One of Ireland’s best-loved children’s stories brought to life at Tyrone museum

By Rebecca Black, Press Association

One of Ireland’s best-loved children’s stories has been brought to life in a new immersive exhibition at a Co Tyrone museum.

Children have been reading Marita Conlon-McKenna’s Under The Hawthorn Tree, set amid the Irish Famine, for decades since it was first published in 1990.

Now the new exhibition at the Ulster American Folk Park allows visitors to step into the world of siblings Eily, Michael and Peggy O’Driscoll through soundscapes, interactive displays, scents and rarely displayed objects from across National Museums NI’s collections.

It includes a full-size handcrafted hawthorn tree created by willow weaver Bob Johnston at the Ulster Folk Museum in Co Down, which features branches adorned with copper birds.

The tree is also designed to serve as a dedicated reading space for visitors, featuring the book in both English and Irish.

Other items in the exhibition include a traditional potato basket, natural history specimens and a simple shawl, intended to root the story in the realities of daily life during the famine.

Ms Conlon-McKenna said she never imagined seeing the world she created brought to life in such a way.

She attended the opening of the exhibition along with her family and visiting schoolchildren.

“Seeing Eily, Michael and Peggy’s story take shape in a museum setting is something I never imagined when I first wrote Under the Hawthorn Tree,” she said.

“The book has travelled with so many readers over the years, but this is the first time the children’s journey has been interpreted in a full-size exhibition.

“What the team have created gives visitors a sense of the world the children moved through, the choices they faced and the strength they found in one another.

“It’s been brilliant to watch the story take on a new life and I am incredibly proud that it will now continue to engage audiences on this important part of our history, as a museum exhibit.”

It is the first major exhibition to open at the Ulster American Folk Park in four years, and also marks an important moment for the living history museum, which is also celebrating its 50th anniversary this July.

It comes after the Bad Bridget exhibition, which uncovered the experiences of Irish women who made the difficult decision to emigrate to North America.

Victoria Millar, senior curator of history at National Museums NI, said the children’s perspective was carefully considered in the creation of the display.

“From the very beginning, our focus was on how we translate a cherished story that so many people know and love, from the page and into a physical experience that would be just as memorable and educational,” she said.

“Every object, every sound, every design choice was shaped by the children’s perspective in the book.

“We want visitors to feel the uncertainty, the hopefulness, and the resilience that define Eily, Michael and Peggy, as they move through the exhibition.”

She explained: “In the first section of the exhibition, objects including a potato spade and a potato basket serve to emphasise the importance of the potato crop as well as the devastation caused by the blight.

“Later in the exhibition, we have examples of objects from the museums’ collections, reflecting the items that the children took with them on their journey, including blankets, a ladle and a blade.

“A host of animals that the children encountered on their journey are also included, ranging from a cormorant to a badger.

“These are probably my favourite.”

Chief executive of National Museums NI Kathryn Thomson highlighted the timing of the exhibition on the 250th anniversary of the signing of the US Declaration of Independence.

“The Great Famine was one of the most important drivers of emigration to the United States,” she said.

“By telling this story at the Ulster American Folk Park, we’re connecting past and present in a way that feels meaningful.

“Under The Hawthorn Tree reflects our commitment to creating a museum experience – whether you’re visiting with your school, as a family or as a tourist – to explore shared histories, understand different experiences and find common ground through storytelling.

“It shows how museums can hold difficult histories with sensitivity while still making them accessible, and why it is therefore so important that we continue to share them.”

Under The Hawthorn Tree is included in general admission to the Ulster American Folk Park. For visiting information and opening times, please visit ulsteramericanfolkpark.org.