Newry Canal – Heritage on the Lock

Interpretation at Victoria Locks

Update published on: April 6, 2018

We wanted to replace some worn out old-fashioned interpretive panels and decided to use a different type of interpretation from the standard visual panel and research revealed the perfect sustainable technology in the shape of a U-Turn-Around unit, which allows a person to wind a handle to generate the power to play a series of stories. This audio interpretation allows the transmission of far more information than a simple picture panel which as a good practice should only contain an absolute maximum of 250 words. The U-Turn-Around, on the other hand, can hold 8 stories of up to 2 minutes each.

Members of the Newry Maritime Association were asked what stories they wanted to hear told about the area, and four stories were chosen: the history of the Newry Canal; how Victoria Locks works; the links between the canal and the people of Fathom and finally the wildlife around the canal.

Example of one of the stories at Victoria Locks

These stories were written as mini-plays or conversation between a local man and his grand-daughter and these were acted by local people in English and Irish