Background
This virtual archive has been generously funded by John and Pauline Ryan, who have been benefactors of the University of Limerick for many years. Their commitment to the University of Limerick and to the study of the Irish family unit has resulted in a unique opportunity for the Department of History. This virtual archive is an innovative step for the University of Limerick and is intended to support the Online MA (History of Family) which goes on stream in September 2007.
The archive currently comprises an eclectic collection of both fully transcribed manuscripts, for example, the letters of renowned philanthropist James Hack Tuke (1819-1896) to his daughters and scanned historical data, namely the catalogues of the Dublin Diocesan Archives.
The generous funding has also enabled us to purchase subscriptions to otherwise prohibitively expensive databases, such as the online British Parliamentary Papers. Work on the digital archive began in February 2007 and will continue over the next number of years in full cooperation with the Special Collections Librarian, Ken Bergin, and the Director of Library Sevices, Gobnait O’ Riordan.
Project staff
The idea for this archive was both conceived and developed by Dr Ciara Breathnach in close liaison with Pauline Ryan, a keen Historian of the Family who immediately recognised the value of such a resource to scholars of Ireland. Professor Pat O’ Connor, Dean, College of Humanities, and Dr Ruan O’ Donnell, Head, Department of History have lent time and expertise to its development. Dr Ciara Breathnach is the project leader and her work has been aided considerably by history faculty, staff and postgraduate students, especially Dr David Fleming, Julie Brazil, Lorna Moloney and the students of MA (History of Family) 2006/07, who scanned the Cullen catalogue with great precision.
The staff of UL ITD aided Jonathan Neville our software engineer to a great extent. Tracey Butler, Bruadmin, deciphered the Tuke letters and her professionalism must be acknowledged. Archivist, Noelle Dowling, and Monsignor Lorcan O’ Brien of Dublin Diocesan Archive have supported this initiative in many ways.
Aims of this project
The project aims to develop a digital archive of national significance at the UL by digitising Irish family papers. There is a particular, but not exclusive, focus on those held in British repositories. With this approach UL compliments current and future national digitisation projects undertaken by the National Archives of Ireland and the National Library of Ireland.
The key tenets of this project will also dovetail with future IREL digitisation endeavours. The digitised material will be made available to students on the MA (History of Family) programme and bona fide researchers worldwide on a password protected web forum. It thus will provide a key resource for stimulating fourth sector research in the History of the Irish Family.