Speech by Minister Catherine Martin at the launch of Ireland's Virtual Record Treasury

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Go raibh maith agat Peter (Dr. Peter Crooks) as léargas den chéad scoth a thabhairt dúinn ar Mhaoinchiste Annála Samhalta na hÉireann agus a bhailiúchán cartlainne. Is iontach an rud é an méid a baineadh amach a fheiceáil.

I would like to echo the Taoiseach in expressing my great appreciation to the Beyond 2022 team who have embraced this project with such enthusiasm, vision, imagination and care. I would like to also thank the core archival partners and participating institutions for your generosity in sharing your archives, time, expertise and resources. Your partnership has immensely enriched the project’s potential. It is an inspiring and enduring legacy for our Decade of Centenaries, supported by my department under Project Ireland 2040.

Throughout the Decade of Centenaries, the word ‘legacy’ has been a focus for public conversation and personal reflection. The traumatic legacy of the Civil War and the suffering, loss, and deep wounds that resonated deeply within families and communities through the generations are now being properly examined and discussed. 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 engage with our history, grounded in the factual evidence for the events that occurred.

We are remembering, examining, and talking about the formative historical events that are so important to us on this island in an honest and respectful way, supported by the guiding principles of the Expert Advisory Group on Centenary Commemorations.

My focus, as Minister with responsibility for leading the Decade of Centenaries Programme is to promote an open, inclusive, and consultative approach to commemorations, which seeks to strengthen peace and reconciliation across the island. I have encouraged a special focus on creative and cultural initiatives, including a new artist-in-residence scheme in some of our National Cultural Institutions, the Military Archives and the Beyond 2022 research project.

I am delighted to see the work of Mairéad McClean, the Beyond 2022 artist-in-residence, showcased today. Mairéad’s creative response is so important in making the rich primary source material of the archival collections accessible and engaging for new audiences. Her creative journey with the project is a powerful testament to the important contribution of artists across all genres.

I was particularly moved by how Mairéad has drawn on the Japanese philosophy of ‘Kintsugi’, when reflecting on the scale and ambition of this archival restoration project. What is damaged and broken can be repaired – the resulting scars and flaws elevate what has been re-created into something unique, enduring, and beautiful. Nothing is truly lost forever. We will close our proceedings this morning with an extract of her work, which I am very much looking forward to.

I must commend the staff of the National Archives for their extraordinary conservation work on the 1922 salved records, under the leadership of Zoë Reid and with Beyond 2022 project conservator, Jessica Baldwin. It’s fair to say that what has been achieved is nothing short of miraculous. Every restored fragment adds layers of meaning to our knowledge and understanding of our history.

One of the great legacies of the Decade of Centenaries is a richer understanding and appreciation of the important contribution of women in shaping our past. Often for the first time, a light has been shone on women's experiences and influence in the significant historical events that shaped our journey towards independence and self-determination.

Women were conducting research in the Public Record Office from the early years, both as scholars and as paid genealogists. Isabel Grubb (1881-1972), the Irish Quaker historian, was one such scholar, who used its collections extensively in the autumn of 1915. Some of her carefully typewritten notes were returned to the Record Office following the fire. They show an interest in social and economic life in Ireland, at a time when political and military matters and the history of ‘States’ predominated in academia. Isabel’s notes about records that were subsequently destroyed in the fire, touch on all aspects of everyday life across the towns of 18th century Ireland, including Limerick, Cork, Dublin, Waterford, Kilkenny and Armagh. She referenced, for example, a petition of 1721 from Limerick to the Irish parliament, then situated at College Green, for relief of the poor who ‘flock to the city on account of dearth and mortality of cattle’.

I am particularly interested in what we can learn from the recovered archives about women’s experiences and lives over the past 7 centuries. Wills – testamentary collections – are a key source where the voices of women are directly heard, even from centuries ago in a patriarchal society. The records show us that widows had a degree of autonomy in choosing how to live and how they wished to dispose of their possessions after death. The inventories of goods in wills provides a fascinating insight into everyday social circumstances and material culture, also illuminating how women’s experiences varied depending on social position, wealth and personal circumstances. Women in different stages of life had very different opportunities. The archival discoveries of Beyond 2022 show how widows had autonomy to make arrangements for their estates and interests.

2 of the very few original wills to miraculously survive the blaze concern female testators. In 1748, Elizabeth Clarke, wife of Gabriel Clarke – a merchant of Dublin, proved her will in Dublin. It’s so interesting to see the personal gifts and bequests described in this document. To Catherine Saule, Elizabeth granted her snuff-box, toothpick case, and nutmeg case. To her maid servant, Elizabeth Carroll, she left five pounds and ‘half a dozen of her second best shifts and cloth aprons and her green taffety nightgown’. To her brother-in-law, she left a ‘field bed and bedding’.

Herbert Wood, Assistant Deputy Keeper of Public Records and his colleagues were ejected from the Record Office at Easter 1922, when the occupation of the Four Courts began. In early-July, he returned to survey the scale of the destruction. We can only imagine his shock and despair at the scene that confronted him. ‘At one blow, the records of centuries have passed into oblivion’, he wrote.

His immediate instinct, however, was to pick up the scattered fragments and begin the process of exploring what could be salvaged from the charred remains. Following his retirement in 1923, Wood returned to England and spent the rest of his life pursuing archival materials in the auction houses of London to replace what was lost in 1922. Many volumes of this kind were purchased at Sotheby’s in the 1930s under his guidance, and these have been digitised and returned to their virtual shelves for this centenary moment.

Despite the tragedy of their destruction 100 years ago, Ireland is privileged, by global standards, to have an astonishingly deep, rich and multi-faceted archival heritage, stretching back centuries. Dedicated archivists and librarians across the island and around the world have custodianship of this important heritage. By connecting this wealth of material digitally through the Virtual Record Treasury, the story of Ireland’s deep history can be illuminated and made accessible for everyone to delve into and explore. Together we can begin to recover our lost collective memories.

Tréaslaím bhur n-éacht iontach ó chroí libh – is oidhreacht mharthanach agus bhríomhar í do Dheich mBliana na gCuimhneachán.

Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.