Multimedia History: Archives of Irish Life and Culture
Ireland is a small island with an enormous passion for its’ folk history. With celebrated and freely accessible museums and a strong value in maintaining tradition, the Irish Gaelic language, and the laypeople’s role in shaping the nation, it’s truly hard to choose what to include here! Given the gravity and significance of recent progress in Irish politics, a few stand out here that can be viewed as both historical and actively present archives.
The Irish Queer Archive (Facebook)
“The Irish Queer Archive [IQA] (Irish=Cartlann Aerach na hÉireann) contains the most comprehensive collection of material in Ireland relating to homosexuality in particular, and lesbian/gay, bisexual and transgender studies in general.” (quoted from the Facebook page)
The IQA is preserved at the National Library of Ireland in Dublin.
![“Badges, buttons and stickers...the ephemera of LGBT society.” [from the Facebook page]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7e628717f8c1370e156cc3/1586717330390-1C5YM94ODAC8SN4OXMMN/image-asset.jpeg)
“Badges, buttons and stickers...the ephemera of LGBT society.” [from the Facebook page]
Reels from Home (IFI Player)
The Irish Film Institute (IFI) is a national gem; located in Temple Bar, Dublin, it is one of the established homes of independent film in Ireland, hosting regular new release cinema screenings, annual film festival events, special interest viewings, and a gift shop of wide-ranging VHS/DVDs and books on film. (They also recently launched the IFI at Home pay-to-view streaming service offering independent and global cinema.)
IFI’s Reels from Home project is an archive service dedicated to showcasing Irish history, and features collections of amateur home videos, vintage tourism films, government footage, and documentaries. At the bottom of the page, there are historical full-length documentaries free to view as well, with primary newsreel footage covering conflict and political movements of the early Twentieth Century.
A video still from an amateur film showing a trip to Killiney Hill, Dublin (Father Delaney Collection, Reels from Home, IFI Player)
Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI)
Established in 2015, the Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) preserves, curates, and provides access to “a wealth of Ireland’s humanities and social sciences data.” As a single online portal, the DRI provides access to a huge range of multimedia archives and files from various institutions and histories.
According to the DRI site, “We have created this repository with two central purposes: to preserve Ireland’s digital heritage for the long term, and to provide you, the user, with access to that heritage.”
Brand New Retro
Established in 2011, Brand New Retro is a one-person project which works to digitised historical images, articles and adverts from Irish Culture. Features themed and curated collections from all aspects of life in Ireland. Stylish and easy to access.
Montague Arms Lounge Bar, Co Derry, 1977 (via Brand New Retro)
National Folklore Collection (UCD)
University College Dublin (UCD) recently launched an Instagram page to display photo selections from its National Folklore Collection, featuring snapshots “documenting the folklore of all Irish communities”. The Collection website houses many subcategories of media, from Audio and Visual, Podcasts, Photography, and more. Most are viewable on campus but there are selections to view online available under those pages.
Visit the National Folklore Collection (UCD) website here
Follow on Instagram @NationalFolkloreCollectionUCD
The National Print Museum
The National Print Museum in Dublin is a unique space, with original printing press equipment, temporary print work exhibits, education programmes, online resources, workshops and more. “The collection consists of fully-operational letterpress printing equipment, displayed and organised like a traditional 1960s print-shop.” The National Print Museum YouTube Channel offers video content on the production and background of this traditional practise. Below, watch the limited edition re-printing of the 1916 Irish Proclamation of Independence.
See also: the associated project Seditious Types: The Legacy of the Printers of 1916, dedicated to the study of how printing in part led to political change and social transformation in Ireland.
Introduction to Wharfdale Press with Freddie Snowe at the National Print Museum Ireland (2020)
RTÉ Video Archives
“RTÉ Archives are responsible for collecting, preserving and making accessible the creative and documentary output of the national broadcaster. Combining hundreds of thousands of hours of moving image and sound recordings together with significant collections of photographs, manuscripts and administrative documents, RTÉ Archives contain a unique record of Irish life.” [quoted from the website]
“Busking On Grafton Street” (1983), RTE News Video Archives. Source
The Library of Trinity College Dublin (Google Arts and Culture)
The Google Arts and Culture non-profit initiative works with cultural institutions and artists around the world to preserve collections, archives, and valuable cultural work online for easy public access.
The Library at Trinity College Dublin was established in 1592 and is the largest research library in Ireland, contains millions of volumes and the famous Book of Kells. This web portal to the Trinity College library features 25 curated multimedia online exhibits of various subjects - from the suffragist movement, to medical research history, medieval manuscripts and contemporary film, and more.
View the Library of Trinity College Dublin Exhibits on Google Arts and Culture
Inside the Library at Trinity College Dublin (TCD)
Irish Left Archive
“The Irish Left Archive is an online archive of materials relating to Irish left politics, freely accessible and easily downloadable and reproducible.” [quoted from the website]
Collections include archives on women’s and reproductive rights, the 1916 uprising, labour and protest movements, Irish independence, and more. Images, magazines, and posters pertaining are among the available resources.
Women's View from the Worker's Party (Spring/Summer 1989)
