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
The archives of the Leinster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) were transferred to UCD Archives in 2014, in consultation with Professor Paul Rouse, UCD School of History. The collection has been catalogued and digitised and is available to view in our reading room by appointment, to holders of a UCDA reader’s ticket. … Continue reading Leinster Rugby (LRFU) Archives
In an interview with Dennis O’Driscoll, Seamus Heaney noted that ‘A friendship…is a field of force. There’s a mutuality, a happy shadowing and colouring of minds. You wake to different things in yourself and in the world, just by coming alive in the company of different friends.’ [1] A recent donation to UCD Special Collections … Continue reading ‘Old Friendship & Regard’: The Joseph M. Hassett Donation, 2022
The 24 May 2023 will mark 100 years since the IRA Chief of Staff Frank Aiken issued a ‘dump arms’ order to republican forces, bringing an end to the military fighting of the Irish Civil War. It also marked a seminal moment, in what Éamon de Valera (then President of the de jure Republican Government) … Continue reading The Final IRA Executive Meeting Attended by Liam Lynch, 23-26 March 1923
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 Ó Cearbhaill, who supplied … Continue reading Gathering Seaweed