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
Jonathan Swift, author, satirist and clergyman, was born in Ireland to English parents in 1667. While he spent many of the early years of his education and career between both countries, he was appointed Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, in 1714. Swift had hoped for a senior clerical appointment in England, but despite this, …
Provenance in relation to books refers to what is rather grandly called ‘custodial history’; this could be mistaken for the rap sheet of a frequent tenant of Mountjoy rather than a blameless book. At its simplest, provenance refers to the previous owners of the book, from the first purchaser who inscribed his or her name …
Background Hugh Kennedy (1879–1936) is a distinguished figure in Irish political and legal history, having been both the first Attorney General of the Irish Free State, and later its first Chief Justice. His papers, which are in the custody of his alma mater UCD, offer fascinating insights into the beginnings of the Irish Free State …
Continue reading "Hugh Kennedy and the Chapel Royal, Dublin Castle"
‘In direct contrast to this oral folklore is physical folklife, generally called material culture. Now we deal with the visible rather than the aural aspects of folk behavior that existed prior to and continue alongside mechanized industry. Material culture responds to techniques, skills, recipes and formulas transmitted across the generations and [is] subject to the …
When considering primary sources for analysing social trends or movements in Ireland during the 1940s-1960s, what comes to mind? Dáil minutes, foreign policy correspondences, and newspaper articles might be some initial thoughts. However, one key primary source often overlooked is the pamphlet. These were not just short, forgettable handouts, but rather small, concise writings distributed …
Continue reading "What can pamphlets tell us about the Catholic Church’s reaction to the red scare?"
UCDA P351/59 (1) Photograph of Dick Humphreys with Miss Pearse and other St Enda’s alumni (November 1954) Later this year UCD Archives will be delighted to make available for research the papers of Richard (Dick) Humphreys. These papers are analogous and contemporaneous to many other collections of private papers held by UCD Archives and will complement …
With the submission of a copybook of completed material for the Schools’ Collection of the Irish Folklore Commission in 1938, the Principal of St Leonard’s National School, Ballycullane wrote an accompanying letter which read: A chara, My folklore collection herewith. I got it completed just now because my teaching career finishes here directly. Any job …
Continue reading "Mary B. Dunphy, part-time collector from South Wexford"
Researching medieval manuscript fragments is like trying to put together a jigsaw whose pieces are largely lost. It can be difficult to know how or whether the few parts that remain fit together. The fact that fragments are scattered across different libraries and are often uncatalogued compounds this problem, so reconstructing the original manuscript relies …
Continue reading "Something old in something new – hunting for fragments in the library"
In June 2022 Miriam Farrell-Shtaierman, daughter of UCD Professor and RTÉ broadcaster Brian Farrell (1929–2014) and Marie-Thérèse Dillon (b.1929), deposited a collection of correspondence that her parents exchanged between July 1954 and March 1955. This blogpost gives a small glimpse into the lives of this young couple during a period of separation before their marriage. …
In the Sound Archive of the National Folklore Collection, we have a wide range of audio material and carriers, from wax cylinders, acetate discs, open reels, to more recent carriers such as MP3s, DATs. Today we'll speak about the wax cylinders we have at the NFC. While most of the collection was recorded by staff …
Continue reading "The start of the Audio Archive at the National Folklore Collection"