Explore Your Archive 2024
Explore Your Archive 2024 focus week will run from Thursday 21st to Saturday 30th November.
Explore Your Archive is an annual campaign that showcases the best of archives and archive services in Ireland and the UK. Please read on for more about EYA and the daily themes, our EYA ambassador for 2024/25, ARA Ireland’s launch of the focus week on the 21st November, and all the events as they come in.
ARA Ireland’s Explore Your Archive Ambassador 2024/25
We are thrilled to announce that ARA Ireland’s Explore Your Archive ambassador for 2024/25 historian, author and broadcaster Donal Fallon. Donal is presenter of the podacst series “Three Castles Burning” and curated the exhibition ‘Evil Literature: Banned Nooks in the Collections of Dublin City Library Archive’ as part of Dublin City Council’s One City One Book iniative. He works for Dublin City Council Culture Company (Richmond Barracks and 14 Henrietta Street) as a social historian, he lectures on Dublin history and has published several studies on Irish history. His publications include “The Lamplighters of Phoenix Park” and “14 Henrietta Street: From Tenement to Suburbia”. We are delighted that he will be joining us for our official EYA launch.
ARA Ireland EYA Launch
We are also delighted to announce that our launch will take place in the Oak Room, Mansion House, Dawson Street, Dublin 2. We are delighted that our ambassador Donal Fallon will be joining us on the evening.
The launch is free to attend but places are limited so please register here.
EYA 2024/25 Daily Themes
The campaign aims to open up the phenomenal archival collections held by organisations – public and private – whatever their size and scale, and wherever they are.
Throughout the week archives across the country will showcase their collections online, to help the public discover a piece of Irish history and culture. We will be updating the EYA and Featured pages as submissions come in, so please make sure to check back regularly. Submissions can be made directly to the outging Campaigns officer and current Chair Niamh Ní Charra at niamhnicharra@gmail.com.
For ARA Ireland’s customisable EYA poster please click here, and for our EYA logo please click here.
EYA 2024 Events
Thursday 21st November onwards
University of Galway
Exhibition: The History of the Library in 100 Objects project
The Library has been part of the University since it opened in 1849 with the distinguished scholar and historian, James Hardiman, as the first librarian. Since that time the library has been augmenting its collections as well as offering advice and guidance to students and staff and participating in the life of the University. The Library in 100 Objects was among the projects which received funding from the Institutional History awards sponsored by the President’s Office. It proposed choosing 100 objects from the library’s collections. Its history and development can be viewed through the prism of these objects. The objects whose images are included are drawn from books, manuscripts, archival collections, letters, photographs, newspaper issues, library furniture, stationery and artefacts.
The project group agreed that all decades since 1849 should be represented. Since service had been offered in the current library building on 7 October 1973 but it had not been officially opened until 10 October 1974, it was decided to extend the project over the period October 2023-October 2024. The digitisation of the images drew on the advice and skills of the Library’s Heritage Collections Team. The knowledge of library staff, current and/or retired, especially those with long service, was also key to contextualising the objects.
Project participants:Project Steering Group: Marie Boran (chair), Kathleen Burke, Catriona Cannon, Geraldine Curtin, Patricia French, Emma Goode, Eimhin Joyce. Advisors & Contributors: Library and university staff past and present Digitisation Team: Aisling Keane, Brendan Duffy & Eimhin JoyceDesign & Print: Eileen Kennedy (Library, Jude Flynn and Ronan Walsh (SNAP printing, Galway) Translation: Jacqui Finnerty
University of Galway
Mary Robinson Archive – first release of material
The University of Galway recently released the first tranche from the Mary Robinson Archive marking an important milestone in the work to preserve, process and make available this incredibly rich collection.
This immensely rich archive consists of material relating to Robinson’s work from her student days in the late 1960s to the present and includes material covering her time as a barrister, legislator, senator, professor, President of Ireland, United Nations (UN) High Commissioner of Human Rights, UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes, UN Special Envoy for Climate Change and for El Niño, founding member and current Chair of the Elders, founder of Realizing Rights – The Ethical Globalization Initiative, and founder of the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice.
At 660 boxes excluding AV material, it is the largest archive at the University to date and is being catalogued and released in tranches due to its sheer size, which is ever-growing as Robinson, despite turning 80 earlier this year, shows no signs of slowing down. The archive reflects her significant contributions to Ireland and the world and offers a unique insight into a lifetime of dedicated public service. Material has been arranged across 19 series, reflecting her many roles and the richness of the collection. This first tranche consists of two significant series representing 30% of the overall archive. P143/1, “Legal Work”, relates to her work as barrister, special counsel, legislator and campaigner, and P143/4, “President of Ireland 1990-1997” relates to her term as Ireland’s first female president, from 1990-1997.
At 188 boxes, material in this first tranche is clearly of immense national and international political and diplomatic importance and consequence and is a valuable resource for students and researchers keen to access primary source material covering a range of areas of interest. Explore the archive catalogue for this release here
Work on cataloguing the remaining 17 series is ongoing and material will continue to be released in tranches, thereby allowing phased access as cataloguing and processing of each series is complete rather than waiting until the work on the entire collection is concluded. Keep an eye out for news of subsequent tranche releases. To read the full blog post about the first release of material, click the link here
Maynooth University
Online exhibition: Antiquities, Adventure & Aristocracy – the extraordinary life of Howe Peter Browne, Marquess of Sligo
To mark Explore Your Archive 2024, Special Collections & Archives at Maynooth University Library will host an on-line exhibition based on the archive of Howe Peter Brown, 2nd Marquess of Sligo.
The exhibition ‘Antiquities, Adventure & Aristocracy – the extraordinary life of Howe Peter Brown, Marquess of Sligo,’ explores the life and travels of the 2nd Marquess of Sligo, captured in letters written home to his ‘Dearest Mother’ Lady Louisa Catherine Howe. These fascinating letters (155 in total), make up the Marquess of Sligo Archive which was acquired by Maynooth University (MU) Library in 2018. They record two trips taken by Sligo, the first in the Mediterranean (December 1809–August 1811), and the second in Europe (October 1813–April 1815). Sligo writes about a variety of different subjects, including estate matters (horse dealings, local elections, staffing, and family disputes), personal issues (health updates and matters of the heart), and international events (excavations at the Parthenon, the fall of Napoleon, the restoration of the French monarchy, and political unrest). The collection also contains letters regarding the abolition of slavery in the Caribbean and United States. This historically important collection provides invaluable information on life in upper class society during a turbulent period on the European continent. The exhibition has been curated by MU Library and runs as part of the 2024 Explore Your Archive campaign.
For more information and to view the exhibition please see our website here or follow us on X and Instagram @SCA_MULibrary
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI)
PRONI on tour – various locations
For Explore Your Archives week, PRONI staff will be out and about in various locations across Belfast. Our first stop will be at the Abbey Centre in Newtownabbey on November 21st, Grand Central Station on November 26th, and we will be finishing at Belfast City Hall on November 28th. Further locations will be announced across PRONI’s social media platforms during the focus week.
PRONI staff will be available on the day to chat with you about how you can use PRONI for research, how you can avail of our online resources, and how you can keep up to date with PRONI news and events.
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI)
Event: OS200 Marking the Maps
To mark the 200th anniversary of the Ordnance Survey in Ireland the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), the Historic Environment Record of Northern Ireland (HERoNI), Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland (OSNI), the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) and Queen’s University of Belfast (QUB) would like to invite you to celebrate this historic milestone at a two-part event at PRONI on Thursday, November 21st.
Part one (2pm to 4.30pm)
2-3pm – Charting Our Past: The creation of the Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Record (NISMR)
Join Kerrie McCarroll, OSNI GI Manager, and HERoNI archaeologists Rosemary McConkey and Hannah Parker for a fascinating insight into how the Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Record (NISMR) was created using historic maps and OS Memoirs.
3.30-4.00pm – Surveying our past: Navigating the PRONI Historical Map Viewer
Stephen Scarth, Head of Public Services (PRONI) will navigate 200 years of Ordnance Survey maps through the prism of the PRONI Map Viewer.
4:00-4:20pm – Tracing our past, mapping our future
Dr Suzanne McLaughlin, Director of Mapping and Chief Survey Officer of Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland (OSNI) reflects on some of the historic technical achievements of Ordnance Survey which meant that the island of Ireland was the most detailed mapped country in the world nearly 200 years ago.
For additional information and registration, see the Eventbrite page here
Part 2: 6.30pm to 8.30pm
6:30-7:00pm – Launch of ‘Mapping Monuments’ and ‘OS200’ exhibitions
7pm – Wine Reception
7:30pm – RGS Lecture: Guest Speaker – Professor Keith Lilley (QUB)
Surveying the Surveyors–Mapping ‘Hidden’ Geographies of Ireland’s Ordnance Survey
For additional information and registration, see the Eventbrite page here
Wicklow County Archives
Catalogue and exhibition: John Tate’s Charity
Wicklow County Council’s Archives Service has launched its latest project, John Tate’s Charity, at Rathdrum Library. This project features an exhibition, an archival catalogue, and digital resources that tell the story of the charity, founded as a bequest in the will of John Tate in 1787. The charity’s records were donated to Wicklow County Archives by the charity’s board of trustees. Remarkably, the charity is still in operation today, providing assistance to third-level students through interest-free loans.
John Tate of Fananierin, Glenmalure, died unmarried in 1787 at the age of 33. He was a member of the landed gentry and, in his short life, extended his holdings to just under 3,000 acres. In his will, he left his interest in 900 acres at Cullentragh to form the basis of his charity, with the stipulation that parishioners of Rathdrum and surrounding areas, regardless of religion, should benefit from its support. Former trustees of the charity included Charles Stewart Parnell and other well-known families, such as the Hayes family, who originally built Avondale, the Actons of Kilmacurragh, and the Guinness family.
While the Tate collection is significant to the history of Rathdrum and County Wicklow, it also holds national historical importance as a notable example of the philanthropic activities of the landed gentry in Ireland during the 18th and 19th centuries. This social class is well represented in local authority archive collections, through their activities in local government and their estate papers. However, the records of John Tate’s Charity also offer an insight into the lives and needs of the labouring and poorer classes in County Wicklow and the activities of the charity.
Wicklow County Archives collections include records of the county council and its predecessors, such as the Grand Juries, Boards of Guardians, and Town Commissioners. The Archives also hold the private papers and business archives of the families who administered, lived, and worked in the county. For more information, check out the website here
The Tate exhibition will be available for viewing in the Rathdrum Library from 14/11/24 until 11/12/24. The digital resources, including the catalogue can be accessed here
This project is supported by the Heritage Council through the Heritage Stewardship Fund 2024.
Saturday 23rd November
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI)
Saturday Service
PRONI will be open to the public and operating a full service from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, November 23rd. A ‘Getting Started at PRONI’ workshop will be held onsite from 10.30am to 12pm. A Behind the Scenes tour will follow this workshop. The workshop is free to attend but booking is required. Full details can be found on the Eventbrite page here
Tuesday 26th November
National Library of Ireland
Online talk – Getting Started with Family History Research
Join Steven Skeldon, National Library of Ireland (NLI), for an online talk about using the NLI’s services and collections to research your family history. This online talk will include a presentation on accessing the library’s family history services, an exploration of examples of family history resources held in the library collections, and how to undertake genealogy research. The talk will take place online via Zoom. Event link
Thursday 28th November
Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA)
Launch of “‘The Pigot Collection” by Nicholas Carolan and Caitlín Uí Éigeartaigh
A collection of over 620 pieces of pre-Famine Irish traditional music noted in staff notation in the 1840s and early 1850s by the barrister-at-law and amateur musician John Edward Pigot, assisted by his musician wife Annie Prendergast. With essays on the collector and the editorial procedures of the edition, illustrations and facsimiles, appendices and indexes.
The book will be launched by Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, Professor Emeritus, University of Galway, MRIA with music from piper Mick O’Brien. The event will run from 5pm to 6.30pm.
Light refreshments will be served. A limited number of tickets are available, which can be reserved by following the link here
ITMA is open to the public Monday- Friday, 10am-1pm and 2pm-5pm, no appointment necessary.
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI)
Event: The Oughley Shed exhibition launch
Join us for the launch of The Oughley Shed at PRONI on November 28th at 7pm. Speakers at the launch will include Lynsey Gillespie (PRONI), Dr Tom Hulme (QUB), Professor Leanne McCormick (Ulster University) and Lorna Gough (artist). Light refreshments will also be provided.
Visitors can step back into the 1930s through this installation, based on the writings, photographs and newspaper cuttings compiled by David Strain, whose shed built at Oughley Hill on the outskirts of Belfast created a sanctuary where a gay man could entertain friends and lovers. During the launch actors will recite extracts from his diaries and bring this story to life.
Full details about the event can be found via the Eventbrite page here
Tailte Éireann
Registry of Deeds lunchtime tour
The Registry of Deeds operates today as part of Tailte Éireann, an independent Government agency under the aegis of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The tour is being organised as part of the Tailte Éireann’s contribution to Explore Your Archive 2024.
The Registry of Deeds was established by an Act of the Irish Parliament in 1707 and is one of the oldest continuously functioning state offices in Ireland. The property records we hold are a valuable source for family, local, social and economic history dating from 1708 to date. The tour will give an introduction to the building and the collections, and how to search our records. You will also get to view some of the famous signatures contained within including Arthur Guinness and W.B. Yeats.
The tour will begin at 1pm at Reception, then moving to the Registry of Deeds main vault, normally closed to the public, which holds Memorials dating from 1708. The tour will then proceed up the cantilever stairs to the Public Room, with its beautiful pitch pine shelves (designed c.1829) and original parquet floors. The tour will finish on the second floor with a demonstration on how to search the unique records in the Genealogical Room, which has lovely views of Dublin city.
To book a ticket for the tour, click here