By 
A NEW book chronicling cultural development within Tyrone Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann and Naoimh Mhuire GAA club, Killyclogher has been launched at Dún Uladh.
Written by author Harry Mullan, ‘For The Love of Place: A life’s Journey Shaped by People, Culture and Identity’ encapsulates the promotion of traditional artforms from the early 1970s until the mid-1990s, culminating in the establishment of Dún Uladh.
The launch, which took place on Wednesday past, featured refreshments and an evening of live traditional music song and dance for the crowds in attendance. In the work, Harry recalls his experiences of life in the 1950s and 1960s and how his generation embraced the cultural re-awaking of the early 1970s.
He cites, as examples, activities like promoting the weekly music classes in Killyclogher which introduced over ninety young boys and girls to traditional music; many of those young learners maturing into well-known performers in succeeding decades.
Against a backdrop of connection between community and cultural identity there is a wealth of reminiscence about people and events covering some 20 years of promoting music, singing, language and dancing both throughout Tyrone and further afield.
Hosting international cultural visits from places like Germany and North Korea provides an insight into cultural diversity, while the early works to establish the GAA Club’s grounds at Ballinamullan are recorded for posterity.
