New DRI Member: National Botanic Gardens of Ireland

The Botanic Gardens was established in 1795 by the Dublin Society and passed into State control in 1877. They are currently administered by the Office of Public Works (OPW). The National Herbarium was formerly part of the Science and Art Museum, now the National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin.

Shamrock specimens collected by Irish naturalist

Nathaniel Colgan in the 1890s.In 1970, the Herbarium was transferred to the Botanic Gardens, and amalgamated with the smaller Garden’s herbarium. The Herbarium currently contains approximately 600,000 specimens from across the world. Research in the herbarium includes work on the distribution, taxonomy and conservation of plants.

Together with DRI, the team at the National Botanic Gardens will firstly ingest the Irish Herbarium collection – digitally preserving the specimens collected in Ireland over the past two centuries. The collections and associated literature and documentation act as a central repository of information relating to the distribution and taxonomy of the flora of Ireland.

The herbarium serves as a reference centre, a documentation facility, a data storehouse and a research institution for the study of Irish and international botany. Associated with the herbarium is the library, with extensive archives relating to the history of horticulture in Ireland, and the flora of Ireland.

Dr. Colin Kelleher, Taxonomist & Keeper of the Herbarium said:

“We are really excited to join the DRI. The Irish specimens in the National Herbarium are currently being digitised with help from NWE Interreg funding.

Joining the DRI is an excellent opportunity for us to share this digital resource more widely. Herbarium specimens capture a moment in time and hold data on plant-environment interactions as well as the human story of their discovery.

With close to 100,000 Irish specimens, the biological, historical and cultural data from these specimens will be a huge resource for plant conservation and for historians of the natural sciences.”

DRI Director Dr. Lisa Griffith added:

“We are delighted that the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland are joining DRI. We are looking forward to working with them to help them preserve their digital collections which are made up of over 100,000 specimens.

They join growing number of natural history collections in the Repository. The opportunities for collaboration and engagement with these remarkable collections are boundless. We are proud to have a part in preserving them and making them accessible.”

The National Botanic Gardens of Ireland join a growing number of archives that are providing access and long-term preservation for collections through membership of DRI. Visit our membership page to learn more about DRI membership opportunities.

We provide regular updates on collection publications on our Twitter page and you can also follow us on Instagram to uncover more treasures in the Repository.