New look Duchas.ie relaunched with 10,000 photos

Duchas.ie, the website of the National Folklore Collection (NFC), has been relaunched. It still offers full access to the 250,459 stories of the popular School's Collection, of course, but now also sports not only a fresh design but also a digitised version of the NFC's Photographic Collection.

Just under 10,000 images are included in this photo collection, which spans the full spectrum of folk custom and tradition encompassing the following themes:

• Settlement and Dwelling
  
• Livelihood and Household Support
  
• Communications and Trade
  
• The Community
  
• Human Life
  
• Nature
  
• Folk-Medicine
  
• Time
  
• Principles and Rules of Popular Belief and Practice
  
• Mythological Tradition
  
• Historical Tradition
  
• Religious Tradition
  
• Popular Oral Literature
  
• Sports and Pastimes.

A large number of the photographs date from the early 20th century. Although it’s fair to say that there is a particular emphasis on country life, towns and cities were not neglected. The majority of urban photographs relate to Dublin and especially to the folklore collection initiative which took place at the start of the 1980s. It contains an interesting record of the people, places and various aspects of life in the capital city.

Showcasing the work of folklore collectors, many of whom were themselves talented photographers, the collection also contains images donated by NFC staff members and other stakeholders over the years. More images will be released in due course.

The Dúchas project is the result of a partnership, beginning in 2012, between the National Folklore Collection in UCD, one of the largest folklore collections in the world, UCD Digital Library and Fiontar & Scoil na Gaeilge. The objective of the project is to digitize the National Folklore Collection and make it available to the public online.