Autumn 2019 Newsletter - ARA Ireland 2019 Newsletter.pdffarming life and estate management, covering the periods 1854–1907 and 1887–1919. They record information such as the planting

Autumn 2019 Newsletter

Inside this issue:

A Word from the Chair

UCD Archives Updates

Message from ARA IrelandCommunications Officer

'Kitchen Power - Women’sExperiences of RuralElectrification'

Explore Your Archive 2019

ESB Archives celebrates the60th anniversary of theClady Hydroelectric Scheme,Co. Donegal

Celebrating the history ofIrish local government,Ag ceiliúradh stair RialtasÁitiúil na hÉireann

Help us celebrate ARAIreland's 40th Birthday!

1

3

9

10

14

17

20

23

A Word from the Chair

Dear Member,

Welcome to the autumn 2019 newsletter.

Firstly, thank you to all who attended the Joint Archives andRecords Association, Ireland and the Information and RecordsManagement Society, Ireland joint training event in September.The event was held in the Royal Irish Academy and was focusedon career development and the route to gaining professionalrecognition through accreditation and other frameworks forprofessional development.

The annual Explore Your Archive campaign is running from 23November to 1 December this year. As always, we would loveif you could get involved in whatever way you can, to highlightthe great work you do and the great collections you work with,through events and featured archives. This year we will also befeaturing the very popular daily hashtags for you to join us onFacebook, Twitter and Instagram. Our launch this year will beheld on 21 November in the Irish Architectural Archive, MerrionSquare, Dublin and our guest speaker and EYA ambassadorwill be Fin Dwyer from the Irish History Podcast. For moreinformation on how you can get involved in this year's campaign,check out the article by Joanne Carroll, ARA Ireland CampaignsOfficer, on page 14 of this newsletter.

Our next training event ‘Diversity and Inclusion inIrish Archives’ will also be held on 21 November.Guest speakers on the day will include, KatherineO'Donnell and Maeve O'Rourke to talk about theMagdalene Oral History Project, Maria Ryan tospeak about the National Library of Ireland'sDiversity and Inclusion Policy, and RebeccaO'Neill who will speak about collaborating withWikimedia Projects to improve representation ofIrish culture/history. Further details on the eventwill be circulated soon.

And finally, a date for your diaries: we are hopingto hold an event to celebrate ARA Ireland’s 40thbirthday on 5 December. Further details to follow.

Best wishes,

Gerard ByrneARA Ireland Chair

Autumn 2019 Newsletter Page 2

1. Launch of UCDA P17a Papers of ErnieO’Malley (additional material) and UCDA P244Papers of Frances-Mary Blake

Cormac O’Malley, son of revolutionary and writerErnie O’Malley, launched two collections in UCDArchives on Friday, 20 September: an additionalcollection of O’Malley material added as a fourthseries to the existing three in the catalogue forP17a, and a new collection of Frances-Mary Blakepapers.

Both collections have significant value in their ownright, but are also closely intertwined.

The O’Malley collection of papers in UCD Archivesis one of the most significant sources for the War ofIndependence and the anti-Treaty position of theCivil War. They were transferred to UCD in 1974under the terms of the O’Malley Trust (the Trust

was wound up in 2015 when ownership transferredto the university). The newly-available documentsare an important contribution to the release ofarchival material in this Decade of Centenaries. Inaddition to contemporary documents, this newseries includes tape recordings of CormacO’Malley’s interviews with Seán Lemass andSighle Humphreys, Madge Clifford and JackComer; and Sighle Humphreys, George Gilmoreand Peadar O’Donnell. Transcripts of theseinterviews were made by Frances-Mary Blake andmay be found in her papers.

Both collections have significant value in their ownright, but are also closely intertwined.

The O’Malley collection of papers in UCD Archivesis one of the most significant sources for the War ofIndependence and the anti-Treaty position of theCivil War. They were transferred to UCD in 1974under the terms of the O’Malley Trust (the Trustwas wound up in 2015 when ownership transferredto the university). The newly-available documentsare an important contribution to the release ofarchival material in this Decade of Centenaries. Inaddition to contemporary documents, this newseries includes tape recordings of CormacO’Malley’s interviews with Seán Lemass andSighle Humphreys, Madge Clifford and JackComer; and Sighle Humphreys, George Gilmoreand Peadar O’Donnell. Transcripts of theseinterviews were made by Frances-Mary Blake andmay be found in her papers.

UCD Archives UpdatesKate Manning

Principal Archivist, UCD Archives


Cormac O’Malley speaking at the launch of two new collectionsconcerning his father, Ernie O’Malley.

The Papers of Frances-Mary Blake constitute aunique and significant addition to the collections ofwomen’s papers in UCD Archives, although nottypical of them. Her work on Ernie O’Malley’sliterary and archival output has made an importantcontribution to O’Malley’s reputation. Her ownpapers also offer an insight into the work of abiographer and editor as well as someone whobecame enamoured of the Republican cause. Sheinitially intended to publish a biography of O’Malleybut it never came to fruition. However, as part of herresearch, Blake interviewed and correspondedwith many figures from the Irish republicanstruggle, such as Máire Comerford, PeadarO’Donnell, Liam Deasy, Kathleen Barry Moloney,and Sighle Humphreys, as well as members of theO’Malley family.


UCDA P17a/289 Papers of Ernie O’Malley: Letter from Marion O’Malley,Ernie O’Malley’s mother, to Richard Mulcahy, Minister for Defence,

informing him that her sons “Ernest, Cecil, & Patrick O’Malley—are onhunger strike. Ernest is in Kilmainham—lying at deaths door. He has been in

Gaol for twelve months. And seriously wounded before he was arrested.”She states that should any of her three imprisoned sons die, she will “take

steps to have you indicted in their murder.” (1 November 1923)

UCDA P244/119 Papers of Frances-Mary Blake: A hand-tooled,illustrated, leather cover for Frances-Mary Blake’s book The Irish Civil

War which was made for her by Republican prisoners in PortlaoisePrison. (1980s)

Blake prepared O’Malley’s Civil War memoir, TheSinging Flame, for publication. She edited, andwrote the introduction to, Raids and Rallies(originally published as a popular series ofnewspaper columns written by O’Malley fromSeptember 1955 to June 1956). She laterpublished her own thoughts on the period in TheIrish Civil War, 1922–23: And What it Still Means forthe Irish People.

Both collections were catalogued by SarahPoutch.

2. Ernie O’Malley Notebooks TranscriptionProject

It was a great pleasure to announce at the abovelaunch, a joint Irish Manuscripts Commission, UCDDigital Library and UCD Archives project totranscribe the O’Malley Notebooks and make themavailable online via UCD Digital Library, and in printin a multi-volume series published by the IMC,beginning 2022.

Anne Dolan, Associate Professor in Modern IrishHistory, Trinity College Dublin, and Eve Morrison,Canon Murray Fellow in Irish History, OxfordUniversity, will undertake the transcriptions usingthe software Transkribus. Digital copies of thenotebooks with the resulting transcriptions will be

made available online in the UCD Digital Library,overseen by Audrey Drohan, Digital LibraryManager.

Eve Morrison summarises the importance of theNotebooks as follows: “From the late 1930s up to1953, Ernie O’Malley, the IRA veteran and writer,conducted more than 660 individual interviewswith almost 450 separatist nationalist veterans ofthe Irish Revolution (1913–1923). O’Malley’sinterviews, along with the Bureau of Military Historywitness statements and Military Service Pensionrecords, are the third in a trio of attempts betweenthe 1930s to the 1950s to document(retrospectively and for varying purposes) theindependence struggle. O’Malley’s interviews areuniquely gritty, atmospheric, occasionally profane,punctuated with graphic descriptions of politicalviolence and, in terms of documenting individualexperiences of the Civil War (1922–1923),unrivalled.”

I am very grateful to Prof. John McCafferty,Chairman, Irish Manuscripts Commission, foraccepting the initial proposal, and to Dr JohnHoward, UCD Librarian, for his support for theproject.


L-R: Sarah Pouch, archivist; Cormac O’Malley; John Howard, UCD Librarian

L-R: John McCafferty, Chairman, Irish Manuscripts Commission; CormacO’Malley; John Howard, UCD Librarian

3. Online Exhibition: Republic to Republic:Ireland’s international sovereignty, 1919–1949

John Gibney, Associate Editor, Documents onIrish Foreign Policy, Royal Irish Academy, and I co-curated a Google Arts exhibition to mark the 70thanniversary of the declaration of the Irish republic:Republic to Republic: Ireland’s InternationalSovereignty, 1919–49. It was launched on 18 Apriland was a feature of the Royal Irish Academy’sanniversary event Unexpectedly a Republic: Apanel discussion on the 70th anniversary of Irelandbecoming a republic which was addressed by AnTaoiseach.

Among the collections held in UCD Archives arethose concerning the individuals (formerrevolutionaries, politicians and diplomats) who

were key figures in the shaping of independentIreland’s foreign policy. They have been heavilyused by the DIFP series since its beginning so thepartnership was a natural one. Both the onlineexhibition and printed catalogue use documentssolely from our collections.

I am very grateful to the UCD Library outreachteam, Josh Clarke and Catherine Bodey for theirinvaluable assistance with promotion and designfor this project.

You can visit the exhibition here: www.ucd.ie/library/exhibitions/republic.


UCDA P194/788 Papers of Michael MacWhite: Press conference in the WhiteHouse, Washington DC, marking the implementation of the Kellogg- Briand Peace

Pact which was signed in Paris in 1928. This was the first international treatysigned by the Irish Free State in its own right. Michael MacWhite, Irish Free State

minister to the US is second from right.

L to R: Professor Michael Peter Kennedy, President, Royal Irish Academy; KateManning, Principal Archivist, UCDA and Dr John Gibney, Associate Editor,

Documents on Irish Foreign Policy at the Unexpectedly a Republic event in theRIA. All holding copies of the catalogue of the UCDA/DIFP exhibition Republic to

Republic: Ireland’s International Sovereignty, 1919–1949.

http://www.ucd.ie/library/exhibitions/republic

http://www.ucd.ie/library/exhibitions/republic

4. Cycling Ireland Archives

Cycling Ireland, in collaboration with UCDArchives, is building a collection of archives toensure that the history of Irish cycling as a sport inIreland, will be fully documented. The collection willbe deposited in UCD Archives where it will becatalogued and made available for research.

The project is being co-ordinated for CyclingIreland by Dr Tom Daly of Killarney Cycling Clubwho has researched aspects of Irish cycling historyextensively. UCD Archives has built up strongcollections of records of significant organisationsincluding sporting bodies and culturalassociations, so we offer a natural home for thiscollection. Professor Paul Rouse, UCD School ofHistory, who is acting as an advisor for thiscollaboration, notes that “the story of Irish cycling isa fascinating one. The intersection between sportand politics, as revealed through the story of Irishcycling is endlessly interesting. This archive will bean invaluable international resource for sportshistorians around the world—and will also be ofgreat value to historians of modern Ireland.”

5. Launch of the digitised Oram Diaries (UCDAP258)

On 25 July, UCD Archives and UCD Digital Librarylaunched the digitised diaries of John and ArthurOram, now available online at UCD Digital Library.

Father and son, John and Arthur Oram werefarmers and land agents in Burrishoole, CountyMayo. Their diaries hold a wealth of information onfarming life and estate management, covering theperiods 1854–1907 and 1887–1919. They recordinformation such as the planting and harvesting ofcrops, trips to livestock markets, and repairs tofarm buildings. As land agents, the Orams’ dutiesincluded collecting rents and negotiating tenants’arrears. Growing tensions between landlords andtenants impinged directly on their personal liveswhen John was shot in 1872. The influence of theweather on their lives is also evident: both menrecord daily weather observations and note theimpact of droughts, wind storms, and major snowfalls.

The diaries refer to events of national andinternational importance: a famine in 1879; thefoundation of the Land League in 1879; the 1882Phoenix Park murders; the death of Queen Victoriain 1901; the sinking of the Titanic in 1912; news ofthe Rising in Dublin in 1916; and the 1918 influenzaepidemic.


L-R: Associate Prof. Paul Rouse, UCD School of History; Dr Tom Daly, KillarneyCycling Club; Kate Manning, UCD Archives; Marie Burke, UCD Library; Ciarán

McKenna, President, Cycling Ireland.

P258/4 Diary of John Oram: 1 January 1879–10 July 1888: Thus ended 1879 -the most disastrous year for famine on record - in England the worst harvest ever

known by anyone living - here the oats were not a bad crop - potatoes muchdiseased - much distress among the poor - rents badly paid - ... Land League

started this year.

Of interest to those researching agriculture, landedestates, meteorology, as well as the generalhistory of Ireland at the time, the diaries are alsofascinating as a record of the intricacies of humanlife.

The diaries were deposited in UCD Archives byCarolyn Sturdy and Christopher Oram in June2012 and were catalogued by Orna Somerville in2013. Audrey Drohan and Órna Roche wereresponsible for the digitisation of the diaries andtheir publication online. Both the Archives andDigital Library were delighted that Carolyn Sturdyand her husband Colin, were present for thelaunch. Ms Sturdy and her brother Christophermaintain an excellent website with additionalcontextual information and family historyconcerning the Orams: familyhistory.oram.ca/burrishoole/. The diaries may be viewed atdoi.org/10.7925/drs1.ucdlib_256149.


L-R: Orna Somerville, archivist; Audrey Drohan, Digital Library Manager; ÓrnaRoche, assistant librarian; Carolyn Sturdy; John Howard, University Librarian.

http://familyhistory.oram.ca/burrishoole/

http://familyhistory.oram.ca/burrishoole/

https://doi.org/10.7925/drs1.ucdlib_256149


Message from ARA Ireland Communications OfficerNiamh Ní Charra

***Stop the Press***

We have a brand spanking new website! Manythanks to those who answered the call for imagesas advertised in the last newsletter. We were senta very impressive quantity of great images andthese will feature, in rotation, on the main page.(We don't want to slow down the site by uploadingtoo many at a time). We also hope to include thesein the gallery page. Work continues on the websitebut feel free to browse at either www.araireland.ieor www.araireland.com.

Call for blogs

As part of the new website we have planned a blogwhich we hope will have regular contributions fromARA Ireland members. If you would like to submita guest blog please contact me [email protected].

ArchiveHour

Many thanks to our lovely guests Kieran Hoare(NUI Galway Archives), Dr Eve McAuley (IrishArchitectural Archive), Natalie Milne (NationalArchives of Ireland) and Gerard Byrne, chair ofARA Ireland who joined ARA Ireland as we hostedlast month's #ArchiveHour. We chose

#Fabulous40 as our topic to celebrate ARA Irelandturning 40 and the hour was a tremendous successwith much engagement.

Explore Your Archives

Make sure to follow our facebook, twitter andinstagram accounts for latest updates throughoutthe upcoming campaign. For a list of hashtagsplease refer to the EYA page on our brand newwebsite. (Did I mention we have a brand spankingnew website!!?? The excitement is getting to me!).

See you all online!

https://www.araireland.ie/

https://www.araireland.ie/


'Kitchen Power -Women’s Experiences of Rural Electrification'

Deirdre McParlandSenior Archivist, ESB Archives

ESB’s foundation in 1927 was based on a vision tocontinuously improve the lives of Irish people. Ourarchives document the purpose of ESB over thelast 92 years. Through the meticulous curation,collection, preservation and access to this history,our digital platform, esbarchives.ie has opened thestory of the electrification of Ireland to a diverserange of users. From documentary and filmmakers, publishers, academics, students, thegeneral public and of course ESB employees, wewelcome all researchers, both physically to ourreading room and online.

While we continue to wade through the sea ofcataloguing and digitising, we simultaneouslyresearch, curate exhibitions, deliver specialisedworkshops, talks and projects by authenticatingand unlocking the stories of ESB.

Three years ago, one of our academicresearchers, Dr. Sorcha O’Brien of KingstonUniversity received funding from the Arts andHumanities Research Council to research theeffects of rural electrification on rural Irishhousewives and homes during the 1950s and1960s. The research project culminated in theexhibition ‘Kitchen Power – Women’s Experiencesof Rural Electrification’, officially launched byformer President of Ireland Mary Robinson at theNational Museum of Ireland – Country Life, inTurlough Park, Castlebar, Co. Mayo in July. It is theflagship temporary exhibition at the National

Museum and will remain open until summer 2020.

When Ireland’s first national hydroelectric scheme,the Shannon Scheme was completed in 1929, ESBprioritised connecting towns and cities to thenational grid. In the late 1930s and early 1940s,ESB and the Irish Free State Government beganworking on initial plans for rural electrification.However, the outbreak of World War II in 1939delayed the process.

While the greater part of Europe was coming out ofWar, in 1946 ESB embarked on the RuralElectrification Scheme. Described as ‘the greatestsocial revolution in Ireland since the land reforms ofthe 1880s and 1890s’, the scheme was particularlytransformative to the lives of Irishwomen. Whilewomen throughout Europe had begun the move totraditional male roles during the War years, thelives of many Irishwomen, particularly in ruralIreland were in the home and farm, largely due tothe obligatory marriage ban and cultural attitudes.

Former President Mary Robinson launching Kitchen Power Exhibition.Copyright ESB Archives


The Government in its approval of the scheme inAugust 1943, stressed that priority should be givento the most remunerative areas with the stipulationthat initially one area must be developed in eachcounty. For the purposes of the scheme, ESBdivided every county into rural areas of about 25 -30 sq. miles (typically based on parishboundaries). After the initial selection of one areain each county, the contest for priority was betweenareas within each ESB district. Over the course ofthe first phase of the scheme 1946 – 1965, 300,000rural homes were connected, over 1 million poleswere erected, and 50,000 miles of line were strungacross the length and breadth of the country. By1978, 99% of Irish homes nationwide wereconnected to the grid.

ESB engineered the influencing skills of voluntaryorganisations such as the Irish Countrywomen’s

Association (ICA), Muintir na Tire and Macra naFeirme and local clergy to secure sufficientnumbers for ESB to commence the labour-intensive roll-out.

The ICA described by former President MaryMcAleese on their 100th anniversary as ‘theoriginal social network’ were paramount in thesuccess of the scheme. They saw electricity asalleviating the work that countrywomen had toperform in the home and farm. Through theirrelentless advocacy and outreach programmesthey championed the benefits of electricity in theircommunities, particularly the campaign for accessto piped water. The crucial role that the ICA playedin the scheme is best summed up by a quote froma past chairman of ESB, Mr. Murray in 1963 noting‘While it may be true that projects of this kind areplanned by menfolk, they would surely lie fallowwere it not for the enterprise and determination ofour womenfolk’.

ESB employed many women as demonstrators.Highly trained and experts in their field, eachdemonstrator was issued with a detailed filecontaining all the information they needed to get acommunity excited about electricity. Specifically,during rural electrification, the demonstratorstravelled around the country, usually in theirVolkswagen beetles, showcasing the latestelectrical appliances through exhibitions at theRDS, demonstrations in the home and local parishhalls. The success of the nationwidedemonstrators was visible in the resulting sales ofelectrical appliances for ESB. In 1964 the top threehousehold electrical sales were the iron, the kettle,closely followed by larger appliances, the electric

Rural demonstration lead photograph used in marketing collateral forexhibition. Copyright ESB Archives


cooker and washing machine.

Over 150 reproductions of photographs, publicrelations pamphlets, advertising, film andtelevision adverts from our rural electrificationcollection form an integral part of the exhibition. A1958 photograph of the ESB/ICA model kitchen(which was taken coincidentally on the same day ofthe official launch) was the inspiration of thereconstruction of the same kitchen on display in thegalleries. A collection of our artefacts including afridge, light bulbs, switches, kettles and a filmprojector are on display throughout the exhibition.Further household appliances were supplied byour retired colleague and private collector BernardO’Connell. While research from our archiveprovides key amounts of contextual information,over 60 oral histories recorded by Dr O’Brien andher team provide fascinating perceptions of thescheme. The oral histories add a colourful recordand complement the evidence provided by our owndocumentation. While our archive has recordedoral histories of ESB lady demonstrators over theyears, this new collection of oral histories forms anin-depth public history.

In line with our access and research policies, allreaders to our archive, must at the outset, state

their research purpose. As Dr. O’Brien’s researchwas for exhibition purposes, we briefed ourcolleagues in Corporate Communications from thebeginning, later working collaboratively onmanaging the PR of the exhibition from an ESBperspective.

Open communication is crucial to all successfulcollaborations. In the final few months of Dr.O’Brien’s research, we were in the final stages of amajor change management project, appraising,packing and moving our collections to a newpurpose-built archive repository. Throughout thisprocess we ensured that all final exhibition imageand marketing collateral requests were receivedand dealt with efficiently as possible.

The week of the launch coincided with earlymornings and longer days as the physical transferof our collections was in full swing. The inevitableand welcome eleventh-hour media interviewrequests were all warmly received during this busytime. With participation in numerous back to backmedia interviews over a two-day period, theexhibition launch received extensive positive PR

Household appliances on display in Kitchen Power.Copyright ESB Archives

Photograph of original ICA/ESB model kitchen 19 July 1958.Copyright ESB Archives


and was broadcast on RTÉ One News bulletinsthroughout the day. The launch also featured onRTÉ Radio One Morning Ireland and in national,local print media and online channels.

The benefits to our archives supporting academicresearch and collaborative partnerships is worthyof a paper on its own. In addition to the obviouspositive PR benefits, by sharing our expertise andaccess to our collections, participating in theMuseum’s outreach programme, we continue todemonstrate the impact and value of archives to awider audience. No doubt the most beneficialaspect of the collaboration, was the extensive oralhistory project, ensuring that the legacy and storiesof the women who participated in the scheme willcontinue to be told for generations to come.

For further information on Rural Electrificationvisit:www.esbarchives.iewww.electricirishhomes.org

http://www.esbarchives.ie

http://www.electricirishhomes.org


Explore Your Archive 2019Joanne Carroll

ARA Ireland Campaigns Officer

The annual ARA campaign Explore Your Archivewill run from 23rd November – 1st December, witha launch on Thursday 21st November in the IrishArchitectural Archive, Dublin. For the 2019campaign we would love for archives, collectionsand projects of all shapes and sizes to get involvedin whatever way you can.

Explore Your Archive is a campaign thatshowcases the best of archives and archiveservices in Ireland and the UK. The campaign aimsto open the phenomenal archival collections heldby organisations – public and private – acrossIreland and the UK, whatever their size and scale,and wherever they are. Here are just a fewsuggestions on how to get people engaged withyour archives and show off the fantastic work thatyou do:

Events and ‘Featured Archives’

Hold an event such as a talk, exhibition or tourrelating to your work, project or collection. Let us

know what you plan on doing and we will hostdetails of these events online; we can also promoteevents though social media and a press release.

We would also welcome submissions for ‘featuredarchives’. This is a great way to show off acollection from your archive or a project that youare working on. It should be about 250 words andcan include text, images and links. This will also bepromoted and shared on social media.

Please send on any details of events, exhibitionsand/or ‘featured archives’ to Joanne Carroll, ARAIreland Campaigns Officer at [email protected].

Explore Your Archive 2019, Ireland poster

mailto:[email protected]


Social Media

This year the Explore Your Archive campaign willhave a different hashtag each day for you to join inon, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Wewould love you to share your work, collections andexperiences online to give your followers a senseof the work that goes on behind the scenes and thefabulous archives that you care for. You can alsouse #ExploreYourArchive on any archives relatedtweet throughout the year.

23rd November: #SweetArchives Sharesomething sweet – in taste or temperament – fromyour collections. And yes, #Archive Cakewelcome!

24th November: #HairyArchives Back by (un)popular demand – share something hairy.

25th November: #FriendlyArchives Are you afriendly neighbourhood archivist? Celebratefriendliness in the sector and in your collections.

26th November: #SurprisingArchives Sharesomething we wouldn’t expect to see in yourcollection.

27th November: #ActionArchives From physicalmovement to moving image, share action-inspiredarchives.

28th November: #ArchivesAtSea If nauticalnonsense is something you wish, then share yourbest sea-worthy archives.

29th November: #MysteriousArchivesSometimes being an archivist requires some realdetective work. Share your most mysteriousmaterial.

30th November: #ArchiveVoices Amplify themany voices present in your archive by sharing

examples of language, diverse voices, and soundarchives.

1st December: #WildArchives Share somethingWILD from your collections.

Promotional Materials

There is a great set of resources available on theExplore Your Archive website:www.exploreyourarchive.org/info-resources/including an EYA toolkit, information on socialmedia, tips on how to get involved and postertemplates. We will also send out an Ireland specifictemplate for you to cater to your own organisation/collection and an Ireland only poster to use.

The Launch

The ARA Ireland campaign will be launched on theevening of Thursday 21st November 2019 at 6:00

Joanne Carroll (ARA Ireland Campaigns Officer), Gerard Byrne (ARA IrelandChair) and Anne Cassin, Ambassador for Explore Your Archive 2018.

http://www.exploreyourarchive.org/info-resources/


pm in the Irish Architectural Archive. We will sendthe invitation out soon and hope to see you there.

If you have any questions about the ExploreYour Archive campaign please do not hesitate tocontact me on [email protected]



ESB Archives celebrates the 60th anniversary of the CladyHydroelectric Scheme, Co. Donegal

Tanya KeyesArchivist, ESB Archives

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of theestablishment of Clady Hydroelectric Scheme,ESB Archives curated a pop-up photographicexhibition for the Forbairt Dhún Lúiche festival, inDunlewey, Co. Donegal. The free exhibition wason display throughout the month of August.Following this success, the exhibition travelled toDonegal County Museum in Letterkenny, where itwas officially opened for Culture Night on 20thSeptember. The exhibition is on display until earlyNovember.

Clady Station

The Clady Hydroelectric scheme, operational tothis day, was one of three hydro stationscommissioned by ESB in County Donegal. BothCliff and Cathleen’s Falls stations utilized thenatural resources from the River Erne. They werecompleted in 1950 and 1951 respectively. At thattime all three stations fed into the national grid andcontributed to meeting the increasing growth in

demand for electricity.

Construction on the Clady Scheme commenced in1954 and was completed in 1959. Substantial civilengineering works were constructed, such asGweedore Weir and a 2.5km-long headrace canaldeveloped as well as the raising the level ofDunlewy Lough.

Before the scheme, there was little industry in theregion. The local community were dependent onseasonal migration, mostly to Scotland. Thepredominantly male workforce were employed bythe civil works contractor, Malachy Burke Ltd. Thelabour rate was one shilling and eleven and a halfpence. Four years later it had increased to twoshillings and ten pence.

Canal view, 14 November 1958, ESB Archives

Penstock, 17 October 1958, ESB Archives


A small but visionary hydro-electric scheme, thestation continues today to supply the Donegalelectricity network with the same 4,200kW ofrenewable electricity to this day, which is enough tomeet the needs of 3,000 homes, farms andbusinesses in the county.

Exhibition

The pop-up exhibition features previously unseenphotographs captured during the construction ofthe hydroelectric scheme in the 1950s.

They capture the engineering feat of theconstruction over the five years, at the dams, theweir, the canal and the station. The exhibition alsofeatured contextual information with the aid of atimeline and infographic. The timeline displayedkey construction milestones, while the infographicdetailed when all towns, villages and parishes ofDonegal were connected to the national grid for thefirst time.

Extensive research was conducted in our archivesto identify content for the exhibition. In addition toresearching our collection on the Clady scheme,we also utilised research from the papers of theCompany Secretary, Rural Electrification andinternal publications. Further supplementaryresearch by local historian Seán Ó Domhnaill,provided insights into the scheme as recorded inthe local and national press. Staff past and presentat the station were also an invaluable source ofinformation. All of this archive material was thencarefully collated, allowing us to develop a strategyfor the overall design.

There were no copyright restrictions on thephotographic content, as all photographs of thescheme were commissioned by the PublicRelations Department of ESB. Once selected, weprioritized the digitization of the photographs;access copies created in JPEG and TIFF forpreservation standard. The images were printedprofessionally for the display. Due to timeconstraints, we prioritized the digitization of thephotographs. Cataloguing of the full collection willtake place at a future date.

Penstock, 17 October 1958, ESB Archives

Power house, installing generator rotor, 18 July 1958, ESB Archives

To promote the exhibition, we utilized our socialmedia and digital channels. We created a blog poston our website for our external audiences.Internally, we created a story on our internal digitalplatforms, yammer and the hub, reaching out to our8,000 employees globally.

The blog and social media content, via Instagramand Twitter was positively received and led tofurther public and internal engagement.

Digitisation improves the accessibility of thearchive and opens us to new audiences. Byunlocking these collections through localcommunity engagement programs and our digitalplatform, we highlight the valuable role thatarchives continues to play throughout Irish society.Our archive acts as a positive employeeengagement tool instilling a sense of pridethroughout ESB.

To this day the legacy of the Clady HydroelectricScheme continues to supply the same 4200 KW ofclean renewable energy, making a lastingcontribution to the social, economic and industrialdevelopment in Co. Donegal. It providesinspiration as ESB embrace the energy challengesof the coming decades, seeking to create a brighterfuture in leading Ireland’s transition towards a lowcarbon society.


www.esbarchives.ie

@esbarchives

http://www.esbarchives.ie

https://www.instagram.com/esbarchives/?hl=en

Ireland celebrates its 120th year of modern localgovernment this year. The 1898 LocalGovernment (Ireland) Act radicalised localgovernment, establishing new and far moredemocratic local authorities, including CountyCouncils and Urban and Rural District Councils.The franchise was greatly extended also, forexample allowing some propertied women theright to vote for the first time. The new localauthorities were elected in 1899, with nationalistsin County Councils winning 75% of the vote. Newlyelected County Councils met for the first time on 22April that year.

The Department of Housing, Planning & LocalGovernment and the Local Government Archivistsand Records Managers (LGARM) collaboratedthis year to celebrate this milestone by producing anational exhibition highlighting the manyachievements of modern local government. The

resulting exhibition, in Irish and English, is entitledCelebrating the History of Irish Local Government,Ag ceiliúradh Stair Rialtas Áitiúil na hÉireann. Thetext and images were supplied by the localauthority archives services and the exhibition wasfunded by the Department.

This exhibition is an exploration of the history anddevelopment over many decades of localdemocracy in Ireland. It begins by providing a briefhistory of early forms of local government, inparticular the Grand Juries and Boards ofGuardians. It then explores the significance of thepivotal 1898 Local Government Act which broughtabout the modern-day local authorities (and othersthat have since been dissolved) and which greatlyextended the franchise. One of the panelshighlights some of the more significant localelections, highlighting for example the introduction


Celebrating the history of Irish local governmentAg ceiliúradh stair Rialtas Áitiúil na hÉireann

Niamh BrennanOn behalf of LGARM (Local Government Archivists and Records Managers)

Celebrating the History of Irish Local Government Exhibition, extract frompanel 1 (Image: Cork City and County Archives)

Panels from Celebrating the History of Irish Local Government Exhibition(Image: Wexford County Archive)

of proportional representation in 1920. Otherhighlights include a panel explaining the ‘reservedfunctions’ of our Elected Members and the end ofthe ‘dual mandate.’

The long road to modernisation of Ireland in the20th century is exemplified by the very gradualincrease in numbers of women both as voters andas elected members. One such woman highlightedis Lady Albina Broderick, the first woman (and aRepublican and radical) elected to Kerry CountyCouncil in 1920.

The exhibition examines the variety of roles held byeach Service or Section of local authorities in thedevelopment of their counties, cities, towns andlocalities. A panel explores the building andmaintenance of roads, the added function in 1903of motor registration and the development since1940 of fire fighting services. The crucial work ofbuilding and maintaining social housing from theearliest days of the labourers’ cottages is explored.The exhibition looks at the many different roles ofEnvironmental Services such as provision of cleanwater and modern sewerage systems, preventionof pollution and the regulation of burial grounds.Included also is a panel focusing on the everincreasing importance of Planning andDevelopment since the inception of the 1934 Townand Regional Planning Act.

The changing or evolving roles of local authoritiessince the late 20th century is examined in three ofthe panels. While Library Services have existedsince the 19th century, other Cultural andRecreational Services developed much morerecently, including Archives, Museums, Arts andHeritage. The importance of other relatively recentfunctions is emphasized also, especially the workof local authorities in leading and working in


Panel entitled Women in Local Government(Image: Galway County Archives)

First members of Galway County Council, with others, 1899(Image: Galway County Council Archives)

partnership with local communities, including innational initiatives or commemorations such as theCentenary of the 1916 Rising and Creative Ireland.The development of Community and EnterpriseServices in roles such as assisting and supportinglocal business and tourism, and in accessingfunding through programmes such as Peace andInterreg (EU-funded) is also examined in theexhibition.

This is an illustrated exhibition which aims to informthe public in a succinct and interesting way aboutthe hugely important role played by all of Ireland’slocal authorities in the development of cities,towns, counties and communities over the past120 years.

The exhibition consists of 14 pull up panels, and isillustrated with images highlighting the work of localauthorities across the length and breadth of thecountry. Anyone interested in viewing theexhibition in their own locality should contact theirlocal authority for information.


Plan of new houses in Dundalk(Image: Louth County Archives)

Advertisement for frames for tables for returning officers, 1920 local elections(Image: Donegal County Archives)

To help us celebrate our birthday and look backover the past 40 years, we are hoping to publishsome articles and photographs in the winter 2019edition of the newsletter which will (hopefully!)bring back some fond memories for members ofour association's work since 1979.

The winter edition of the newsletter will bepublished in late December and, as well as invitingsubmissions on all topics relating to archivists,records managers and conservators in Ireland asusual, we are also asking our members to help tomake the next edition an extra special one bywriting an article and/or sending in any oldphotographs relating to the past 40 years of ARAIreland/Society of Archivists. As usual, pleasesend all submissions directly to me [email protected].

To help jog your memories and provide inspirationfor those articles, here are some photographs frompast anniversary editions of the newsletter:


Help us celebrate ARA Ireland's 40th Birthday!Felix Meehan

ARA Ireland Newsletter Editor

Part of the cover of the Society of Archivists newsletter celebrating 20 yearsof the Irish Region in 1999.

The logo used in the Society of Archivists newsletter to celbrate 30 years ofthe Irish Region in 2009.


