- “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.”
These are just two quotes from “Being A Child In Drogheda in 2020” an intriguing and thought provoking online exhibition featuring 218 local primary school children.
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.
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.
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.
The exhibition will be available to view on www.droichead.com from 15 June.
Quotes from Children Involved
- To be honest I was very excited about being off school, it was only meant to be two weeks and I was excited to spend time with my family but the days got longer and the numbers got worse.’
- 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.’
- I needed some alone time and here came along Lockdown and fulfilled my wish and I loved it, but it got lonely’.
- ‘I love playing Roblox with my friends and I walk my dog. My dog wants to be a ninja.’
- ‘My mam is a nurse who takes care of children. She had to work more than she used to. I did a lot of reading at home and some fun arts and crafts. Now my room is full of pictures and lovely photos.’
- ‘We were under strict lockdown for about five or six months. Sometimes I talked to my toys to keep me company. I looked out the window every day to see if my friends were outside. I missed my grandparents and cousins all around the world. I still got to spend a lot more time with my mom and dad.’
- ‘I’m getting along with my brother really well! And I’m happy about that because we argued 24/7. My aunty got Covid 19. I actually got time to play my Playstation A LOT more than I could before!’
- ‘I missed out on doing a lot of stuff in summer because of Lockdown, We couldn’t invite anyone over for Christmas, so Christmas was very quiet this year’.
- ‘I’ve been feeling sad, angry, anxious, frustrated, and all kinds of things and have definitely spent more time in bed, but I wouldn’t say that I have spent more time in bed, it’s my mam and dad that say that. I have been reading which makes me happy and of course my family too. 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.’
