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
A notable aspect of private paper collections, is how a person features as a thread that runs through the tapestry of a collection. We have explored this before in our post about the death of W.B. Yeats, although here it may be more intentional, as some of the correspondents’ thoughts about Macnamara are being sought …
A visit to the National Folklore Collection isn’t quite like a visit to other libraries or archives. As you enter, the door creaking gently behind you, you’re met with a certain feeling of history and possibility. It’s a feeling that you can’t quite put your finger on, but a distinct one nonetheless. Once inside you’re …
Continue reading "‘Stories through art: The Eviction by Lady Elizabeth Butler’ "
In part one of this post, we looked at a file in Josephine McNeill’s papers concerning her husband, James McNeill, governor-general of the Irish Free State. The office of governor-general was viewed with suspicion by many as a symbol of continued British involvement in Irish affairs, and it was disliked and downgraded in importance by …
Continue reading "“A considered policy”: the Governor General and Éamon de Valera (Part 2)"
Harriet Hjort by Anna Riwkin (1908-1970) © Anna Riwkin/Moderna Museet, FM 1981 032 2518 Scholarship links between Ireland and Scandinavia in the field of folklore are too numerous to mention, but suffice it to say that in 1921, undergraduate Séamus Ó Duilearga met Norwegian Reidar Christiansen by chance in a Dublin book shop, and this …
This year marks the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Irish Franciscan college in Rome. St. Isidore’s College (Collegio S. Isidoro) started its task of training Franciscans for the Irish mission in 1625. The anniversary has been an occasion of celebration, not only by the Franciscan order (Order of Friars Minor, O.F.M) in Rome, …
The largely ceremonial role of governor-general in the Irish Free State (1922–1963) was to act as the official representative of the Crown. The office was viewed negatively by many as a symbol of continued British involvement in Irish affairs. Timothy Healy (1855–1931) held the role from 1922–1928, James McNeill (1869–1938) from 1928–1932, and Domhnall Ua …
Continue reading "“A considered policy”: the Governor General and Éamon de Valera ( Part 1)"
The Sound Archive in the National Folklore Collection has recently digitised the Hans Hartmann collection of audio tapes, which were stored in UCD’s Special Collections. The collection comprises 39 reel-to-reel tapes, and each tape contains 3 hours of material collected by Hartmann. These recordings were made in the 1960s in Galway, Kerry and Donegal. Reel-to-reel …
Continue reading "HANS HARTMANN’S CONNECTION WITH THE IRISH FOLKLORE COMMISSION"
What’s wrong with Ireland? The question seems to be an ever-popular one, from the time of Gerald of Wales to that of Gay Byrne and beyond. We can think of W.B. Yeats raging against fumblers in the greasy till, James Joyce calling his homeland the “old sow that eats her farrow”, and Samuel Beckett declaring …
Continue reading "“A Bulletin of Abuse and Mockery”: Patrick Kavanagh and Kavanagh’s Weekly"
The section of the catalogue of Eamon de Valera’s extensive papers, covering his time as President of the Executive Council and his first period as Taoiseach (1932–1948), includes material on negotiations with the UK; the drafting, publication and approval of the 1937 Constitution; the Emergency; and Irish neutrality. Among this rich documentation, is a file …
The Easter Cycle comprises a period of fasting, purification and spiritual renewal which culminates in joyful celebration of Christ’s Resurrection. In this short post it is only possible to sketch a very brief outline of some of the popular customs and practices which characterise the Easter observances in Irish tradition, which were, in the main, …
Continue reading "‘Mac na hÓige Slán!’ The Easter Cycle in Irish Folk Tradition"