Northern Ireland Memorials iPhone App

Northern Ireland Memorials iPhone App

• About the Memorials App
• How to download the Memorials App
• Overview of the Memorials App
• The App Team
• Project Funding
• Feedback
• Future Development
• Technical Requirements

About the Northern Ireland Memorials iPhone App

The Memorials App acts as a guide to the hundreds of Troubles memorials found in public spaces in Northern Ireland.

The Memorials App was released on iTunes on 25 February 2013. The App can be downloaded for free from the App Store within the iTunes Store:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/memorials-northern-ireland/id594207200?mt=8

The new Memorials App provides an interactive guide to the physical memorials allowing users to view information and photographs about each plaque, memorial stone, memorial enclosure or garden, and/or figurative statue, that has been erected in a public space during the conflict.  Users can search on-line databases for memorials of interest.  Alternatively they can use the geo-locating facility of the iPhone to find memorials that are close to their location.  Users can also find basic information on those people commemorated by the memorial.

The Memorials App was developed by researchers at INCORE (International Conflict Research Institute), in the University of Ulster.  It uses information about memorials that was gathered as part of a CAIN (Conflict Archive on the INternet) project.  INCORE commissioned a local company, EyeSpyFX, to build the App.

A news release [PDF; 61KB] about the Memorials App was issued by the University of Ulster on 4 March 2013.

How to download the Memorials App

The Application was designed to work on an iPhone. While it was not optimised for the iPad it can be downloaded and used on an iPad.

Users can go to the iPhone App Store:
http://www.apple.com/iphone/from-the-app-store/
and search for the App (under 'Education').

Alternatively users can view the 'profile page' of the App:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/memorials-northern-ireland/id594207200?mt=8
and then click on 'View in iTunes' to continue to the iTunes Store and download the App.

Or, users can go directly to the App via this link:
itms://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/memorials-northern-ireland/id594207200?mt=8
(This link requires PC users to have downloaded the iTunes software.)

Overview of the Memorials App

Hopefully most users will find the Memorials App simple enough to use without guidance. However, the following information may assist to clear up any confusion that some users may have.

App Screen Grab click for large image	Description of layout and facilities
	Once the Memorials App has been downloaded to an iPhone, the user can start the application by clicking on the 'App button'.
	This is the first screen presented (click for a larger version). There are four options: Find Memorial Nearby; Search Memorials; About; and Disclaimer. If the iPhone is being used in Northern Ireland, then the user can select the first option: 'Find Memorial Nearby'. This displays the list of memorials that are close to the location of the user (see next screen grab).
	From the list of memorials nearby users have two options. They can 'click' on a memorial in the list to get information about that memorial (see next screen grab). Or they can select 'Refine' which allows them to select which type of memorial they are seeking information on and thus narrow the search results.
	This screen grab shows some of the information available about a particular memorial ('Memorial Info'). On this page users can select 'Photos' to see photographs, stored in the CAIN database, of the memorial. Alternatively, users can click on 'Map' which will open the iPhone map facility (see next screen grab).
	If users select 'Map' it opens the iPhone map facility and pinpoints their location (marked with a blue 'dot' and circle) and the location of the memorial (marked with a red 'pin') that they were interested in.
	Users can 'Refine' their search in a number of ways. They can set the 'Search Distance' from where they currently are; a greater distance will increase the number of memorials listed. Users can select the specific 'Type of Memorial', such as: plaques; memorial stones; etc. Or users can select the 'Nature of Memorial', such as: civilian; British security; etc.
	The second option, 'Search Memorials', can be used either inside Northern Ireland or elsewhere in the world. This option takes users to a page which contains a drop-down menu to allow users to select which area they are interested in. Users can also select the 'Type of Memorial' and 'Nature of Memorial' they are interested in. They are then presented with a list of memorials as in the screen grab above.
	The 'About' option takes uses to a Web page which gives a brief explanation of the App.
	The 'Disclaimer' options takes users to a Web page which explains why there may be differences between the information in the database and what they see on the ground. It also offers some advice on visiting memorials in Northern Ireland.

The Memorials App Team

Staff at INCORE (International Conflict Research Institute), University of Ulster, and a local company, EyeSpyFX, designed and produced the CAIN iPhone App.

• Professor Brandon Hamber, Director of INCORE, wrote the original project proposal and sourced the funding. He also provided oversight of the project.
• Mr Mike McCool, ICT Manager at INCORE, guided the technical and design development of the App, and did the programing for the underlying databases.
• Dr Martin Melaugh, Director of CAIN, provided advice on the content of the memorials database.
• Mr Anthony Hutton, Managing Director of EyeSpyFX, managed the technical development of the App and was the point of contact with the University of Ulster.
• Mr Anthony Lynch, EyeSpyFX, undertook the initial development work on the App.
• Mr John Crumlish, EyeSpyFX, worked on the final stage of development of the App.

Project Funding

The work on the Memorials App was undertaken with funding from the Research Branch of the Office of the First Minster and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM). INCORE is grateful to the Research Branch for the funding.

The data and photographs displayed by the Memorials App was collected as part of an earlier project which was funded by the AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council). For further information on the AHRC, please see the Web site www.ahrc.ac.uk.

Feedback

The information on the CAIN site about physical memorials to the conflict was first made available in June 2009. Some minor updating of the information has been carried out since that date. Some users have contacted CAIN with information about new memorials or about changes to existing memorial sites.

A key reason for developing the Memorials App was to encourage feedback from people visiting memorial sites. Anyone using the Memorials App can check the information about the memorial on CAIN and if they wish to add to, or amend, the information they can contact CAIN with updates.

Future Development

This Northern Ireland Memorials iPhone App represents a first step by staff at INCORE to see how inter-related medium-sized databases might be made available on mobile devices. If this Memorials App proves to be useful then development of other Apps will be considered.

Technical Requirements

Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad. Requires iOS 4.3 or later.