Riots, risings and nervous dates

On a damp grey morning in Dublin this week, the launch of the Storymap app is a timely reminder that the capital's colour comes from its inhabitants. The brainchild of two out-of-work Dublin filmmakers, Andy Flaherty and Tom Rowley, Storymap.iehas taken the stories of Dubliners and tied them to locations around the city.

Now, the app, which includes a library of 80 stories (audio or HD video), lets users tap into these rare histories of Dublin as they wander around the city’s streets. The plan is to add to this opening collection with four new stories a month.

“On O’Connell Street alone there’s riots, risings, nervous dates and hoax plaques,” says Rowley, “along with hundreds more we’ve yet to capture. By using the app and seeing a well-told story on the spot, you get to see it in a whole new light, and build a new connection with it.”

The app (€2.49) includes eight themed “rambles” or walking tours and can generate a ramble based on any destination.

Cartoonist Tom Matthews recounts his love of the Why Go Bald? sign on Dame Lane, and there’s a story from Roddy Doyle. “I loved the experience,” says Doyle, “seeing how Storymap took my words – all 155 of them – and, almost literally, built part of O’Connell Street with them. It was clever and moving and, as I watched, I felt proud – and very grateful.”

The app was developed at DIT by Jamie Osler and Eoin Rogers, and overseen by Bryan Duggan. storymap.ie