Explore Your Archive in Ireland will be launched on Thursday 21st November in the Irish Architectural Archive, Merrion Square in Dublin. Kindly supported by the Irish Manuscripts Commission, the launch will kick off a week of events in local and national organisations in Ireland, to celebrate Explore Your Archive. ARA, Ireland will also be launching their new website on the night: https://araireland.com/
The campaign ambassador for Ireland this year is Fin Dwyer: historian, author and creator of the Irish History Podcast. Fin commented: “I was delighted to be asked to be Explore Your Archive ambassador this year. Through my own work as an historian and in my podcast, I recognise the importance and value of research and storytelling. But it’s also important that archives are for everyone, not just historians or researchers. You don’t need to be an expert to use archives; you just need a keen interest and curiosity in Irish history and heritage.”
There’ll be various events happening during the launch week in archives around Ireland. Some highlights include “A beginner’s guide to using DNA for family history” by Martin McDowell, held in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland on 28th November. More information can be found here: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/beginners-guide-using-dna-family-history; and “Cooking the Books”; a look at the cookery books of the National Library of Ireland held on 27th November in the NLI. More details available here: http://www.nli.ie/en/list/current-events.aspx?page=2&article=e042f4d5-7054-441a-b153-ef7ae33f68f7
There’ll also be plenty of featured archives from Ireland, including ‘A Christmas Spectacle: The Story of Panto in Dublin’ about the exhibition in Dublin City Library and Archive; and ‘To be Taught Everything Necessary…Discover 19th Century Childhood through Loreto Boarding Schools’ about the IBVM (Loreto), Institute & Irish Province Archives.
