Collecting Ireland's History

The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland has been working with Libraries across Ireland and the UK in the recovery of lost records. 

On June 30, 1922, the Public Record Office of Ireland was destroyed by fire along with its collection of documents. Seven hundred years of Irish records were thought lost forever. But many copies and related documents are now being discovered in institutions around the world. 

The National Library of Ireland’s collections are rich in Irish materials. From Tudor maps to early-modern Royal edicts and certified Public Record Office of Ireland originals, many of the Library’s items fill the gaps left by the devastating blaze.

This exhibition explores the diverse approaches to collecting Irish historical manuscripts of the last 700 years; and the role of libraries in preserving and recovering lost materials. Tracing the contributions of custodians of loose documents, antiquarian copyists, and lifelong collectors, this exhibition explores links between private and institutional collecting and how their combined efforts are helping to reconstruct a lost archive. 

An initiative of the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland Library Network curated by Dr Sarah Hendriks. Supported by the Irish Government through funding from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under Project Ireland 2040. Learn more here.

Partnering Libraries are: 

• Bodleian Library, Oxford 
• British Library 
• Cambridge University Library
• National Library Ireland
• Royal Irish Academy
• Library of Trinity College Dublin.

This temporary exhibition features two glass display cases containing original items from the NLI holdings and is located in the 'Old Director's Office' to the right of the front hall in 7/8 Kildare Street. It will be available for public viewing from September 1st to October 30th 2025.