UCD LIBRARY CULTURAL HERITAGE COLLECTIONS
Welcome to the UCD Library Cultural Heritage Collections blog. Discover and explore the historical treasures housed within our Archives, Special Collections, National Folklore Collection and Digital Library
What do these three areas of expertise have in common? Well, a gentleman called Sir Christopher John Nixon for starters. Christopher Nixon was born in Dublin on 29 June 1849. He was educated at Terenure College, where he was amongst the first fifty pupils enrolled after the school opened in 1860. He subsequently studied at …
Irish Bogs contain an abundance of a particular type of moss known as sphagnum which has antiseptic and absorbent qualities. During WWI, this moss was gathered by female volunteers across the country and then sewn into cloth dressings which were sent to hospitals on the continent for the war wounded. UCD Special Collections holds the …
There is a certain note of heartbreak that attends the discovery of a stray red sock in a white wash. Things are just never the same again, are they? We’ve all borne that painful scar, as we’ve bid farewell to our favourite white shirt. But how many of us take the time to ponder these …
Today being the last day of May, UCD Archives decided to have a look at the collection of a man who was born on the first day of May nearly one hundred years ago, in 1919. This collection is not one that people would usually associate with UCD Archives, but it gives you a flavour …
On 4th May 2018, Irish poet Thomas Kinsella turned 90 years old. An event hosted by the Lord Mayor of Dublin to mark this occasion was held in the Mansion House. UCD Library Special Collections holds the Thomas Kinsella Collection, containing over 700 items including books, pamphlets and ephemera which Kinsella generously donated to UCD …
“Your name must, and will always be, associated with the rescue at the last moment of Irish tradition.” Praise indeed when one considers that the author of such words was Séamus Ó Duilearga, honorary director of the Irish Folklore Commission (1935-1971), who was himself credited by many as being the driving force in the race …
In this age of the digital, online cultural heritage exhibitions help to open up unique and distinct collections to a global and international audience. UCD Archives, not only uses platforms such as Google Arts & Culture Institute, to showcase it's historically rich collections to the world, but also Twitter by creating timelines. These timelines act as …
This blog post is about a grim institution of 18th century Dublin and contains details that some readers may find upsetting. The many commuters who use the Luas St. James's stop everyday are almost certainly aware that they are very near to the site of the proposed new National Children’s Hospital. It is unlikely though, …
‘I think I’ll remember all these experiences for the rest of my earthly days. I feel I’ve been immersed in a great wave that has impregnated my whole mind and being...’ So reads one of the final diary entries written by the artist Simon Coleman RHA as his field work with the Irish Folklore Commission …
Continue reading "Portrait of an Artist as a Folklore Collector"
2018 marks the 100th anniversary of partial women’s suffrage, granted under the Representation of the People Act (1918) which received royal assent on 6 February 1918, extending the franchise to all men over 21 and for the first time, to women over 30 if they were a graduate voting in a university constituency or a …