Grange Website Launched
The tweaking and tinkering is complete. The spanners and screwdrivers are now no more. The Grange Parish Website is finito following many months of toil and effort, and the official launch date is recorded as Saturday 28 May 2017.
Let history record that the launch happened without fanfare. It occurred over two simple cups of tea and a shaking of hands in the kitchen of Tommy Hourigan's house in Raheen. Go neíri an website leat!
It is hoped that the site will witness perpetual motion long into the future. The design is such that the content can be continuously updated, improved and added to. There will always be room for more and there are no limits. That, to a very large extent, depends upon the contributions of natives and their future generations. And in that regard, Tommy & Mike, the site architects, ably assisted by graphic artist Alice Brennan, request much head-scratching, cooperation and future contributions from all and sundry. So let's call the Grange Parish Website a 'work in progress' for the moment. If the contributions keep coming, it will happily always remain thus.
The website 'as is' contains much that will whet the appetite and interest of readers. The Grange Book is extensively covered and is now fully uploaded. So, if you want to read, or re-read, accounts of Tony Barry's greyhound shenanigans, or Pa O'Connell's electrification of pictures of the Sacred Heart in years past, or Tom Bulfin's beautiful memorial of Grange in his younger days, or others, then you can now do so on the site. An associated and particularly interesting book-related section of the site is Testimonials, which can be found under the Book Intro tab, in which readers from near and far offer their thoughts on Grange - Past & Present. Some of the accounts are truly wonderful, and great reads in themselves.
In an attempt to continue where the Grange book left off, the Life Stories tab offers others a chance to compose and add their own personal or family life story for future posterity. This tab presently includes five new stories, and of course, many more remain to be written and told. They are eagerly awaited.
The site Blog tab includes (at date of launch) a number of accounts or stories of Grange interest, and future contributions will hopefully see this element of the site, in particular, bulging and bountiful. So don't be shy!
The Photography tab presently includes contributions from two local photographers. There are, no doubt, many more photographers in the locality who would like to contribute, so please contact the site if this is your forte. Old photographs from the locality would be of particular interest and would be gratefully received for scanning, being returned thereafter to the owners.
Remember that this is a website for the use and enjoyment of the entire community. It is hoped that all local organisations will use the site to update the Grange and surrounding communities on their events and progress, and perhaps help attract new members and interest. The site offers endless possibilities in this regard.
Thanks in advance for all future contributions to those who may donate. If you require assistance of any sort, whether in researching or writing up any offering, then the site authors, Tommy & Mike, will be pleased to assist.
For the moment, the two site architects will remain as the site administrators, but it is hoped that this will be short-lived. They are website weary! The involvement of the younger people of the locality would be welcomed with open arms, and the two website-weary architects could over time take a back seat and allow free reign to younger and, no doubt, more inventive minds.
Let the Grange Parish Website commence!
Tommy Hourigan & Mike Barry
