About the Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI)

The Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) is a national trustworthy digital repository (TDR) that provides long-term digital preservation and sustained access to Ireland’s humanities, cultural heritage, and social sciences data. We provide stewardship of digital data from a range of member organisations including higher education institutions, cultural heritage institutions (the GLAM sector of galleries, libraries, archives, and museums), government agencies, county councils, and community archives. Throughout 2022, we are working with our members to expand the reach of their diverse collections through archive outreach initiatives so that Ireland’s digital cultural heritage can be explored for education and enjoyment.

About Seachtain na Gaeilge and #ARAIrelandSnaG120

Between 1 and 17 March, DRI collaborated with RIA Library to promote their eclectic collections relating to the Irish language and culture as part of #ARAIrelandSnaG120, a social media campaign run by the Archives and Records Association (ARA) Ireland to mark the 120th anniversary of Seachtain na Gaeilge. Founded in 1902 as part of the Irish Revival by Conradh na Gaeilge, Seachtain na Gaeilge is an annual international festival promoting Irish language and culture in Ireland and around the world – it reaches over 1 million people on 5 continents annually. As part of the Seachtain na Gaeilge celebrations, archives, libraries, and repositories around the world shared collections related to the Irish language and culture across Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtags #ARAIrelandSnaG120 and #CurdaighDoChartlann (#ExploreYourArchive).

COMHARTaighde

We started the celebrations by highlighting the COMHARTaighde collection, an academic journal of Modern Irish Scholarship founded in 2015 that is peer-reviewed by scholars from institutes both in Ireland and abroad. This journal publishes scholarly work of the highest standard, primarily in the areas of literary and cultural criticism, the study of songs and oral tradition, and Irish sociolinguistics. In 2020, the COMHARTaighde journal was deposited on the DRI by the RIA Library so that this important scholarly research could be preserved for sustained access and used as an educational resource by researchers and members of the public.

You can learn more about the collection in a blog post written by Dr Liam Mac Amhlaigh, a scholar of contemporary Irish literature and lexicography at Maynooth University.

Discover the collection on DRI

Fig.1: Dr Máirtín Coilféir, Dr Liam Mac Amhlaigh, and Professor Máirín Nic Eoin, founding editors of COMHARTaighde,
pictured together with technical consultant Ronan Doherty, at a launch at the Royal Irish Academy.

The Cathach of Colum Cille

The Cathach of Colum Cille is the oldest extant Irish illuminated manuscript, dating to c. AD 600. The surviving 58 folios contain psalms written in a Gallican version of Latin Vulgate. It is understood that the Irish missionary St Colum Cille copied the manuscript from a psalter lent to him by St Finnian. A dispute over the ownership of the copy was resolved by the King of Tara in one of the oldest copyright rulings, in which he is recorded as stating:

‘Le gach boin a boinin’ .i. laugh ‘le gach lebhur a leabrán’. (‘To every cow her calf, so to every book its copy’.)[1]

The Cathach provides a distinctive example of Irish majuscule script, where the letters are all the same height, and has been described as ‘the pure milk of Irish calligraphy’.[2] A full-colour 84-page booklet introducing readers to the provenance, art history, and biblical content of the manuscript can be discovered in the ‘Cathach of Colum Cille’ collection deposited on the DRI by the RIA Library.

You can learn more about the story behind this ancient manuscript by visiting RIA’s online exhibition on the Cathach, curated in 2021 to celebrate the 1500th anniversary of the birth of St Colm Cille.

Discover the collection on DRI

Fig.2: Manuscript page from the Cathach of Colum Cille.

The Doegen Records Web Project

At the start of 2022, the RIA Library published Tionscadal Gréasáin Cheirníní Doegen (the Doegen Records Web Project) on DRI. This valuable collection contains Irish dialect sound recordings created during 1928-31 as part of a systemic Irish dialect survey. The collection takes its name from the man who carried out the recordings on behalf of the Irish government, Dr Wilhelm Doegen (1877–1967), who was Director of the Sound Department at the Prussian State Library, Berlin. The content of the recordings consists of folktales, songs, and other material recited by native Irish speakers from 17 counties. The Doegen collection’s importance to the field of Irish dialectology is significant as many of the local dialects in the recordings are now extinct.

You can find out more about the history of the recordings in a blog post on the RIA Library website.

Discover the collection on DRI

Fig.3: Doegen records of Irish dialect recordings.

DRI looks forward to collaborating with RIA Library and our other members on more archive outreach campaigns throughout 2022 to reinforce the benefits of opening up archival collections for the greatest discovery and reuse. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook and see what you can discover!

Áine Madden, Operations and Communications Manager, DRI

[1] The king’s judgement, recorded by Maghnus Ó Domhnaill, is cited in Herity, Michael, and Aidan Breen. “The Cathach of Colum Cille: An Introduction.” Digital Repository of Ireland. Royal Irish Academy, June 2, 2021. https://doi.org/10.7486/DRI.9g55b6241.

[2] E.A Lowe quoted in Herity, Michael, and Aidan Breen. “The Cathach of Colum Cille: An Introduction.” Digital Repository of Ireland. Royal Irish Academy, June 2, 2021. https://doi.org/10.7486/DRI.9g55b6241.

The library took part in the #LibraryLoversMonth social media campaign with an alphabetical #LibraryAtoZ listing which showcased some of our activities and collections here at the Royal Irish Academy. Being new to the library, it was an excellent opportunity to learn more about the library by searching its collections and thinking about what services are available to readers and researchers. It was a fun and creative – but also very useful – exercise that involved planning, sourcing images, researching, and writing to create the daily content to be shared online. Here is a small selection of some of the most popular posts. For more, look back at the all the posts from #LibraryLoversMonth #LibraryAtoZ on Twitter and Instagram.

Ordinance Survey (OS) Collections – maps and much more

Fig.1 Ordnance Survey map – Dublin with close up of Dawson Street

Fig. 2 Antrim – Galway OS maps shelved in reading room

On 16 February, two posts about the Ordinance Survey (OS) collection of maps, memoirs, and letters generated the most likes in total on Twitter during the campaign. It had the second highest number of likes on Instagram. The library holds a full set of first edition OS maps drawn on a scale of six inches to one mile. Began in 1824, they were completed by 1842 and the full set includes each Irish county. Manuscripts by the survey’s researchers contain their correspondence and descriptions of topographical details and antiquities. Additional drawings and sketches complete this collection. The OS200 project aims to create a new digital corpus of historic OS records for Ireland using material from this collection.

Now and then – the Library’s reading room

Fig.3 (L) Vintage photograph of reading room; Fig.4 (R) Reading room – February 2022

Shared on February 15th, spotting differences in the reading room was the most liked post on Instagram. The challenge was to find changes between the library’s reading room then as represented with a vintage photograph and now with one more recently taken. Although the library looks pretty much the same, several changes stand out in the comparison. Readers and researchers might have noticed the addition of computers and staffed desks, changes to the location of card catalogues, different book supports and the colour of the lamps. These snapshots in time capture the library’s efforts to support our readers and researchers now and into the future. What will the reading room look like in 20 years?

Irish History Online – a collective national bibliographic catalogue

Fig.5 Irish History Online logo

February 9th featured the Irish History Online catalogue hosted and managed by the library. Part of a fourteen country European network, it is Ireland’s national bibliography and lists Irish history publications from the 1930s to the present day. On Twitter, this post had the highest number of retweets and generated the most impressions during the month.

Haliday Collection – centuries of pamphlets and tracts

Fig.6 Bound volumes of Haliday collection pamphlets

The tweet with the highest engagement rate during the campaign was about the library’s extensive Haliday collection of pamphlets and tracts posted on 8 February. This fully-catalogued collection of approximately 35,500 items is the most used resource in the library for studying Irish history – social, economic, political, and cultural – literature and antiquities from the late-16th to mid-19th centuries. The entire collection is organised chronologically with the pamphlets also arranged thematically. There is so much more to explore with this collection!

Fig.7 Thank you to all our followers!

From this retrospective review, the Library Lovers Month campaign gave us an insight into what our social media audience liked the most and found engaging. We take this opportunity now to thank our existing followers and welcome our new followers on Twitter and Instagram. Keep telling us what you like!

Anita Cooper
Assistant Librarian

On the 7th of December 2021, marking the 1500th anniversary of St Colum Cille, the long awaited online viewing of the 6th century Cathach of St Colum Cille was launched on the Irish Script on Screen (ISOS) website. This was made possible by the collaborative partnership of the School of Celtic Studies, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies and The Royal Irish Academy.

This Latin manuscript is the oldest surviving manuscript in Ireland containing some of the earliest examples of Irish writing. Although the Cathach is badly damaged it enjoys a unique status. It has the earliest known Irish copy of the Gallicanum Psalter in a very pure form. Its accompanying rubrics – known as the St Columba series – are the first witness of such headings in western Europe. See Prof. Pádraig P. Ó Néill’s excellent account of The Cathach accompanying the digitised images on the ISOS website.

The digitisation of this ancient medieval manuscript commemorates fifteen hundred years since the birth of Colm Cille (Saint Columba). Born in Donegal and patron of Derry (Doire Cholm Cille, the oakgrove of Colmcille), Colm Cille was a key figure in the early medieval Christian Church. He was greatly revered particularly in his native Ireland and in Scotland where he spent most of his missionary life, but also throughout Continental Europe.

Literacy and writing are a large part of the legacy surrounding St Colum Cille. He belonged to the period when Ireland was hailed as ‘The Land of Saints and Scholars’ from its recognition as a time known for educational excellence that produced such treasures as the Book of Kells, the Book of Durrow and many other priceless manuscripts adorning many libraries.

Fig.1 Medieval parchmenter, Stadtbibliothek Nürnberg, Amb. 317.2°, fol. 35r (source: Wikimedia)

As the Cathach was produced in the 6th century, it was made entirely of vellum. Paper did not become the dominant alternative for manuscripts until the 16th century. A vellum manuscript was made from prepared animal skins, typically calf skin, which had been bleached, stretched and scraped until smooth. The treated skin was then tensioned on a wooden frame and left to dry. Vellum was a very durable material and a precious commodity. The production of vellum required quite a considerable investment. The animal would have to be killed before its potential for meat or dairy was realised. Therefore, only the wealthiest monasteries could afford vellum. This material can pose quite distinct challenges when digitising manuscripts made of it.

Fig.2 The Cathach, Royal Irish Academy, MS 12 R 33, f. 6 r

Even the slightest temperature and humidity changes by a person in the room will have effects on a vellum manuscript. This material likes to buckle when it’s not happy and taken out of the controlled environment where it is stored can cause issues. These issues need to be addressed in the digitisation environment as they happen. As you can see here on this example (Fig.2) of one of the folios of the Cathach, the vellum repair which is made up of quiet a thin vellum, has already started to slightly move over time. When the manuscript was being assessed for digitisation, one of the major considerations was changes of humidity in the room and the significant factor it was going to impose. As the equipment needed to digitise the manuscript was going to heat up the room over the course of the day, a carefully planned setup of specifically placed humidifiers was needed to keep the room at an acceptable level of humidity. A stream of mist was also needed to cross paths with the vellum so it would stay moist throughout its time on the book cradle.

A Large format 5/4 Sinar camera with Phase One 1Q180 digital back was used to capture the images. It’s a case of old meets new – with the most cutting-edge digital back meeting one of the earliest camera styles.

Fig.3 Woman with camera, George Eastman House Collection (source: Wikimedia)

You might be familiar with this type of photographic image, depicting an old camera set up. Large format cameras were some of the earliest photographic devices. The reason we use a Large format camera on the ISOS project is based on the need to have access to a system that allows a mobility of focus. As we have already heard, the earliest Irish manuscripts were written on vellum or calf-skin, a substance that can produce a contoured surface. With the 5/4 camera we gain full control of manipulating and focusing on the four corners of the parchment.

Fig.4 Grazer conservation graded book cradle

We used a non-intrusive capture mechanism called a Grazer conservation graded book cradle to digitise manuscripts on the ISOS project. Sensitivity to the fragile nature of the manuscripts is paramount. Prior to digitisation, a manuscript is examined and assessed to determine what precautions might be necessary during image-capture. After the manuscript is assessed, the cradle is used to fully support the manuscript at all times so that no undue stress is placed on the spine.

To keep heat to a minimum we use a North Light Copy system with cold lights. Temperature and humidity are always constantly monitored and maintained.

Fig.5 Pictured here is folio 19 of the Cathach which has now gone live on the ISOS site

When digitisation of the complete manuscript is finished, we then move on to the processing stage – where metadata is generated for the manuscript allowing us to incorporate it with the images as a new digital asset into our digital repository.

Fig.6 Here you can see how clear the detail is on the high resolution image

Irish Script on Screen was a project created by the School of Celtic Studies in 1999. It was one of the first digitisation projects established in Ireland and to date it is one of the longest running in Europe. The main bulk of the ISOS users come from the academic and third level sector but it is also freely accessible to the public. This has allowed these once hidden away treasures to be enjoyed by everyone.

ISOS continues to be a very successful project. Its growth has been greatly facilitated by the development of institutional partnership agreements with all the major repositories of Irish manuscripts in Ireland, including the National Library of Ireland, the Royal Irish Academy and Trinity College Dublin to name a few. ISOS has also developed internationally with The National Library of Scotland, Chatsworth, The State Library of Victoria, KBR the Royal Library of Belgium and The British Library coming on board. Collaborations to date reach some 28 different institutions here and abroad.

There are now over 435 Manuscripts on ISOS and upwards of 80,000 large-resolution images. All images are free of charge. Standard images are open access. By filling out a registration form, one gains full access to specialist high-quality images.

The study of Irish paleography and manuscript iconography comprises a culture in which students must familiarise themselves with scribal forms, abbreviations, etc. to decipher and transcribe script. ISOS is uniquely set up to allow these introductions. Its wide resource of collections – that would otherwise be unobtainable to new scholars embarking on their first encounters with Old Irish – provides a space where the exploration of fundamental aspects of codicology can begin.

The development of the Irish Script On Screen project wouldn’t have been made possible without the generous collaboration of such institutions like the Royal Irish Academy, making their collections available for digitisation. The images along with the provision of relevant descriptive cataloguing information has resulted in the creation of an electronic resource which has become one of great cultural and educational importance. ISOS provides a powerful tool to progress the study of Irish paleography, manuscript studies and the exploration of Celtic culture for many future generations to come.

Anne Marie O’Brien
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS)

A new year conveys the idea of time moving on – another year has passed. The sound of silence in the library reading room is an opportunity to reflect on the past with an eye to the future . The only noise heard is the ticking of the clock. Hanging overhead, its face oversees the activity below. Let’s now consider the history of this clock and its maker.

View of the reading room from the clock

In 1851, the Royal Irish Academy moved to its present location at Academy House on Dawson Street and over the next three years added the Reading Room and Meeting Room to the rear of the building. As Hayden writes in the preface of Chats on Old Clocks, ‘There is no house without its clock or clocks’. The RIA council meeting minutes of Monday, 3rd November 1856 records that £7 be paid for the library clock.

RIA council minutes, vol. X, pg.6 dated 03/11/1856

The clock is encased in mahogany. A black dial, hour/minute hands and roman numerals are set against a white face giving it a classical appearance. The name of the clockmaker – J. Booth & Son of Dublin – is printed in the middle of the face. The clock is centrally positioned in the reading room on the gallery level rail between the balustrades for readers to see and hear. As a mechanical spring-driven clock with a pendulum, winding is required periodically to ensure it keeps running and displaying the time accurately. Pendulum clocks were widely used up to the early 20th century and known for their precision.

Close up and inner workings of J.Booth & Son clock

James Booth and his son, also named James, were watch and clock makers located nearby at 4 Stephen’s Green from approximately 1841 to 1868. Today, this site is a coffee shop which one can also while away the time reading and working. Their clocks are still found around Dublin if you look carefully. There is beautiful blue, black and gold one housed in the fanlight at the entrance to the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI). Another one, commissioned by the Guinness family, is seen in the clock tower of the walled garden of St. Anne’s Park.

St. Anne’s Park clock tower (South Dublin County Library https://hdl.handle.net/10599/1257)

RCSI entrance at 123 Stephen’s Green

In 1865, J. Booth and Son participated at the great Dublin International Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures. Exhibition Palace was specifically-built to host the event at Earlsfort Terrace and nowadays is home to the National Concert Hall. The Illustrative record and descriptive catalogue of the Dublin International Exhibition of 1865 records the exhibitors and exhibits, awards, and medal winners. The clock entered by James Booth & Son won both a jury award and medal. The jury award notes that their clock was the only one still keeping time for the duration of the exhibition from May to November! The medal was awarded for ‘excellent workmanship and design of his turretclock, also for cheapness.’

Catalogue page of jury award to J. Booth and Son (Internet Archive)

Catalogue page of medal for J. Booth and Son (Internet Archive)

So, returning to our lovely clock in the reading room, one of the staff procedures is to ensure that the clock is wound about once a week and displaying the correct time at the start of the day. That certainly has been the case for over 160 years and this particular clock is still keeping time in the reading room, albeit, with a little help from library staff!

Many a maker left his graven name,—

That by your leave stands yet on dial plate,—

With legend Fecit, of uncertain date,

Proud with the hope that time would bring him fame.

Death stopped the wheels of maker and machine:

Time! will you not their memory keep green?

[Hayden, Arthur. Chats on Old Clocks. London: T. Fisher Unwin Ltd., 1917.]

Anita Cooper, Assistant Librarian

In 2015 University College Cork and UCC Library celebrated the bicentenary of the life and scientific achievements of George Boole, first Professor of Mathematics, Queens College Cork (QCC), with George Boole 200* .

In 2020 UCC Library opened to the public the George Boole Ancillary Collection, containing additional Boole-related material housed in Special Collections & Archives, not part of their main Boole archival collection The Papers of George Boole. The ancillary material includes original letters by and related to George Boole, including a correspondence file on permanent loan from the Royal Irish Academy (RIA), Dublin.

So, you may wonder why there’s a guest blog post for the RIA on George Boole in 2021?

You see 2015 wasn’t the only time an Irish institution was to mark the achievements of George Boole. In 1953 Felix Hackett was convener of the organising committee established by the RIA, to mark in 1954 the 100th anniversary of the publication of Boole’s The Laws of Thought. Hackett was a retired Professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering, University College, Dublin.

He wrote a series of letters to Sir Geoffrey Taylor (grandson of George Boole). These involved Taylor in plans and as a participant at the celebration in the Academy by distinguished speakers on Boole’s philosophical and mathematical views and the development of Boolean algebra.

“The celebration has the warm approval of Mr. de Valera who takes a great interest in mathematics”

Letter from Hackett to Taylor, 17th January 1953 BP/1/A/1(4), © RIA

Hackett explains to Taylor that it has fallen to the Academy to mark the centenary as “there is no traditional feeling linking the U.C.C. of today with Q.C.C. of a century ago”. Boole was a member of the Academy and Professor Jan Lukasiewicz (Professor of Mathematical Logic, RIA) recognised the important contribution of Boole to symbolic logic with the publication of The Laws of Thought in 1854 and wanted to honour Boole with a celebration by the Academy involving Boole’s family.

Hackett asks if Taylor might be able to induce Bertrand Russell “to write a tribute to George Boole as a pioneer in Symbolic Logic”. He takes the opportunity in his correspondence to ask Taylor questions relating to Boole’s work, upbringing, and family in preparation for his paper for the event.

In the course of correspondence with Taylor, Hackett mentions Boole and Mary Everest Boole (wife of George) material deposited in the RIA “I have deposited The Fellowship of the Dead…I do not pose as a literary critic but all Boole’s verses seem to me to have quality and they are of value to us now as expressing his personality and philosophy of life” (BP/1/A/1 (8)).

Extract from a letter to Sir Geoffrey Taylor from Felix Hackett 10th March 1954 BP/1/A/1 (8) © RIA

The 4 volumes of the Collected Works of Mary Everest Boole published in 1931 by C. W. Daniel, now in the Academy, has greatly interested Hackett “We are well acquainted with the psychic mentality in Dublin with its fondness for Eastern mysticism the waves from such sources as A. E. (George Russell) and W. B. Yeats still beat around us”.

Extract from a letter to Sir Geoffrey Taylor from Felix Hackett 10th March 1954 BP/1/A/1 (8) © RIA

Hackett mentions the various sources he has come across on George and Mary Everest Boole during his research and in one it is reported that George Boole believed

“A real mathematician…must be something more than a mere mathematician he must be also something of a poet.” (BP/1/A/1/9)

The handwritten near finalised draft programme for the Boole Celebration is included in the file (BP/1/A/1 (14)) as well as the final printed programme (BP/1/A/1 (15)).

The celebrations took place over two days during 24th and 25th May 1954, with a scheduled general meeting of the RIA in the afternoon of day one. The speakers included Felix Hackett, J.B. Rosser, Michael MacConaill and Jan Lukasiewicz.

Notice of the General Meeting of the Royal Irish Academy, 24th May 1954 to include the celebrations on the centenary of the publication of The Laws of Thought BP/1/A/1 (15) © RIA

If you are curious about Hackett’s talk, the file includes a copy of the printed pamphlet by Hackett “George Boole and Symbolic Logic” presented during the morning technical session on the 24th May. Topics spoken on are The Education of an Autodidact, How Symbolic Logic Began, and The Laws of Thought (1864-1886)

…“but in 1886 Venn…declares that The Laws of Thought is a work of astonishing originality and power and one which has only recently come to be property appreciated and to exercise its full influence on the course of logical speculation.”

Title page of Hackett’s talk to the RIA BP/1/A/1(16), © RIA

The Royal Irish Academy correspondence file shows the high regard the 20th century scientific community held Boole and his achievements of a century earlier.

The other material in the George Boole Ancillary Collection shows George Boole as academic and family man. To read more about this you might enjoy George Boole: Academic, Author, Husband and Father from The River-side – reflections on research collections at UCC Library.

For further information on or how to access the George Boole Ancillary Collection, the other George Boole collections or his publications in UCC Library or any of the archival collections in UCC Library please contact Special Collections & Archives

Emer Twomey,
Archivist, UCC Library
@theriversideUCC
@emertwomey4

Acknowledgements: UCC Library wishes to thank the Royal Irish Academy for the use of images of material from BP/1/A/1 in this blog.

Emer Twomey would like to thank Barbara McCormack, Librarian Royal Irish Academy, for the invitation to contribute a guest post to the RIA Library blog.

My favourite item in the library is small and unassuming and resides in a box on the Reading Room Gallery. It is part of the Academy Pamphlet Collection and was printed in Carmarthen, South Wales, in 1856. I like the thought that we both started life in Carmarthenshire and somehow, by chance, ended up in the hushed Reading Room of the Royal Irish Academy.

William Spurrell’s A Welsh and English primer containing easy lessons in both languages is only 17cm tall and runs to just 30 pages but it’s a delight. A primer is a textbook which serves as an introduction to a subject of study or for teaching children to read. This little primer, in Welsh and English, was created to help Welsh children read English. The flysheet has the following quote:

‘It would require far less toil for children to learn English, with their reason working through the medium of their own language, than to do so as a matter of rote. Again, the habit of construing would be in itself a most valuable instrument of Education.’
Author of Lays from the Cimbric Lyre.

The pamphlet includes a page or two on various subjects, giving a brief description, alternately in Welsh and English, with translations of key phrases. Each subject has its own little engraving at the head. We begin with the sparrow, which ‘hops on the ground and chirps merrily’. The description also tells us that the sparrow builds its nest in old walls or in the roof of a house. The Welsh word for sparrow is deryn y to, which literally translates into ‘bird of the roof.’

On the whole, subjects covered in the primer would be common and well known to its young audience The swan (Yr alarch), Church (not Chapel!?), Melin (Mill), The horse; School-house, Ty ffarm (farmhouse), The beehive, Y fuwch (The cow). But there, in between the horse and the school house we find the Camel, certainly not indigenous to Wales!

The final lesson is another exotic animal – The Lion (Y Llew). There is much made of the lion appearing in Bible, which is where the young reader may have first become familiar with the animal.

At the beginning of the pamphlet there is a page dedicated to various useful sayings. Most are mundane, everyday sayings – Y mae’n oer (it is cold), ‘Rwyf fi yma (I am here) – but there, at the end of the page the rather heavy Mawr yw fy mhoen (Great is my pain).

My time at the Academy Library is almost up and I’m heading back over the water, closer to Wales. My favourite item will remain in its box on the shelf. I would like to take this opportunity to say a sincere thank you to my Academy colleagues and all the wonderful Readers and researchers I have worked with over the last 16 years. I will miss you all. It’s been a pleasure. Go raibh míle maith agaibh / Diolch yn fawr.

Sophie Evans
Assistant Librarian

In the years before and after the formation of the Irish Free State, there was a flurry of scholarly activity in the preparation of new catalogues of manuscripts in the Irish language held in archives at home and abroad. Archivists and cataloguers like to believe their work is not influenced by political agendas, but was it mere coincidence that work was simultaneously underway in Dublin and London one hundred years ago on the production of a range of scholarly catalogues of Irish manuscripts? It was a time when nation-building and the cultivation of the academic study of the Irish language went hand in hand. Academy Members took a leading role. In the early decades of the twentieth century the Royal Irish Academy’s Irish Manuscripts Committee (later renamed the Irish Studies Committee) coordinated some major research projects, chief among them being the Academy’s Catalogue of Irish Manuscripts, the Dictionary of the Irish Language (dil.ie), and the short-term Doegen dialects project (Doegen.ie).

c. 1920-1943

Just as the new Irish state was coming into being, work got underway at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin to compile and publish in-depth descriptive catalogue entries for each of the approximately 1,400 Irish language manuscripts in the Academy library. This was designed to supersede all previous and partial unpublished catalogues of the collection compiled at various times since the early 1840s. Given the scale of the task of comprehensively cataloguing what is believed to be the world’s largest collection of manuscripts in the Irish language, the speed of the new project was impressive. Twenty-seven fascicules of the Academy Catalogue of Irish manuscripts were written and published between 1926 and 1943.

Meanwhile, a one-volume Catalogue of the Irish manuscripts in the Library of Trinity College Dublin, largely compiled by college librarian Thomas K. Abbott before his death in 1913 and completed by Edward J. Gwynn, MRIA, was published in Dublin and London in 1921.

Five years later, a two-volume Catalogue of Irish manuscripts in the British Museum was published in London. Of the two volumes issued in 1926, the first had been drafted berween 1886 and 1892 by Standish Hayes O’Grady, the second was the work of Robin Flower, who had been employed at the Museum since 1906. Many years later, in 1953, a third volume was published, comprising a wide-ranging general introduction and an index. This final volume, with its detailed introduction to the British Museum (now British Library) collection of Irish manuscripts, was also the work of Robin Flower. Seven years after his death, it was seen through the press by Myles Dillon, MRIA.

At St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, Rev. Paul Walsh, MRIA, initiated work on a catalogue of the Irish manuscript collections there. One fascicule was published in 1927 but the task was unfinished at his early death in 1941. Two decades later Rev. Pádraig Ó Fiannachta, MRIA, took up the challenge and completed the project, in a different style, adhering more closely to the format of the RIA catalogues. Ó Fiannachta opted to write his catalogue entries in Irish rather than English.

The Royal Irish Academy had the largest collection of Irish manuscripts and the importance of publishing scholarly catalogues of the Academy collection was recognised. The Academy’s Manuscripts Committee which undertook to oversee the project was steered by Osborn Bergin, MRIA, and Richard I. Best, MRIA. Under its auspices it was first agreed that Thomas F. O’Rahilly, MRIA, of Trinity College Dublin, would work as a cataloguer of manuscripts for a fixed number of hours per week in return for an honorarium. By early 1922, however, O’Rahilly realised that ‘ill-health, urgent other work, holidays and so on’ prevented him working to the kind of fixed schedule such an arrangement demanded (RIA, Minutes of Irish MSS Committee, 12 Apr 1922). His alternative proposal of working irregularly on the project as time permitted, without any honorarium, was accepted. The first fascicule, in which 54 of the Academy’s manuscripts were described, was published in the spring of 1926.

RIA, Minutes of Irish MSS Committee, 12 Apr 1922

The Academy’s Manuscripts Committee then sought additional cataloguers with a view to expediting the next phase of the project. They looked first to three women, Mary E. Byrne, Maud Joynt and Eleanor Knott, who were already working on another large-scale Academy project, the Dictionary of the Irish Language. These three lexicographers were asked to undertake cataloguing of manuscripts without reducing the time they devoted to the Dictionary. Of the three, only Mary E. Byrne agreed to become involved with the Catalogue, dividing her time between the two projects (10 hours a week on each project). Her catalogue descriptions of 47 Irish manuscripts were published in 1928 as fascicule 3.

Kathleen Mulchrone, a graduate of University College Dublin and a former student of Rudolf Thurneysen in Bonn, began work on the Catalogue of Irish manuscripts in the early months of 1927. Her first fascicule was published in 1928. Kathleen Mulchrone’s involvement with the project proved crucial and she continued in the post until 1938. She contributed more than any other scholar, writing not just routine catalogue descriptions of relatively minor manuscripts but also contributing detailed descriptions of the contents of major medieval manuscripts such as the Book of Lecan (catalogue entry 535) and the Book of Ballymote (catalogue entry 536) in fascicule 13.

Steady progress was maintained on the Catalogue until completion, with a total of eight cataloguers working on the project at various times between 1921 and 1943. Kathleen Mulchrone produced eight fascicules and was joint author of four more; Elizabeth FitzPatrick completed six fascicules and was joint author of two more; Lilian Duncan wrote two fascicules; Gerard Murphy, MRIA, wrote fascicule 11 and part of fascicule 18; Winifred Wulff was a joint author of fascicules 10 and 18; Mary E. Byrne and T. F. O’Rahilly each wrote one fascicule; James Delargy, MRIA, was co-author of one fascicule. (Notice that the men were all elected as Members of the RIA; none of the women were!)

Kathleen Mulchrone

In all, the project as originally devised resulted in the publication of 27 fascicules, the last of them published in 1943. Two index volumes followed in 1948 and 1958. The indexes were compiled by Kathleen Mulchrone and Elizabeth FitzPatrick. They were assisted by Nancy Pearson who also worked on the Dictionary project.

These indexes were essential to the usefulness of the entire work, particularly since each fascicule of the published catalogue dealt with a selection of manuscripts in random order, taking no account of date, provenance, subject category, or shelf-mark. That randomness was deliberate. T.F. O’Rahilly explained in a note printed on the inside covers of the first fascicule that his intention had been ‘to make such a selection as would illustrate the varied character of the MSS written in Irish between 1600 and 1850’. He also set the precedent for following manuscript orthography in quotations, and for using a ‘slightly modified form of early modern Irish orthography’ in personal names, but ‘a rigid uniformity has not been aimed at’ (O’Rahilly, 1926).

1970-2000

A twenty-eighth fascicule, cataloguing a further 69 manuscripts acquired by the Academy between the early 1940s and 1970, was prepared by Tomás Ó Concheanainn, MRIA, and published in 1970. This later fascicule has its own index – researchers need to remember to consult it if the manuscript they seek is not described in the earlier fascicules.

The publication of the Catalogue of Irish manuscripts in the Royal Irish Academy was followed by the microfilming of the entire collection in the 1980s in association with University College Cork. The sale of the microfilm series to research libraries ensured that the collection was truly accessible to a wide range of scholars for the first time, without the need to visit the Academy library in person on each occasion. In the two decades since 2001, almost 100 older manuscripts from the Academy collections have been digitised in association with the Irish Script on Screen (ISOS) project of the School of Celtic Studies, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. These are freely available online on an open access basis. The digitisation of more RIA manuscripts in association with ISOS is planned.

The catalogue descriptions that accompany the ISOS images are essentially the descriptions first published in print between 1926 and 1970. Good quality metadata does not just appear by magic! The catalogue entries prepared almost 100 years ago are a crucial element of the digital project.

The published catalogue descriptions of Academy manuscripts became so influential in the second half of the twentieth century that some researchers began citing Academy manuscripts by the catalogue entry number instead of the shelf-mark needed to find and consult the original manuscript. Indeed, the descriptions were so comprehensive that in some circumstances it was unnecessary to consult the item itself. For the sake of clarity and consistency in academic publications, it became necessary to issue a guide to how to cite Academy manuscripts.

Researchers consulting original Irish manuscripts in the Academy library continue to make extensive use of the printed catalogues. Such is the demand that there are multiple sets available for daily use in the Library Reading Room. One of those sets is interleaved (RR/Ref 2/C), and library staff have annotated it (sparingly) down through the decades, noting incidental new information such as the rebinding of an item. Nowadays such updates are entered on the online catalogue instead.

Online and in print

Since 2001 the Academy library’s online catalogue of manuscripts has included an inventory of the Irish language manuscripts in summary form. The online database contains more details on the provenance of collections than was provided in the printed catalogue, but is not yet complete in that regard. It also provides details of microfilm numbers, photostats, and digital editions. Cross references to the relevant pages of the printed catalogues, as well as to two earlier series of unpublished catalogues of selected manuscripts, are also provided. The online catalogue is not, however, a replacement for the printed Catalogue of Irish manuscripts and the two very different types of catalogue are best used together. Nor would it be appropriate for the current online catalogue simply to absorb the content of the printed catalogues without any updating, and that has not been done. The printed catalogues are a product of their era and need to be used and understood as such. They should be digitised as originally published and made available on open access online.

During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in 2020-21, the absence of a digitised set of the Academy’s Catalogue of Irish manuscripts (and indeed of the similar published catalogues of other collections of Irish language manuscripts in other archives) was a stumbling block for researchers. RIA Library staff were regularly asked to provide images of selected pages from those printed catalogues to researchers locked out of libraries.

There is no doubt that these printed catalogues are still an essential reference resource, even if some details of the descriptive entries are now somewhat dated. For obvious reasons they do not record changes since the 1920s such as the rebinding of some items – for example MS 23 P 10 is now bound as three volumes and the arrangement of its vellum leaves was revised prior to rebinding. In other instances, recent scholarship has made information available that was not known to the early twentieth-century cataloguers. Understandably, those cataloguers were more interested in texts than in contexts and they devoted little attention to the provenance of individual manuscripts or collections.

A projected ‘General Introduction’ to the Catalogue of Irish manuscripts was frequently mentioned in the General Index (1958) but was never written. It was evidently envisaged by Kathleen Mulchrone and her colleagues that this would provide an account of the history of the various individual collections that comprised the Academy holdings of Irish manuscripts, and that it would contain detailed information on provenance and acquisition of specific collections. In the event, just a ‘short introduction’ compiled by Elizabeth FitzPatrick was issued in 1988. The booklet was dedicated to Kathleen Mulchrone, who had died in 1973. It was subsequently updated by Academy Librarian Siobhán Fitzpatrick, and made available online, but the story of how the Academy’s collection of Irish manuscripts was assembled, and from whom items were acquired, has only been partially told.

Limitations

In normal times, Academy Library staff responding to queries about the collections have the luxury of being able to consult the original manuscripts whenever necessary. Queries continued to arrive through the pandemic-related lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, but library staff were reliant solely on the catalogues rather than the manuscripts themselves.

Some shortcomings in catalogue coverage were noticed. One difficulty arose regarding manuscripts with content partly in Irish and partly in English. In most instances, only the Irish language content was fully described in the printed catalogue. And, since the online catalogue of manuscripts is derived in part from the printed catalogues in respect of those same manuscripts, there were puzzles that could only be solved by an in-person visit to the library.

The presence of antiquarian notes in English in a nineteenth-century County Louth literary manuscript in Irish could not be verified until it was possible to consult the original item. The presence or absence of some translations into English of Irish poems could not be confirmed by reference to the catalogue alone. In its exclusive focus on Irish language content, the printed Catalogue of Irish manuscripts disguises the extent of dual language manuscripts in the collection, and that is an issue that remains to be addressed. Indeed, those dual language manuscripts contain source material for a great research topic on the progress of bilingualism.

Additions, 2020-21

Aspects of the broader question of the provenance of the Academy’s collection of Irish language manuscripts, medieval and modern, helped keep this present blogger gainfully occupied during pandemic lockdowns in 2020 and early 2021, while most regular library work was suspended. The ‘special collections’ pages of the Library website now contain many new essays on highlights of the Academy’s archival collections. These include short essays on major Irish language manuscript collections acquired during the nineteenth century. Among the more significant purchases, donations and bequests of mostly modern manuscript collections for which new information is now available on the Library website are those acquired from Hodges and Smith (1844), Sir William Betham, MRIA (1851), William Elliott Hudson, MRIA (1853), John O’Daly, MRIA (1869), and William Smith O’Brien, MRIA (1871).

The special collections pages on the Library website, through descriptions of whole collections as well as of individual manuscript highlights, are being developed as contributions towards a more comprehensive introduction to the Irish language manuscript collections in the RIA.

The work of librarians and archivists can never be regarded as complete, however, and there are recent additions to the Academy collections, including the Irish language manuscripts acquired by purchase or donation since 1970, that still await the full attention that they deserve.

Bernadette Cunningham
Deputy Librarian

May 2021

LIST

Catalogue of Irish manuscripts in the Royal Irish Academy (28 fasc., Dublin, Royal Irish Academy; Hodges, Figgis & Co.; London: Williams & Norgate: 1926–70)

Volume 1 (1926–30)

Fasciculus I: Catalogue entries 1–54 / Thomas F. O’Rahilly

Fasciculus II: Catalogue entries 55–89 / Kathleen Mulchrone

Fasciculus III: Catalogue entries 90–136 / Mary E. Byrne

Fasciculus IV: Catalogue entries 137–195 / Kathleen Mulchrone

Fasciculus V: Catalogue entries 196–252 / James H. Delargy & Kathleen Mulchrone

Volume 2 (1931–3)

Fasciculus VI: Catalogue entries 253–279 / Kathleen Mulchrone

Fasciculus VII: Catalogue entries 280–328 / Kathleen Mulchrone & Elizabeth FitzPatrick

Fasciculus VIII: Catalogue entries 329–379 / Lilian Duncan

Fasciculus IX: Catalogue entries 379–438 / Elizabeth FitzPatrick

Fasciculus X: Catalogue entries 439–483 / Winifred Wulff & Kathleen Mulchrone

Volume 3 (1933–5)

Fasciculus XI: Catalogue entries 484–493 / Gerard Murphy

Fasciculus XII: Catalogue entries 494–534 / Elizabeth FitzPatrick

Fasciculus XIII: Catalogue entries 535–540 / Kathleen Mulchrone

Fasciculus XIV: Catalogue entries 541–581 / Elizabeth FitzPatrick

Fasciculus XV: Catalogue entries 582–616 / Elizabeth FitzPatrick

Volume 4 (1935–6)

Fasciculus XVI: Catalogue entries 617–671 / Kathleen Mulchrone

Fasciculus XVII: Catalogue entries 672–725 / Lilian Duncan

Fasciculus XVIII: Catalogue entries 726–754 / Gerard Murphy & Winifred Wulff

Fasciculus XIX: Catalogue entries 755–776 / Kathleen Mulchrone

Fasciculus XX: Catalogue entries 777–859 / Kathleen Mulchrone

Volume 5 (1936–40)

Fasciculus XXI: Catalogue entries 860–938 / Elizabeth FitzPatrick

Fasciculus XXII: Catalogue entries 939–993 / Kathleen Mulchrone

Fasciculus XXIII: Catalogue entries 994–1059 / Elizabeth FitzPatrick & Kathleen Mulchrone

Fasciculus XXIV: Catalogue entries 1060–1133 / Elizabeth FitzPatrick

Fasciculus XXV: Catalogue entries 1134–1191 / Gerard Murphy & Elizabeth FitzPatrick

Volume 6 (1942–3)

Fasciculus XXVI: Catalogue entries 1192–1225 / Kathleen Mulchrone

Fasciculus XXVII: Catalogue entries 1226–1361 / Kathleen Mulchrone & Elizabeth FitzPatrick (1970)

Fasciculus XXVIII: Catalogue entries 1362–1461 / Tomás Ó Concheanainn

Index volumes

Index I: First lines of verse (to Fasc. I–XXVII) by Kathleen Mulchrone and Elizabeth FitzPatrick, assisted by A.I. Pearson (Dublin, 1948)

Index II: General (to Fasc. I–XXVII) by Kathleen Mulchrone, assisted by Elizabeth FitzPatrick and A.I. Pearson (Dublin, 1958)

Index to Fasc. XXVIII is published as part of Fasc. XXVIII by Tomás Ó Concheannain

Complete sets of the printed Catalogue of Irish manuscripts in the Royal Irish Academy are still available for sale through the School of Celtic Studies, Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies. DIAS Shop – #DIASdiscovers

Further reading

Royal Irish Academy, Minutes of the Irish Studies Committee, IV (1922-52) (SR/16/B)

Abbott, T.K. & Gwynn, E.J., Catalogue of Irish manuscripts in the Library of Trinity College Dublin (Dublin, 1921)

FitzPatrick, Elizabeth, catalogue-of-irish-mss-in-the-ria-a-brief-introduction-revised-2003.pdf

O’Grady, S.H. and Flower, Robin, Catalogue of Irish manuscripts in the British Museum (3 vols, London, 1926-53)

Walsh, Paul & Ó Fiannachta, Pádraig. Lámhscríbhinní Gaeilge Choláiste Phádraig Má Nuad (7 fascicles, Maynooth, [1927]; 1943-72)

catalogues.ria.ie

Guidelines for citing Royal Irish Academy manuscripts

Irish Script On Screen Meamram Páipéar Ríomhaire (dias.ie)

Modern Manuscripts | Royal Irish Academy (ria.ie)

From the very beginnings of the Royal Irish Academy in 1785, the Library has been collecting material relating to Irish history, archaeology, language, culture and natural history. Our website is your first port of call for an introduction to our collections. Over the last year we have added extensive information to our Special Collections pages, so now there is even more to discover. Our Special Collection pages contain a detailed overview of our manuscripts and collections and in many cases extensive reading lists. The collections have been grouped into five sections: Medieval and early modern manuscripts; Modern manuscripts; Photographic collection; Print collections; Prints and drawings. We invite you to explore our website and learn about our wonderful holdings.

Medieval and early modern manuscripts

Discover Ireland’s earliest manuscripts. The Library holds the largest collection of Irish language manuscripts in the world, including Lebor na hUidre (the Book of the Dun Cow), the oldest extant manuscript completely in Irish. The website contains detailed pages for 26 of our oldest and most important manuscripts, which are wonderful sources for historical, genealogical, biblical and hagiographical material.

Lebor na hUidre / The Book of the Dun Cow. RIA MS 23 E 25, p.121.

The Book of Ballymote was one of the first manuscripts acquired by the Academy in 1785. View our online exhibition to learn about this important fourteenth-century Irish language manuscript.

Book of Ballymote. RIA MS 23 P 12, f.170r. The Book of Oghams.

Also, be sure to view our new online exhibition on the Library’s oldest manuscript ‘The Cathach of Colum Cille: The story of an ancient Irirish manuscript.’

An Cathach. RIA MS 12 R 33, f.21r. (Detail: Capital M)

Modern Manuscripts

The Library’s Modern Manuscripts collections are a major research source for the Irish language, and the history, topography, antiquities and natural history of Ireland, as well as for genealogy and family history. The Ordnance Survey of Ireland archive is one of the largest and better known of our collections, comprising letters, memoirs and drawings made by the surveyors and antiquarians employed on the 19th-century survey and mapping of Ireland.

Ordnance Survey Letters.

Another well used collection is the Upton Collection, an important resource for genealogy and family history, particularly families connected with the Irish midlands. A detailed listing of all the material contained within the collection is available online. Take a look, there may be something of relevance to your own research!

Upton Papers.

If your interests lie a little further afield, get to know the Wilmot-Dashkova papers. For a bird’s eye view of life at court and on a Russian country estate, and for records of society in France, Italy and Russia in the early 19th century, this collection will provide you with a mine of information.

Photographs

The Library’s Photographs Collection includes images of Irish landscapes, places and objects of historical, archaeological and architectural interest, portraits of individuals connected with the Academy and Academy manuscripts. Among the most well known collections of photographs are those by Thomas J. Westropp taken in Dublin after the 1916 Rising. Details and thumbnails of these fascinating photographs can be found on the DRI website. Search our Photographs Catalogue for more photographs.

Bringing home the turf, Rosapenna, Co. Donegal (RW 2278). Praeger Collection.

Prints, Drawings and Artefacts

The Prints, Drawings and Artefacts Collection includes over 8,600 antiquarian sketches and drawings depicting Irish landscapes and antiquities. The collection includes works by Gabriel Beranger, George Petrie, G.V. du Noyer, W.F. Wakeman and John Windele. A large number of these drawings have been digitised and thumbnail images are available on our online catalogue. For an overview of our collection of antiquarian sketches and drawings, be sure to view our online exhibition ‘Cairns, cromlech and castles.’

Cromlech on the lands of Kilcluny [Kilclooney], Co. Donegal by Revd Joseph Turner (1799). RIA MS 3 C 33/29.

Print

The Library’s Print Collection consists of books, pamphlets and journals mainly, but not exclusively, relating to Irish history, language, archaeology and history of science. The older print collection includes the private libraries of Thomas Moore, Osborn Bergin, Charles Haliday, A.H. Haliday, Cynthia Longfield, Henry A.S. Upton and others. New books of Irish interest are regularly added to the collection by purchase and donation. The Library’s Early Irish imprints collection comprises material relating to the cultural, economic, linguistic, social and political aspects of Irish history. For printed material search our online catalogue.

For additional details on each individual item held by the library see our five online catalogues of printed works (including maps), periodicals, photographs, prints & drawings, and manuscripts.

Main image: Deed from the Guild of St Anne, from the Haliday Collection. For more information on the manuscripts of the Haliday Collection view our online exhibition ‘Dublin Documents’.

You may also like to view our ‘Treasures of the Royal Irish Academy Library’ exhibition.

Sophie Evans
Assistant Librarian

On the 30th of March the Library launched a brand-new online exhibition ‘The Cathach of Colm Cille: The story of an ancient Irish manuscript’. The exhibition illustrates how medieval manuscripts were made, explains how the Cathach was recorded in Irish manuscript sources and shows how it has survived as a relic from early Christian Ireland into modern times. There is also a map showing some of the best-known places associated with the book. This Blog post will skip past the first 1200 or so years of the manuscript and take a look at its history since its ‘re-discovery’ in 1813.

The curious antiquarian

The history of the Cathach in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is vague. What we can be sure of is that in the latter part of 1813 the manuscript was in the curious hands of archivist and scholar, William Betham (1779-1853). At this time, the Cathach was inside a sealed shrine box (Cumdach) and belonged the O’Donel family. The Cathach had been in the keep of the O’Donnell’s since medieval times. The ‘Cumdach’ or shrine in which the Cathach lay for centuries, was made for Cathbarr O’Donnell in the 12th century. By the time the intrepid Betham got his hands on the shrine, it had not been opened for at least two hundred years. It was believed to contain relics of Colum Cille, possibly his bones, not a manuscript. As with many relics, the family believed ‘some superstitious terror existed with respect to opening the box’. Yet, despite these beliefs, Betham expected a manuscript to be contained within. Schrödinger’s Manuscript‽ According to Betham, Connell O’Donell, gave him express permission to open the shrine, and so he did. Here in his own words, published in 1827, on the opening of the shrine:

“The opening of Pandora’s box did not give more evils egress, than a superstitious tradition had declared would be let loose on the heads of the devoted O’Donnells, whenever the contents of the portentous Caah [Cathach] should be developed — when the daring hands of antiquarian curiosity should venture to violate the repose of the holy reliques supposed to be therein contained. Regardless of the injunctions and threats of ignorance, which for more than a century had hermetically sealed it up, under an idea that it contained the bones of St. Colmkill himself, and notwithstanding these frightful forebodings, the box was opened and examined in the presence of Sir Capel Molyneux, Mr. O’Donell, and myself, without any extraordinary, or supernatural occurrence, except, indeed, a heavy shower of hail which a strong northwest wind drove against the windows of my study.” Betham Irish antiquarian researches, pp.109-10 (Dublin, 1827).

Side view of the Cathach book shrine. © NMI

Despite Betham’s dismissal of ignorant superstitions, I can’t help but feel he was a little relieved only a shower of hail fell from the sky that day. Incidentally, as I wrote this sentence a sudden shower of hail hit my window!

We know the date of this historic unsealing from a Bill of Complaint filed the following year against Betham at the Chancery at Dublin, dated 30 April, 1814. Lady Mary O’Donel charged that Betham had ‘secretly without her consent, opened the Cathach and interfered with its contents’ – Fourth Report of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, part 1, p. 586 (London, 1874). In his 1827 publication Irish antiquarian researches, as we have seen above, Betham was at pains to point out he had express permission from a member of the O’Donel family to open the shrine. This is inconsistent with his sworn statement as defendant in the charge against him in 1814. His 1814 statement gives an interesting account, in his own words, of the circumstances of his opening the shrine. It is too long to include in this post, it can be found online, if you care to read more Fourth Report of the Royal Commission on Historical manuscripts. Part 1, p. 586 (London, 1874). The outcome of the case was printed in the Freeman’s Journal, 28 November,1815:

“Lady O’Donel against Sir Wm. Betham, Knt.

This, action which had excited so much public interest came off to be tried during the Sittings after the last Term, and after the Jury had been called, a proposal was made on the part of Sir W. Betham to make an ample apology to Lady O’Donel, for his conduct, and to pay her Ladyship’s costs.— The Counsel of Lady O’Donel, aware of her sentiments, and that pecuniary damages were not her object, acceded to the proposal, and dictated the following apology, which was signed by Sir William Betham:-

“Sir William Betham most respectfully presents his compliments to Lady O’Donel, and begs to assure her, that he sincerely laments his having indiscreetly opened the sacred and ancient Relic of the O’Donel family committed by her to his care. Sir William assures her Ladyship that such, his conduct, was occasioned by an anxious curiosity to explore the contents of so ancient a relic, and not at all from the slightest intention of violating its sanctity, or wounding her Ladyship’s feelings. For such, his conduct, Sir William expresses his most unfeigned contrition, and places this apology in the hands of Lady O’Donel, to be used in such way as her Ladyship should think proper.

(Signed) “William Betham”

The above apology should have been published immediately after it was signed, but Sir William Betham having refused until lately to pay Lady O’Donel’s costs, which, on taxation, amounted to £264. 8s. 4d., it was apprehended it might become necessary for her Ladyship to bring this cause again before the original tribunal, a Jury of the Country. Sir William having, in the present Term completed his engagement, by paying her Ladyship’s costs, has put an end to further legal discussion on the subject.”

Freeman’s Journal, 28 November,1815.

Conservators and archivists look away now …

In his statement, Betham describes how he determined the shrine contained a manuscript, before he took the drastic steps of opening up the box. He used a thin piece of wire, inserted it into a small gap through the metal box and by rubbing the wire against the contents within felt what could possibly be vellum. Later, on opening, he found the vellum leaves caked together inside a decayed wooden box. He also retrieved what was most probably binding a thin piece of board covered with red leather. Nothing more is known of the wooden box or binding as Betham obviously didn’t think them worthwhile to keep or describe further. He described how he separated the leaves:

“It was so much injured by damp as to appear almost a solid mass. By steeping it in cold water I was enabled to separate the membranes from each other, and by pressing each separately between blotting-paper, and frequently renewing the operation, at length succeeded in restoring what was not actually decayed to a legible state.” (Irish antiquarian researches)

In Lawlor’s detailed paper on the Cathach in Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Vol. 33 (1916/7), he is often critical of Betham and his crude recovery operations. Lawlor believed it possible that a considerable number of leaves weren’t considered worthy of preservation due to their condition. It is not clear from Betham’s own writing if this is the case or not. The Cathach as it survives consists of fifty-eight consecutive leaves, containing Psalms 30:10 to 100:13. The manuscript originally would have run to 110 leaves. Some leaves are more mutilated than others, the worse for wear are the leaves at the beginning.

Cathach, Fol.1.

On display

The Manuscript and shrine were handed over to the Royal Dublin Society by Sir Richard O’Donel in April,1842. It was subsequently transferred to the Royal Irish Academy at the end of May 1843. In his letter to the Academy on this transfer, Richard O’Donel gives instructions on where it is to be displayed and kept. The letter was published in the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 1843:

SIR WM. R. HAMILTON, LL.D., President, in the Chair.
Sir William Betham read the following letter from Sir Richard O’Donel, Bart.:
“April 24th, 1843. “MY DEAR SIR WILLIAM, ” I have to apologise for all the trouble I have given you about the Caah, but several circumstances have come to my knowledge within the last few days, which induce me to desire that it should be placed in the Royal Irish Academy, next to the Cross of Cong; but I would not take any step in the matter without first consulting you, and having done so, I write you this note to request you will be so good as to make known my wishes to the Dublin Society upon the subject, and to have it removed to the Royal Irish Academy, upon their taking charge of it as my property, placing it during the day beside the Cross of Cong, and having it each night placed in a fire proof box. ” I again beg leave of you to pardon me for all this trouble, and to accept my thanks for your kindness at all times, and believe me,
“Dear Sir William,
“Very sincerely yours,
Richard O’Donel.

Royal Irish Academy Museum, Academy House (pre-1890)

In the 1930s, the book shrine was transferred to the National Museum of Ireland, along with the other RIA artefacts. The manuscript was retained by the Academy and continues to be a part of the Library’s important medieval and early modern Irish manuscript collection. In 1920, the Cathach was sent to the British Museum Bindery for conservation work. Here, the leaves of the manuscript were separated and mounted in paper frames and the butt joints were overlaid with white net. By the 1960s the paper mounts were cockling and the manuscript could not be closed properly.

Roger Powell, re-binding the Cathach. 1980/1.

In 1980 more elaborate repair and rebinding work was carried out by Roger Powell and his assistant, Dorothy Cumpstey, at a cost of Stg£6,150 for the repair and Stg£250 for the case. The paper mounting, from which the vellum leaves had come adrift, was replaced by new vellum mounts specially stained to match the colour of the original leaves. Pieces of degreased fish skin were used for joining butted edges in the vellum mounts. The leaves, assembled in sections, were sewn within a zigzag of hand-made paper onto cords and bound in English oak boards. The spine was covered in white alum-tawed pigskin. To keep the vellum under pressure and to prevent cockling, the rebound manuscript was put into a special box designed by David Powell and made by George Taylor in Edward Barnsley’s workshop.

Cathach rebound with bespoke box.

The Cathach is one of the many treasures of the Academy Library’s collection. This year, to celebrate the 1500th anniversary of the birth of Colum Cille, we are pleased to be able to curate an exhibition on the history of the manuscript. The new exhibition ‘The Cathach of Colm Cille: The story of an ancient Irish manuscript’ will be available to view online from 30 March.

Sophie Evans
Assistant Librarian

Note: The variant English spellings of the surname O’Donnell/O’Donel/O’Donnel were used by different parts of the family. The spellings appear in their various forms in various publications, I have included the names as they appear in the sources consulted.

Main image: The Cathach / Psalter of St Columba, f. 21r (detail).

Further reading:

Betham, William, Irish antiquarian researches (Dublin, 1827).

Herity, Michael & Breen, Aidan, The Cathach of Colum Cille: an introduction (Dublin, 2002).

Lawlor, H.J., ‘The Cathach of St Columba’, Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 33 C 11 (1916–17), 243–443.

Fourth Report of the Royal Commission on Historical manuscripts. Part 1, p. 586 (London, 1874).

In December 2020, the Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA) premiered a video online featuring renowned traditional Irish musicians Mary Bergin, tin whistle, and Tony Linnane, fiddle. The performers were playing melodies (tunes) which they had learned from the nineteenth-century William Forde Irish Music Collection held in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy (RIA). The William Forde video is part of an online ITMA series called Drawing from the Well which was launched by Minister Catherine Martin T.D. on 14 October 2020.

“Drawing from the Well connects artists with archival materials to inspire new art.”

Since October 2020, despite the challenges of Covid-19, we have collaborated with seven full-time professional artists as they explored and responded to archival song, music and dance collections. The results are now freely available online. The inspired ‘new art’ has revealed itself as journeys of discovery and reflection, performance, and information sharing, captured in a variety of artistic and digital formats. In each piece and its accompanying blog, a door is opened to a wealth of resources within the traditional arts, and to the inspiring creativity and expertise of contemporary traditional artists.

Drawing from the Well is also a celebration of the enduring and evolving role of libraries and archives, such as the RIA Library and ITMA to inspire artists, and in turn to enrich the lives of citizens and audiences around the world.

In this blog we feature the first five episodes of the series which were released from October to December 2020. We hope you too will be inspired to continue to watch Drawing from the Well 2021 Series Two which is now live on the ITMA website.

Louise Mulcahy
The Liam O’Flynn Collection at ITMA

Our journey began with Louise Mulcahy, an internationally renowned performer and tutor on both uilleann pipes and flute. From a rich family musical tradition in Abbeyfeale, West Limerick, she enjoys international success in performance and recording with her father Mick and sister Michelle, and as a solo artist. She presents and appears regularly on television and radio, and is also highly regarded as a researcher, most recently on the role of women in uilleann piping.

Louise Mulcahy, exploring the Liam O’Flynn Collection at ITMA https://www.facebook.com/louise.mulcahy.330/

Following the death of the virtuoso uilleann piper Liam O’Flynn (1945–2018), Louise was made custodian by Na Píobairí Uilleann of his set of B uilleann pipes. ITMA was similarly honoured by Liam’s widow Jane Flynn in 2018, when she donated the musician’s personal musical archive into the care of ITMA. Episode one of Drawing from the Well is a warm and informative journey with Louise as she explores Liam’s archive, gaining a special and rare insight into the ideologies, key reflections, influences, music and life of one of Ireland’s most iconic pipers.

Drawing from the Well 2020. Episode 1. Louise Mulcahy: The Liam O’Flynn Collection at ITMA. Released 14 October 2020

Martin Hayes
The Hidden Beauty in Our Archives

Martin Hayes is an internationally recognised and highly respected fiddle player, originally from Killanena in East Clare. Grounded in the musical tradition of his family home and growing up surrounded by a wealth of local music and dancing, Martin has forged a global musical career as a solo and ensemble player. From the Tulla Céilí Band to the Gloaming, Martin continues to explore the range of possibility that lies within traditional music.

Martin Hayes, Live at Drawing from the Well http://www.martinhayes.com/

Drawing from the Well with Martin was organised as an online forum which began with a personally curated video reflectively documenting his thoughts on the value of archives, and the rich musical insight to be gained from listening and engaging thoughtfully with archival recordings. It was followed by a live discussion from an international audience and included live solo playing from Martin himself.

Drawing from the Well 2020. Episode 2. Martin Hayes: The Hidden Beauty in our Archives. Released 21 October 2020

Edwina Guckian
The Story of Jack Lattin

Edwina Guckian is a dancer, choreographer, researcher, teacher and dance activist from Drumsna Co Leitrim. She is a full-time practitioner fully embedded in the cultural life of her community while successfully sharing her passion for dance internationally and online in performance, teaching and event organising. Edwina also manages her own independent film production company, Dreoilín Productions.

Edwina Guckian, dancer, and Cathal Ó Curráin, fiddle, on the trail of Jack Lattin https://www.edwinaguckian.com/

In Drawing from the Well with Edwina, one can witness the full breadth of her skills and enthusiasm for dance as she engages with a piece of research written by historian Seán Donnelly on the fate of an eighteenth-century Kildare dancer Jack Lattin.

“Jack Lattin dressed in satin, Broke his heart of dancing, He danced from Castle Browne To Morristown.”

Her video traces the story and literal historical footsteps of the eighteenth-century dancer in a celebration of his life and fate. The journey ends with the performance of a newly choreographed dance from Edwina in honour of the infamous Jack Lattin.

Drawing from the Well 2020. Episode 3. Edwina Guckian: The Story of Jack Lattin. Released 18 November 2020

Mary Bergin and Tony Linnane
The William Forde Collection, Royal Irish Academy Library

Drawing from the Well Episode Four brings us to the Royal Irish Academy.

In the 1840s, William Forde (1797–1850), a professional musician born in Cork, made one of the largest collections of Irish traditional music in existence. The Forde Collection which is owned and in the care of the RIA, contains up to 1,900 melodies documented in 12 volumes of manuscripts and accompanying notebooks.

In a partnership with the RIA, ITMA plans to publish in 2021 a book containing over 900 tunes from RIA MS 24 O 19. This project is under the expert editorial guidance of Nicholas Carolan, Caitlín Uí Éigeartaigh and Jackie Small. The partnership will also see the future online publication of the digitised manuscript.

Access to and publication of such music resources is invaluable to the traditional music community. Within an oral tradition time and circumstances may break lines of transmission from one generation to the next. When collections such as Forde are made available in hardcopy and as interactive digital editions, the tunes can be learned and re-introduced to contemporary performance.

Mary Bergin, tin whistle, Tony Linnane, fiddle, and John Blake, guitar playing Forde tunes

The Drawing from the Well video featuring whistle player Mary Bergin, fiddle player, Tony Linnane and John Blake, guitar, actively demonstrates this process. Tunes were selected from the nineteenth-century manuscript, transcribed into musical notation, then learned and performed by the musicians.

Drawing from the Well 2020. Episode 4. Mary Bergin and Tony Linnane. The William Forde Irish Music Collection. Released 2 December 2020

Brían Mac Gloinn
Songs of Arranmore

The final contribution in the 2020 series features singer/musician Brían Mac Gloinn, one half of the sibling duo Ye Vagabonds, RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Award winners.

Brían Mac Gloinn, Arranmore Island, Co Donegal http://www.yevagabonds.com/

While he grew up in Carlow, Brían’s mother came from Arranmore Island, off the west coast of Co Donegal. This podcast is a warm and creative introduction to his family roots and to his ongoing research into the song tradition on the island.

Among his discoveries, Brían explores the field recordings of local singers made by collector Hugh Shields on the island in the 1970s, unearthing the voice of his grandfather whom he has never met. These recordings are archived in ITMA as part of the Shields Family Collection.

Drawing from the Well 2020. Episode 5.Brían Mac Gloinn.The Songs of Arranmore.Released 23 December 2020

As mentioned, the second series of Drawing from the Well 2021 is now underway, with Dublin singer Radie Peat exploring ‘Songs of Murder, Lust and Incest’, and Kerry concertina player Cormac Begley introducing us to ‘An Trúmpa: the fall, rise and revival of the Jew’s harp’.

We look forward to your company at Drawing from the Well and welcome you to explore our other resources and activities at ITMA.

About ITMA

The Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA) is the national public archive and resource centre for Irish traditional music, song and dance, and the globally-recognised specialist advisory agency to advance appreciation, knowledge, and the practice of Irish traditional music. Established in 1987 it is funded by the Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon, and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. ITMA’s collections are housed in 73 Merrion Square courtesy of the Office of Public Works.

Grace Toland
ITMA Communications Manager