Grant Success

Portadown Women’s Cultural Friendship successfully obtained a grant through the CATCH Funding Programme.This was made possible by National Lottery Heritage Fund . The aim of their project ‘Women at War: Future Females’ was to engage the local community in women’s history.

The need to tell Women’s local History

Portadown Heritage Tours have brought to the forefront through their wider ARCH Programme, the severe lack of resources, educational outputs, research and overall lack of programmes which contribute to the preservation of women’s history on a local level.

Portadown Women’s Cultural Friendship delivered a project which engaged with the local community. This project documented local women’s history. This was to address the imbalance around studies of the Great War. The outcomes of the project has provided a template to amplify minority voices and experiences. The project ‘Women at War:Future Females’ researched important roles of local women during the Great War.

Project Outcomes

Portadown Women’s Cultural Friendship engaged with Brilliant Trails to produce a web based app, which can be accessed through a QR code. The app details the period of history surrounding the suffragettes. Also, the signifiacnt role of local Unionist Women during the Home Rule situation and the Great War. These historical events are often portrayed from the point of view of men. On a local level, Portadown District Women’s LOL No 3 and Private Lodges within the District are celebrating their centenary year. The story of such a significant organisation like the Women’s Orange Institution remained untold, until now.

The app now details the local period of history from the formation of the Women’s National Health Association to the Formation of the Women’s Orange Institution in Portadown. It covers all significant historical events in that time and the period after. It also showcases for the first time the stories of individual women who contributed to local history.

Educational Material for local women’s history

Portadown Women’s Cultural Friendship also produced an educational booklet detailing the role of the Portadown Women’s Emergency Corps during the Great War. It details the community coming together from different backgrounds, to provide support from home to the servicemen on the front lines of the war.

Our appreciation to National Lottery Heritage Fund

The project was made possible through National Lottery Heritage Fund. National Lottery Heritage Fund provided the support for the CATCH Funding programme, with grants distributed to groups in the community to promote local heritage by Portadown Heritage Tours.