Post by Heraldic collection conservator Louise O’Connor Science plays a central role in modern conservation of cultural heritage. By understanding the chemical structure of materials, a conservator...
Post by Heraldic collection conservator Louise O’Connor All organic materials degrade. Historic manuscripts are handmade, unique artefacts combining parchment, paper, animal glues, pigments, inks,...
by Fiona Hughes, NLI Archival Student Annie O’Farrelly (or Áine Ní Fhaircheallaigh) is typical of many figures in Irish history and the revolutionary period. Neither a household name nor a...
By Oliver O'Hanlon, PhD Student Department of French and School of History, University College Cork. You never know what you might come across while researching in the Manuscripts Department of the...
Mould can grow on any surface, especially in our wet, damp climate! It's one of the most common and serious causes of damage to our heritage but is largely preventable. NLI conservators often deal...
Only very cool conservators get to work on the conservation equivalent of CSI. Yes, it's fun to wear white coats, flash the ultraviolet light around and talk abut acidity (for us, anyhow!), but the...
Eugène Lemercier, 1914 French painter Eugène Emmanuel Lemercier is not remembered primarily for his artistic work. Rather, his name evokes the vibrant correspondence he sent from the...
by Gavin Finlay The American Civil War of 1861-65 is one of modern history’s most catastrophic conflicts. With approximately 750,000 fatalities and 400,000 wounded, it remains the deadliest war in...
by Élodie Lévêque, Project Conservator An extraordinary manuscript collection; the Ormond Collection has been called the ‘most important Anglo-Norman family archive in Ireland’. It...
by Frances Clarke, Archivist of the Seamus Heaney Literary Papers, 1963-2010 In November 2011 the National Library of Ireland acquired one of its most important donations for many years – the...
by Sean Smith, Researcher at our "Palace to Procrastination" Lawyers and the legal profession, where would we be without them? If it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t have Dickens’ Bleak House and...
by Áine Finegan, former Research and Reference Team Student As the City of Science for 2012, Dublin is playing host to all things scientific this year and here at the National Library we're...
by Catherine Ryan, Digital Collections Student Bloomsday On the 16th of June, 1954 the first Bloomsday was celebrated in Ireland. Flann O’Brien, Patrick Kavanagh, Anthony Cronin, Tom Joyce and John...
by Avice-Claire McGovern, Librarian Eyewitness accounts from Tuesday, 9th May 1916 On Easter Monday, 24th April 1916, Alfred West was attending the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse, when he heard...
Bean an Phoist says: A few weeks ago, I asked NLI staff to pick things they love in our collections (maybe also about love) and to write about them for Valentine's Day. Those who weren't nimble...
