VRTI and Local History in the Armagh Robinson Library, 20 October 2026.

Audience members are featured before the joint talk given by Dr Eamon Darcy from the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies at Maynooth University, and Dr Ciaran Wallace, Programme Director for the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland.

The Virtual Treasury, and Dr Eamon Darcy, Maynooth University, received a warm welcome at the Armagh Robinson Library on 20 October for a public talk entitled ‘Stories, Landscape and Folklore: Early Investigations of Ireland in the Armagh Robinson Library Collections’

Dr Eamon Darcy, from the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Maynooth University, described the individuals and networks that produced four fascinating manuscripts in the Library. With funding from the Royal Irish Academy’s Nowlan Digitisation Grant, these wonderful documents were digitised for the Library by Michael Heath of Digital Scanning Services, Armagh. Through Dr Darcy’s curation, they are now fully searchable on the Virtual Treasury.

• Robinson P00180987x – Itinerary of Journey Through the Counties of Dublin, Meath & Louth [ the Isaac Butler Journal ]
• Robinson P00194176x – A Natural History of the Parish of Killasher [Killesher]; Account of the County of Fermanagh, Written anno 1739 ; Account of the County of Sligo, Written anno 1739 ; Letter to Walter Harris From William Henry ; Account of the County of Antrim.
• Robinson P001498203 – The History and Antiquities of Dublin, Collected from Authentic Records and the Manuscript Collections of Sr James Ware Knt, By Robert Ware Son of that Learned Antiquary
• Robinson P001498343 – Topographical and statistical returns from various respondents sent to Walter Harris & the Physico-Historical Society of Ireland [Physico-Historical Society MSS]

Dr Ciarán Wallace, Virtual Treasury, recounted the story of the Public Record Office of Ireland and its tragic destruction in 1922, before explaining the work of the VRTI to digitally restore the lost collections. He then demonstrated the new Birth of Local History in Ireland curated collection where users can freely search these items kindly shared by the Armagh Robinson Library, alongside sources for local history from the National Library of Ireland, the Royal Irish Academy, Trinity College Library and the L. Brown Map Collection.

 

Image credits:  Ian Maginess

Thumbnail image:  From the left, Library Governor and Guardian, Brett Hannam; guest speaker, Dr Eamon Darcy from Maynooth University; Assistant Keeper, Carol Conlin; guest speaker Dr Ciarán Wallace, for the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland and the Library’s Keeper, the Very Revd Shane Forster. They are shown standing infront of two of the Library’s books which were digitised as part of the Virtual Record Treasury project.