes the Greening the Dictionary project has been conducted in partnership with Sydney’s Irish Community.
“The Irish community has shaped Sydney and now they are shaping the Dictionary of Sydney,” Dr Murray said.
“We see the footsteps of the Irish all throughout Sydney, from the building of Catholic churches such as St Canice’s Catholic Church Elizabeth Bay to the Irish Famine Memorial at Hyde Park Barracks.”
“We live in a great city and one reason for that is the proud contribution made by the Irish.”
The Dictionary’s new content has been written by seven volunteer writers as part of the Greening the Dictionary project conducted in conjunction with the Irish Consulate and the Aisling Society. Consul General of Ireland, Caitríona Ingoldsby said: “I’m very pleased that the Consulate was able to partner with the Dictionary of Sydney on this project to dig a little deeper into the Irish history of Sydney and to learn more about how the Irish community here has evolved.”
“Personally I was surprised and delighted to learn that some of the buildings and places that I’m familiar with in Sydney have Irish connections and stories that I hadn’t heard about before.”
Further information:
For further information, contact: Dr Lisa Murray, Chair on 0408 034 237
About the Dictionary of Sydney
The Dictionary of Sydney is like no other city encyclopaedia in the world. Based on a permanent historical digital repository, the Dictionary aims to gather resources on every aspect of human habitation in the greater Sydney area from the first arrival of people to the present.
Launched in November 2009, it’s an ever-growing resource you can trust. The main website at www.dictionaryofsydney.org is just the first of several windows into the historical digital repository that we are building in collaboration with the community. The Dictionary website is a forum for public discussion and controversy, an aide to teaching and learning and a source of information and entertainment.
Source: Dictionary of Sydney press release, Wednesday 6 March.
