This article is from page 82 of the 2008-07-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 82 JPG
THEY say you should never meet your heroes. Well if your heroes hap- pen to inhabit that hallowed green space between the goals on a GAA field, then a quick trip up the road to Carron for a nice chat with the founder of the association is sure not to disappoint.
On Friday the Michael Cusack Centre launched the last piece 1n its impressive display on the Clare man who founded the GAA.
The Cusack Experience uses the latest in technology to bring the visi- tor right into the life of Michael Cu- Oe
The restored Cusack homestead now has a new lodger, a holographic
projection of Michael Cusack who brings viewers on a 20 minute inter- active tour of his home, his life and the foundations of the GAA.
“As you walk into the room you are invited by Michael Cusack him- self to start the tour by pressing the button on the wall. The whole ex- perience is designed to be as inter- active as possible – viewers must in- teract with Michael Cusack to move the tour along to the next room and the next part in the story,” said Liz Flynn, manager of the Michael Cu- sack Centre.
“We start off in the main room of the house where Cusack talks about his young life and things that he would have done in Carron when he was growing up.
“As we move into the second room he talks about his life at school and moving into his adult life and getting involved in Gaelic games.
“The final room is set in Hayes’ Hotel in Thurles in 1884 and the foundation of the GAA.”
When designing the Cusack Expe- rience, huge care was taken to ensure that the technology complements the restored cottage.
“It was very important to keep the feel of walking into the old cottage and homestead. It looks exactly how it was back in the 1850; we still have the chairs, the table top, all the fur- nishing that would have there in the old house,’ continued Liz.
‘““We were very conscious of keep- ing the cottage as authentic as pos-
sible. The technology was chosen to be as unobtrusive as possible and to fit into the cottage properly.”
The Cusack Experience was of- ficially opened by the Minister for State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Martin Mansergh, last week.
For more on opening hours con- tact the Michael Cusack Cen- tre on 065 7089944 or e-mail info@michaelcusack.ie