A new online repository – CatholicArchives.ie – has been launched to facilitate greater access to collections of material held by Roman Catholic congregations and religious communities in Ireland.
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| Click image of home page to visit the site |
The benefits of such a central repository include the provision of a platform for smaller archives to receive greater exposure, while researchers can enjoy free online searching and browsing of a wider range of material, catalogued to international standards, from archives that normally have fairly limited access arrangements.
The catalogue is fully searchable, by name, places, events, subjects and archival institution, allowing for cross-referencing and browsing by users. It's been created using open-source software, so it's uncluttered in presentation and easy to move around and narrow down items of interest.
So far, the site holds collections from the following archives:
- The Passionists - Ireland & Scotland
- Glenstal Abbey
- The Sisters of St. Joseph Chambery
- The Irish Capuchin Provincial Archives
Among the existing catalogued material is an online gallery of photographs from the Dublin-based Archives of the Passionist Order in Ireland and Scotland and a collection of correspondence and papers of Capuchin Friars detailing their involvement with participants in the nationalist struggle for independence including material relating to the 1916 Rising, the War of Independence and the Civil War.
The next additions to the site will be from the archives of the Presentation Brothers.