Clear out the attic for Heritage Week

HOMEOWNERS planning a major clear out now have a unique opportunity to see if any of those old photographs, books, ornaments and other objects lying around their house or sitting on their mantelpieces for years are worth more than their sentimental value.

As part of Heritage Week 2006, the City Archives will host Waterford’s first ever Archives Roadshow on Tuesday next at 2.30pm.

Members of the public are invited to bring along small items on the day to have them assessed for free by a panel of experts.

As well as putting an estimated value on the items, the experts will be available to offer free advice on the correct storage conditions for the items or how to get the items restored to their former glory.

City archivist Donal Moore said the event is free and open to all.

“So come along and see if those dust-collectors are really cash in the attic,” he said.

Later the same week, Mr Moore will give an illustrated talk on The Life and Work of Annie Brophy in the City Library, Lady Lane. The talk takes place on Thursday, August 31, at 2.30pm. Annie Brophy worked as a professional photographer in Waterford from the 1920s to the 1970s.

Her life’s work, a collection of over 60,000 negatives, was bought by the city council in 2005. Very few families in the city are not represented in the collection.

Heritage Week runs from August 26 to September 3. It is a week-long celebration of who we are and where we have come from.

Heritage Week is part of European Heritage Days, a joint initiative of the Council of Europe and the European Union.

In Ireland, the week is coordinated by the Heritage Council in conjunction with the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government.