A national platform for Ireland’s history: the Virtual Treasury looks to the future
Joint statement by Dr Ciarán Wallace, VRTI Programme Director; Dr Peter Crooks, Founder and Principal Investigator, Department of History, School of Histories and Humanities, Trinity College Dublin; and Professor Declan O’Sullivan, Co-Principal Investigator, School of Computer Science and Statistics, Trinity College Dublin. 20 October 2026.
The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland (VRTI) warmly welcomes today’s announcement by Taoiseach Micheál Martin and James Lawless, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, supporting its development as Ireland’s National Platform for Digital History and Heritage from 2027.
We are deeply grateful to the Government for this decision, and to the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science for its commitment to VRTI’s continuing development.
The announcement lays the foundations for significant research and innovation, linking researchers in the humanities and computer science with cultural heritage partners across the world.
This is an extraordinary opportunity for Ireland to harness technology for public benefit, and to create the world’s most technologically advanced research platform dedicated to a single nation’s past.
Launched by Taoiseach Micheál Martin in 2022 on the centenary of the destruction of the Public Record Office of Ireland, VRTI has already brought together more than half a million replacement records and over 340 million words of searchable history. Our partners have helped recover a documentary inheritance on a scale few would have thought possible a decade ago.
VRTI’s core partners are the National Archives of Ireland, The National Archives (UK), the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, the Irish Manuscripts Commission and the Library of Trinity College Dublin. From 2016 to 2026 the Computer Science underpinning VRTI was developed through Research Ireland’s ADAPT Centre, hosted at Trinity College Dublin.
To date, more than 100 institutions across Ireland and overseas have contributed to VRTI – and many more research collaborations are to come in 2027.
Ardán náisiúnta do stair na hÉireann – díríonn an Maoinchiste Samhalta ar an todhchaí
Comhráiteas ón Dr Ciarán Wallace, Stiúrthóir Chlár Mhaoinciste Annála Samhalta na hÉireann (VRTI); An Dr Peter Crooks, Bunaitheoir agus Príomhthaighdeoir, Roinn na Staire, Scoil na Staire agus na nDaonnachtaí, Coláiste na Tríonóide, Baile Átha Cliath; agus an tOllamh Declan O’Sullivan, Comh-Phríomhthaighdeoir, Scoil na hEolaíochta Ríomhaireachta agus na Staitisticí, Coláiste na Tríonóide, Baile Átha Cliath.
Cuirtear fáilte chroíúil i Maoinchiste Annála Samhalta na hÉireann (VRTI) roimh ráiteas an lae inniu ón Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, agus James Lawless, An tAire Breisoideachais agus Ardoideachais, Taighde, Nuálaíochta agus Eolaíochta, ina dtacaíonn siad lenár gcur chun cinn mar Ardán Náisiúnta na hÉireann don Stair agus Oidhreacht Dhigiteach ón mbliain 2027.
Táimid fíorbhuíoch den Rialtas as an gcinneadh seo, agus den Roinn Breisoideachais agus Ardoideachais, Taighde, Nuálaíochta agus Eolaíochta as a tiomantas d’fhorbairt leanúnach an VRTI.
Leis an bhfógra seo, leagtar an bhunchloch do thaighde agus nuálaíocht shuntasach, lena nascfar taighdeoirí sna daonnachtaí agus san eolaíocht ríomhaireachta le comhpháirtithe oidhreachta cultúrtha ar fud an domhain.
Is deis iontach í seo d’Éirinn leas a bhaint as an teicneolaíocht ar mhaithe leis an bpobal, agus an t-ardán taighde is mó forbartha ó thaobh na teicneolaíochta de ar domhan a chur ar bun atá tiomanta do stair aon náisiúin amháin.
20 Deireadh Fómhair 2026
Date
Tuesday, 20 October 2026, 1:10 PM
