From January 25 to February 4, 1998, I had the privilege of participating in a Librarian's Study Tour of Northern Ireland, sponsored by the British Council. The British Council "promotes educational, cultural and technical exchanges between Britain and other countries, [and]...is designed to establish long-term and world partnerships and to improve international understanding." The study tour introduced our group of 13 librarians, from every sector of the United States, not only to the significant library resources in Northern Ireland, but also to the beauty and complexity of a region which is best known in this nation for the sectarian violence which has taken more than 3,200 lives since the beginning of the "Troubles" in the late 1960's. We came away from the tour with a better understanding of the conflict, but also with a recognition that the majority of people in Northern Ireland work together in harmony, and cherish a desire for lasting peace.
The greater part of our ten days was spent in Belfast, but we also had several day trips: to the Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh; to Armagh, "the Cathedral City," Ireland's ecclesiastical capitol and the site of St. Patrick's first church on the island; to the village of Bellaghy, site of the Seamus Heaney Archives; and to Derry, where we walked the top of the city walls and visited several branches of the University of Ulster.
In a country with as long and turbulent a history as Northern Ireland,
the scholar will find many libraries and archives with resources of interest to a
variety of fields. Certainly in a short article of this kind it is not possible to
cover all we saw, so I will highlight only a few places which might be of particular
interest to Brown researchers.
The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), located in Belfast, was established in 1923 as the official repository for public records in Northern Ireland. PRONI houses millions of documents which relate chiefly, but by no means exclusively, to present day Northern Ireland, with some dating back as early as the 14th century.
Among the archives held at PRONI are records of Government Departments, of courts of law, of local authorities and other non-departmental public bodies, and material deposited by private individuals, churches, businesses, and institutions. PRONI is on the Internet at http://proni.nics.gov.uk/index.htm, and a visit to the website will help the researcher plan a visit and use time in the Record Office more effectively.
In Belfast, the Linen Hall Library--a subscription library which bears more than a passing resemblance to the Providence Athenaeum--maintains the Northern Ireland Political Collection, generally accepted as "the definitive archive of the Troubles." In 1968, the Librarian at the Linen Hall Library was handed a civil rights leaflet in a bar in the center of Belfast. He kept it, and then encouraged his staff to amass, and to organize, any printed material they came upon related to the "Troubles." Today, the collection stands at some 80,000 items and continues to grow. To quote from the Linen Hall Library's own material, "The Collection is a unique resource. No other institution in a localized conflict has systematically collected material from all sides. Much less has it been done in the field, and often literally across the barricades." The Political Collection includes the most ephemeral--leaflets, lapel buttons, posters--as well as books, pamphlets, periodical runs, and press cuttings, and would be a rich resource not only for scholars interested in the Northern Irish conflict, but for those researching the more general areas of social and ethnic conflict. The Linen Hall Library is not yet on the Web, but the Northern Ireland Political Collection can be reached at telephone number (01232) 321707 by those who might want to arrange a visit.
The Archives of Seamus Heaney, Northern Ireland's Nobel-prize winning poet, are
to be found at Bellaghy Bawn, a 17th century stronghold which opened to the public
in 1996 and which, in addition to spotlighting Heaney's poetry, contains exhibits
on the archaeology, history, and countryside around Bellaghy. Bellaghy Bawn holds
Heaney's manuscripts, books, and artwork, as well as copies of his television and
radio broadcasts. The center is also attempting to collect the work of a dozen or
more other modern poets who have flourished in Northern Ireland in recent years.
Bellaghy is located near Lough Neagh, in the beautiful countryside west of Belfast,
and is open April to September, Tuesday - Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Our group enjoyed visits to two "tourist attractions" which, while designed to amuse and educate the general public, also maintain significant research collections in their areas of interest. The Ulster American Folk Park, which reminds one of Old Sturbridge Village, but which is designed to allow one to follow the "emigrant's experience," offers a reference and research library which focuses on migration history and the history of Ireland and America in the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as on the arts, crafts, and social customs of the period. One of the most interesting resources here is the Emigration Database, a computerized collection of primary source documents on Irish emigration to North America. Thus far, the database is accessible only within Northern Ireland. The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, while it also offers exhibits on 19th century life in Ireland, is best known for its exhibits and archives having to do with all forms of transportation in Northern Ireland. The Department of Archival Collections at the Museum holds, among other things, the records of Harland and Wolff Ltd., the builders of the Titanic, and, as a consequence, "has within its Photographic Archive what is probably the world's largest and most important collection of photographic negatives relating to this ill-fated liner...."
We saw many other collections of interest, but for lack of space the last I will mention is the CAIN (Conflict Archive on the Internet) Web site being maintained jointly by the University of Ulster, the Queen's University of Belfast, and the Linen Hall Library. CAIN provides online information on the Northern Ireland conflict since 1968, including everything from a chronology to background on key issues to a directory of researchers in the subject. The CAIN Homepage also offers a gateway to other resources. You can visit the CAIN website at http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/centre.htp.
As has been the case in the midst of so many political conflicts, libraries and archives in Northern Ireland continue to build and preserve the collections which reflect the history and thinking of their culture, as well as the gentler side of our nature, such as the poetry of Seamus Heaney. Before I left Belfast, I went to City Hall to add my signature to the "Peace Book," where citizens and visitors can leave their wishes for a lasting peace. As I recalled the accomplishments of the many Irish colleagues I had met on the trip, it seemed to me that the work of each one of them constituted a sort of daily prayer for peace, as well as a testimony to the fact that our collective talents can be put to work more productively for harmony than for conflict.
Merrily E. Taylor
Joukowsky Family University Librarian
[Library Home Page | Library Publications | Back to Bibliofile 30]