MilitaryArchives.ie releases 11th instalment from the Military Services (1916-1923) Pensions Collection

The Military Archives of Ireland has released its 11th instalment of files in the Military Services (1916-1923) Pensions Collection, a record set that is considered the single most important archival collection relating to Ireland’s revolutionary period.

It comprises many hundreds of thousands of individual accounts of the activities of nationalists from 1916 to 1923. Many family historians, myself included, have discovered details of their ancestors who played a part in gaining Ireland's independence and statehood, and these regular releases of records by the Military Archives always prove popular.

In this latest tranche of 4,230 files, some 1,469 individuals are represented, and in a welcome surprise, the majority of entries relate to women pension applicants.

This latest release means there are now 38,730 fully digitised claim files in the MSPC database.

The MSPC is a huge collection. If you have not encountered it previously, I recommend downloading the well illustrated and thorough Guide to the MSPC. Don't be put off by its 178 pages! It has a high ratio of images to text and will help you get to grips with what is, admittedly, a complex collection of many parts.