From house to home
Oral history exhibition
A new project started at the 2025/Dublin edition of ISHF to make sure that tenants voices remain a central part of the festival.
We collected six stories from people living in social housing in Ireland, and produced a toolkit for future historians. Our aim is to build a repository of histories as the festival moves and grows.
On this page you can hear the histories and download the toolkit.
With thanks to The Irish Council for Social Housing (ICSH), Conference Partners International - PCO, Fáilte Ireland and Meet4Impact, Housing Europe, Co-operative Housing Ireland, and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
Our Stories
Click on the images below to hear the histories of social housing in Ireland
What is oral history?
Oral history is the gathering and recording of people’s memories and opinions and personal stories. It enables us to see the human side of historical events, rather than relying solely on books and records. It also allows us to challenge assumptions about our recent past by asking direct questions to people who lived through those times. Oral history is particularly valuable because we can seek out the views of all elements of society, including people whose stories may not be as vocal in society. There are challenges- people’s memories can be flawed, or they may not feel able to talk openly about certain things, and that is ok. Our approach to collecting oral histories allows for all perspectives and points of view to be included. We recognise that the past finds its truth through a myriad of tales.