Researchers at Maynooth University and Trinity College Dublin, in conjunction with the Humanities Virtual Worlds Consortium and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, have developed a virtual world to allow researchers and members of the public a novel way to understand this seminal battle which took place during the 1916 Rising. Contested Memories: The Battle of Mount Street Bridge provides a thoroughly annotated computer model of the site of action as it appeared during Easter 1916.
The web-based final product, a combination of a Drupal-based content delivery system and a virtual world created in Autodesk’s 3DS Max and rendered with the Unity engine, allows users to virtually place themselves on Mount Street on 26 April, 1916. Users are able to read extensive annotations on the various participants and locations of the conflict while at the same time visually seeing how they different elements came together to create the battle as a whole.
Contested Memories was launched on Friday, 20 November, 2015 by Brigadier General Michael Beary of the Irish Defence Forces at the Virtual Heritage Network Ireland Conference 2015, at Maynooth University. It was followed by a talk by Professor Susan Schreibman who spearheaded the development of the project, and a demonstration of the virtual world.
Contested Memories: The Battle of Mount Street Bridge is available to the public at http://mountstreet1916.ie/.
