As part of Dublin Festival of History, this lecture was organised to mark the RIA Library exhibition, Collecting Ireland’s History.

This lecture was organised in collaboration with the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland (VRTI) Library Network and explored the diverse approaches to collecting Irish historical manuscripts of the last 700 years; and the role of libraries in preserving and recovering lost materials. Focusing on materials from the Bodleian Libraries, Cambridge University Library, British Library, National Library Ireland, Trinity College Dublin and the Royal Irish Academy, the talk also addressed the themes presented in the accompanying Collecting Ireland’s History exhibition. It examined the links between private and institutional collecting and how their combined efforts are helping to reconstruct a lost archive: the Public Record Office of Ireland, destroyed on 30 June 1922.

About the speaker

Dr Sarah Hendriks is an early modern historian specialising in the socio-cultural and architectural history of Ireland and the British Isles. She has studied and worked in universities around the world including The Australian National University, The University of Oxford, The University of Cambridge, and The University of Edinburgh. At the time of recording, Sarah was Archival Discovery Research Fellow and Lead Coordinator of the Library Network for the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland.

Collecting Ireland's History Lecture

The Royal Irish Academy/Acadamh Ríoga na hEireann is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is the principal learned society in Ireland and has over 420 members who are elected in recognition of their academic achievements.

The Royal Irish Academy, the academy for the sciences and humanities for the whole of Ireland will vigorously promote excellence in scholarship, recognise achievements in learning, direct research programmes and undertake its own research projects, particularly in areas relating to Ireland and its heritage.