In a recent article for the Irish Times, Rosita Boland highlighted some of the menus for dinner dances and other special functions attended by her parents in the period 1960 – 1983. Although many of us have been to formal dinners (and know the well-rehearsed ‘beef or salmon’ jokes that crop up during wedding season) … Continue reading Food for Thought: Fast and Fine Dining in UCD Special Collections
Thirty-three years ago, in September 1990, starting out into what used to be called an ‘MA by major research’, I first set foot in UCD Archives searching for sources for my dissertation on Ireland’s engagement with the League of Nations. There was then no Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) collection in the National Archives; it … Continue reading Discovering sources on Ireland’s membership of the League of Nations at UCD Archives
The beginning of October signals that we are now in the middle of the autumn season and that the long winter nights are drawing in. This is the season to pursue indoor activities and, as Hallowe’en approaches at the end of the month, the season to appreciate the spookier material within the National Folklore Collection, … Continue reading Cards and Card-Playing in the National Folklore Collection
Welcome to Part 2 of Ex Libris: Bookplates in UCD Special Collections! At the close of the last post, we had arrived at the later decades of the nineteenth century, and the visual amusements offered in Édouard-Henri Avril’s bookplate design for Henry Spencer Ashbee. In this post, we continue with bookplates that also have a … Continue reading Ex-Libris: Bookplates in UCD Special Collections (Part 2)
The title of Carolle J. Carter’s book about German espionage in the Irish Free State during World War Two is the perfect title for this blog post: the story of a Nazi German spy who lived in Ireland for a year and a half before being caught (much to the embarrassment of Eamon de Valera’s … Continue reading The Shamrock and the Swastika
The answer to the riddle above, often quoted as a proverb in the Schools’ Collection, is of course, money. The question of coins, money and finance is a frequent theme across many aspects of folk tradition and the relevant section under ‘Trade and Communication’ in A Handbook of Irish Folklore by Seán Ó Súillebháin lists … Continue reading ‘What is made round to go round?’
‘The convenience of such a label of proprietorship, printed or engraved, led to its adoption soon after the appearance of printed books. Books have been lost, borrowed, or stolen ever since type began, and a mere manuscript name is inconspicuous and easily effaced.’ John Byrne Leicester Warren (Lord de Tabley), A Guide to the Study … Continue reading Ex Libris: Bookplates in UCD Special Collections (Part 1)
The summer of 1890 saw Ireland produce the winner of the men's singles (Willoughby Hamilton), women's singles (Lena Rice) and the men's doubles (Joshua Pim and Frank Stoker) at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis championships. In the ensuing decade, Irish tennis players won five Wimbledon singles and two men’s doubles titles. Perhaps Hamilton, Rice, Pim and … Continue reading Enniscorthy Lawn Tennis Club
On 15 June 2023, a portion of the Audio Collection held in the National Folklore Collection was launched on dúchas.ie. The recordings now featured on the website were collected throughout Ireland, featuring songs, music and stories in English and Irish. Most of the recordings were made with the help of sound technician Leo Corduff, and … Continue reading Enter the Tape Recorder
Often, we find ourselves engrossed in a book, —whether for a little escapism or perhaps for the purposes of research—lost amongst the words on the page. The art of writing is, of course, reason alone to become lost. However, the beauty of the book itself, as an object of material culture, can often be overlooked … Continue reading Delightful Devices: the art of the printer’s mark