This project was undertaken as part of a dissertation for our Masters in Applied Digital Media at Griffith College Dublin in 2018.
The subject matter of this Interactive Documentary (iDoc) was inspired by the tourist book 'The Glory of Cong' written by the late J.A. Fahy.
He was the Principal of Cong National School and was also a local historian for several decades before he passed away in 1987.
'The Glory of Cong' by J.A. Fahy
Within the book, the reader is brought on a journey through almost 5,000 years of Irish history. Coupled with its obvious natural beauty, including several underground rivers running through caves from Lough Mask to Lough Corrib, Cong truly is a feast for the senses.
The opening lines of the book highlight this fact:
“Nature endowed Cong with wonderful beauty; Man gave it a glory not less wonderful. Its natural beauty has remained unspoilt by the passing centuries; Time has not been kind to Man's contribution”.
Apart from the documented history and natural scenery, the author also regales many myths, legends and local lore that he picked up from his wife's uncle, Peter Foy, the last of the Foy Sculptors of Cong.
During further research into the history of the area, another local historian and author of 'Around and About Cong', Robert Scott, was an invaluable source of information and he gave freely of his time and energy to this project.
'Around and About Cong' by Robert Scott
In order to make this documentary interactive the team utilised the editing software Klynt. Klynt is an interactive editing and publishing application.
It allows users to explore new narrative formats and tell engaging stories by mixing video, photo, audio , text and web resources to produce powerful interactive storytelling.
We would like to thank everyone who contributed to our project, especially the people of Cong. A full list of contributors is seen within the iDoc.
