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
In the Photographic Collection of the National Folklore Collection UCD there is a number of photographs showing the gathering and collecting of seaweed on the shores of the Irish coast in the twentieth century. The images were taken by different people, many of them friends of the Irish Folklore Commission. Domhnalll ร Cearbhaill, who supplied …
When A Handbook of Irish Folklore was first published in 1942, it contained (among many other subjects) a section of questions on personal hygiene, asking about washing of the person and washing of clothing, soap, cutting and combing the hair. The card index in the National Folklore Collection reveals several interesting responses to these questions, …
In Irish folk tradition, certain cultural significance is attached to surnames and forenames alike. Aside from being a general signifier of family and genealogy, certain surnames might also be culturally important for other reasons. Many will know that the banshee is said to โfollowโ [i.e. lament for and be heard by] certain families, particularly those …
Chuir Leo le cartlann fuaime Roinn Bhรฉaloideas รireann ar go leor slite โ mar bhailitheoir agus mar chartlannaรญ, รกit a ndearna sรฉ clรกrรบ ar an รกbhar agus a raibh sรฉ รกbalta a mhรฉar a leagan lรกithreach ar pรฉ รกbhar a bheadh ag teastรกil. Chuir sรฉ go han-mhรณr leis an gcartlann grianghraf chomh maith, mar a …
From the time it was founded in in 1935, the Irish Folklore Commission (IFC) expressed an interest in gathering information about the clothing and dress. The section on clothing included in A Handbook of Irish Folklore (1942) is detailed and asks for information on many different aspects of the clothing worn by previous generations. It …
The surrounding world has always acted as a source of inspiration for the folk imagination. This can apply to natural features, such as lakes, mountains and the sea, but can also apply to man-made structures, ancient and contemporary alike. While the origin and use of many ancient monuments may be unclear to us, these structures …
On receiving an offer to accompany a former Royal Navy fisheries protection vessel for sea trials in July of 1947, Taoiseach รamon De Valera took the opportunity to go on holiday. On this voyage he visited the Blaskets, The Aran Islands and Tory Island off the coast of Ireland, but he also paid a visit …
Continue reading "Mie Mannin, Mie Nerin / Good for Mann, Good for Ireland"
I am happy to inform you, dear reader, that if you are viewing this blog post, you have survived one of the most ill-fortuned days in Irish folk tradition, occurring Sunday last. Whitsunday - Domhnach Cincรญse in Irish - was a day regarded with suspicion and trepidation, and Whitsuntide or Whit week, the period from …
While visiting Scandinavia in 1928, a visit which influenced him greatly, Sรฉamus ร Duilearga was introduced to the many approaches to collecting and cataloguing folk tradition already pioneered by scholars there. The Swedish model in particular would continue to influence the systems of classification employed by the Irish Folklore Commission when it was founded seven …
The 17 March 2022 sees the grand return of parades and festivities in honour of St Patrickโs Day. Whether they are parade participants or enthusiastic onlookers, we can certainly rely on the celebrating crowds to dress for the occasion. As in previous years, we will no doubt see the colour green take centre stage as …