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Inspiring Ireland 1916 London Collection Day

Submitted on 21st March 2016

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The first Inspiring Ireland International Collection Day took place in London on 19 March.

The first Inspiring Ireland international collection day took place on Saturday March 19th in the Embassy of Ireland, London. Members of the public brought their 1916 memorabilia to be professionally digitised and shared family stories at the event. Conversation flowed on Twitter as well, with participants using the hashtag #InspiringIreland.

L-R: Dr Natalie Harrower, Director, DRI; Dan Mulhall, Ambassador of Ireland to Great Britain; Caroline McGee, Inspiring Ireland 1916 Project Creative Lead, at the Inspiring Ireland 1916 Collection Day at the Embassy of Ireland, London. 

On hand from the Digital Repository of Ireland were Director Dr. Natalie Harrower, (@natalieharrower) Inspiring Ireland 1916 Project Creative Lead, Caroline McGee (@carolinemcgee) and Digital Data Curator Kevin Long. The team worked with Embassy of Ireland staff and volunteers from Irish in Britain to help bring many people's special stories to the world via their donated and digitised objects. In total, 17 contributors came from across the UK to participate in the event, and Inspiring Ireland collected and digitised over 40 unique objects for sharing in upcoming exhibitions, including medals, correspondence, political pamphlets, photographs and even a Celtic kilt pin worn by a member of a pipe band.

The day's agenda included a speech by Ambassador of Ireland to Great Britain Dan Mulhall, (@danmulhall) who is an historian by training and who gave an excellent talk on the subject of 1916. Dr. Sandra Collins, (@sandricollins) Director of the National Library of Ireland, and Katherine McSharry, (@kmcsharry) Head of Outreach at NLI talked about the library’s role as a national memory institution, and Dr Natalie Harrower and Caroline McGee spoke about the weaving of public and private stories through treasured memorabilia in Inspiring Ireland.

Dr Natalie Harrower, Director of DRI, presents a copy of Royal Irish Academy publication '1916: Portraits and Lives' to Ambassador Dan Mulhall, with thanks from the RIA.

RTÉ News journalist Fiona Mitchell (@mitchefi) reported from the event, and the video can be viewed below:

The next Inspiring Ireland international collection day takes place in Glucksman Ireland House, New York on April 17th.


DRI is funded by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS) via the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and the Irish Research Council (IRC).

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