The Military Archives is the official place of deposit for the archival records of the Irish Defence Forces, the Department of Defence, and the Army Pensions Board. We hold, among the records in our custody, some of the most important documentary evidence relating to the struggle for Irish independence and Civil War. Given this direct connection to the current centenary period, we are delighted to partner with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media as part of the Decade of Centenaries Programme 2012-2023 to invite an artistic response to our rich primary source material with a view to bringing it into the public domain in new and imaginative ways. Specifically, we are interested in developing digital content through the medium of animation or with a graphic artist.
Some of our major collections relating to this period are the Military Service (1916-1923) Pensions Collection, the Bureau of Military History 1913-1923, and the Collins Papers 1918-1922. These collections are digitized and available on our website. We also hold over 1,000 private collections, ranging in scope and content from a few letters or photos, to collections of national significance like the Brother Allen Collection, the Collins-Powell Family Collection and the Uinseann Mac Eoin Collection.
While we have a very considerable quantity of records available online, the majority of the material in our custody is accessible here at the Archives in the Commandant Peter Young Reading Room. Our website, http://www.militaryarchives.ie/, contains details of our digitized and reading-room collections as well as various other online resources. Furthermore, we intend that any prospective relationship with an artist will be one of dialogue between the artist and the archives team, and that we will be available to give advice and assistance in navigating our collections.
For further assistance, please contact daniel.ayiotis@defenceforces.ie
To download full details of the scheme, including how to apply, please click here.