Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland

2022 - 6 - 27

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Donegal Daily"

Groundbreaking project brings centuries of lost archives back to life (Donegal Daily)

The immersive digital recreation of the Public Record Office and its collections has been developed by historians in Trinity College Dublin and computer ...

They have worked in partnership with the National Archives of Ireland, National Archives (UK), Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Irish Manuscripts Commission and the Library of Trinity College Dublin. For the first time in a century, the public will be able to ‘step back in time’ to explore a virtual recreation of the Public Record Office of Ireland and its collections. The immersive digital recreation of the Public Record Office and its collections has been developed by historians in Trinity College Dublin and computer scientists in the ADAPT Centre.

Recovery of lost archives from Public Records Office fire 'breathtaking' (BreakingNews.ie)

Decades of Irish history went up in flames when the archives were almost totally destroyed during the shelling of the Four Courts in June 1922. After 100 years, ...

“The scale of destruction in 1922 was near total. “It was an invitation to look to the future, to the long term, beyond the immediate horizon of the specifics and turn it into something lasting, living, hopeful, a meaningful legacy that would reach the widest number of people at home and abroad. “This is a completely new and imaginative approach to making our shared history engaging and interesting for everyone, revealing many fascinating aspects of everyday life across the island. He said that reconstruction of the records “is an occasion for joy and pride – the combination of six years of partnership and collaboration led by the dedicated project team at Trinity College Dublin to bring this exciting and ambitious project to fruition”. “The destruction of the Public Record Office of Ireland at the Four Courts in the opening engagement of the Civil War was a catastrophe,” he added. “Seven centuries of Ireland’s deep history were destroyed in one afternoon, a devastating and seemingly irrecoverable archive of loss of our cultural heritage and collective memory and a traumatic legacy of a civil war.

History at a click: New virtual archive recreates lost material from ... (Siliconrepublic.com)

Computer scientists at Adapt worked with historians at Trinity to recreate the destroyed archive of the Irish Public Record Office.

Material from more than 70 archives all over the world has been collated and recovered. Historians at TCD have been working with computer scientists at Science Foundation Ireland’s Adapt research centre on the project. The research programme combined historical investigation techniques and archive conservation with tech innovations to reimagine and recreate the archive that was lost a century ago.

Archives around the world join forces to bring Ireland's destroyed ... (Gov.ie)

When the Public Record Office of Ireland was destroyed by fire in 1922, hundreds of thousands of precious historical documents relating to all aspects of Irish ...

The ‘Beyond 2022’ research programme was founded in Trinity College in 2016. They were soon joined as Core Partners by the Irish Manuscripts Commission and Trinity College Dublin Library. In 2018 the Expert Advisory Group on Centenary Commemorations identified Beyond 2022 as a significant all-island and international initiative, which could provide a lasting and meaningful legacy beyond the Decade of Centenaries. In 2019, the Taoiseach announced support under Project Ireland 2040 through the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, which enabled Beyond 2022 to mature into a unique collaborative framework within Irish cultural and academic life.

'Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland' launches at Dublin Castle (The Irish Times)

A virtual recreation of the Public Record Office of Ireland and its collections, as existed pre-Civil War, is now available to the public.

Lost Irish history reclaimed in immersive 3D experience (The Guardian)

When the Public Record Office of Ireland was reduced to rubble and ashes in the Irish civil war, seven centuries of precious historical documents were lost.

“Those were copies of the documents in Dublin. Leo Varadkar, the tánaiste, said: “This is a really exciting project which opens new doors into Irish history. “The documents in Dublin haven’t survived. It is an immense achievement and testament to the commitment and dedication of the Beyond 2022 project team.” Speaking before the launch, the taoiseach, Micheál Martin, said: “The Virtual Record Treasury is an enduring and meaningful legacy for our decade of centenaries. AI programmes have scanned and translated handwritten records, many in Latin, French or Irish, to form a searchable database of more than 50m words.

Trinity College Dublin: Archives around the world join forces to bring ... (India Education Diary)

The Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin T.D. launed the Virtual Record Treasury ...

The Decade of Centenaries has gifted us with a wealth of resources at our fingertips, such as the Virtual Record Treasury, to help us to step back in time and engage with our history, grounded in the factual evidence for the events that occurred. It is a wonderful and enduring legacy for our Decade of Centenaries. It is an immense achievement and testament to the commitment and dedication of the Beyond 2022 project team. I want to congratulate the team at the ADAPT Centre in Trinity who worked so creatively with historians and archivists to make this virtual treasury accessible to the public. The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland is a vast and growing treasury of replacement documents newly discovered in partner archives around the world. … Or how Ireland was governed by the English crown in the Middle Ages? … Three ‘Gold Seam’ collections, where up to 80% of the lost material has been retrieved, are a treasure trove of information about life in Ireland across the centuries.