Julie's tableau of 50s home memory

A tableau in the lobby of Kilcullen Library recreates elements of a typical rural village home in the early 1950s, and is the Library’s entry in the Kilcullen 700 Heritage Week competition, writes Brian Byrne.

The display was set up by Librarian Julie O’Donoghue, who says she has developed a ‘back story’ for the presentation, which includes old furniture pieces, crockery, rugs and cushions, and hints of how a woman of the house spent her working and — scarce — leisure time.

“So we have 'Bridgie Murphy', who’s living in a small cottage just out the road. Her husband works with the horses on one of the local stud farms. She’s a great provider, she makes all her children’s clothes, gets all their food ready from scratch. Women like her had so little going, and the only way they could be creative was knitting, sewing, or crochet.”

'Bridgie' and her peers also repurposed everything. No piece of furniture, no item of apparel, were ever thrown away just because they were old, or out of fashion, or torn. "The homemakers of her time repaired whatever was damaged, and made, mended and adapted clothing. Another thing you'll notice in this display is that there's nothing made of plastic."

There was no television, but there were books in the window alcove. Oil lamps provided light because electricity hadn’t yet reached the cottage. A photograph on the display's side table is typical of the time, and is actually of Julie’s husband Gerry’s parents. A 50s recipe typed out on an Odlums letter heading was given by Mary Orford.

Julie goes to markets and often buys pieces of handcraft that she doesn’t really need. “This is work which some woman spent hours doing, and she was probably very proud of it. Maybe she gave it as a gift to a loved one. It ends up in a house sale, and I see it at a market ... I don’t really want it, but I feel I’m rescuing it.”

And now it ends up in a heritage competition. “It’s all very ephemeral …”

Julie’s display sets a high bar for the competition, which is sponsored by Bank of Ireland in Kilcullen. Other groups and businesses are developing their own displays, and the winner will be chosen during National Heritage Week 2019, which runs 17-24 August.

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