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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 14 Dec 2000

Vol. 528 No. 3

Adjournment Debate. - Folklore Commission Collection.

I raise this matter as a result of a parliamentary question I tabled on 21 November on the Folklore Commission. Many Members are probably not aware of the existence of the Folklore Commission. However, when I was a young boy 50 years ago I recall it collecting material from the older generation. It did that through recordings on gramophones and by taking information down in long hand. It got people's experiences of what life was like in the middle of the 19th century. Indirect knowledge probably dates back to the 18th century or earlier as a result of traditions and stories which were passed down by word of mouth.

I was surprised to learn that the works of the Folklore Commission were given to the department of Irish folklore at University College, Dublin in 1971 and that they are now the property of that university. I was informed in the reply to which I refer that there are 2,300 bound volumes in the main manuscripts and 1,100 bound volumes in the schools' collection and that there are also approximately 1,120 boxes of unbound material. The latter consist of a collection of sound recordings on gramophone discs, audio tapes, photographs, film and video tapes and a variety of plans, sketches and diagrams.

I am asking that this material, which was collected by the Folklore Commission since the foundation of the State 80 years ago, be distributed to the county and city libraries throughout the country so that people can gain access to it. It is a great pity that this material is not available locally. Later in the reply, I was informed that it can be examined at the Arts Building in Belfield on weekdays. That is reasonably helpful but most people with an interest in this matter do not want to come to Dublin to study items such as those contained in the collection. Schools, local newspapers and libraries should all be given access to this material. It would be of massive benefit to this country and its people, in terms of preserving our heritage, culture and history, if we could gain access to the first-hand experiences of those who witnessed events surrounding the land wars, the Land League, the Fenian uprisings, the Famine and the War of Independence.

I am requesting that this material be disseminated by University College, Dublin, to libraries in cities and towns where they can be examined and studied in order that people can learn from it. Unfortunately, many people do not appreciate local history until they become older. We love to listen to people who are 20, 30 or 40 years older than us and who have wonderful recollections about past events which we value. People are not learning from the recollections contained in the folklore department at UCD which date back 80 years.

I am familiar with a man who frequents one of the many public houses in which I drink. This individual is about 70 years of age and he has an incredible store of knowledge about local history which has never been recorded in any book or newspaper. He gained this knowledge from his grandmother who was born in 1856 and who, in turn, had an incredible recollection of events from the middle of the 19th century. She also picked up knowledge of local history from her parents and grandparents which dated back to the mid-18th century.

We are losing out on a large part of our culture because we are not particularly proactive in this area. I ask the Minister of State to make available the material to which I refer and to make a conscious effort to have it distributed in order that it might be gainfully used.

The Irish Folklore Commission was set up by the Government, at the instigation of Éamon de Valera, in 1935. It was responsible for the collection, preservation, study and exposition of all aspects of Irish folk tradition. Its establishment built on the earlier foundation of the Folklore of Ireland Society in 1927 and the establishment of the State-supported Irish Folklore Institute, 1930-34.

In 1971, on foot of the recommendation contained in the Report of the Commission on Higher Education, 1967, the Government transferred the commission's holdings to University College, Dublin. Funding for the new operation, to be carried out under the name of the department of Irish folklore, was channelled to UCD through the Higher Education Authority. Over the years the commission had assembled a large and important collection of source material and UCD was given responsibility for its preservation and publication.

To assist UCD in discharging this responsibility it was agreed between the Department and UCD that an advisory council should be set up to represent their joint interests. It was further agreed that the council should consist of ten persons, six to be appointed directly by the president of UCD and four to be nominated by the Minister for Education and Science. It was also agreed that the president of UCD would appoint one of the ten members as chairman.

In addition to teaching Irish folklore at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, the department of Irish folklore at UCD – in direct continuation of the work of the commission – undertakes the collecting, classifying and study of all aspects of Irish folklore. The holdings of the department of Irish folklore include two manuscript series – the main manuscripts, amounting to over 2,300 bound volumes, and the schools' collection, amounting to over 1,100 bound volumes, together with 1,124 boxes of unbound material.

The range and scope of the collections embrace not only all aspects of folk narrative tradition folk customs and beliefs, but also the entire field of material folk culture as well as folk music, song and dance. It contains significant amounts of folklore from every Irish county and is representative of the whole island of Ireland. There are also collections of sound recordings, both on gramophone discs and audio tapes, photographs – about 100,000 – film and video tapes and a variety of plans, sketches and diagrams. Approximately three quarters of the manuscript and sound holdings are in the Irish language, most of the remainder are in English. The collections also contain material in Scottish Gaelic and in the Breton and Manx languages.

The main bulk of the materials was assembled by full-time collectors working for the Irish Folklore Commission and these collectors were thoroughly familiar with the dialect and lore of their respective districts. The school scheme was carried out in the 1930s by primary school children aged 11 to 14 who followed carefully prepared guidelines and covered most of the country.

Since 1975, under the aegis of Comhairle Béaloideas Éireann, 17 main titles and three pamphlets have been published in the series Scríbhinní Béaloidis – Folklore Studies. As well as publication of material, the department of Irish folklore is also involved in occasional promotional activities to increase public awareness. These include: public lectures, workshops at summer schools, radio and television programmes and newspaper features. Photographic exhibitions and college days are also organised.

The Irish folklore collection is housed, as Deputy Deasy stated, in the Arts Building in Belfield and is accessible to members of the public, students, researchers, etc., free of charge. Almost 1,000 individuals visit the department each year. Visitors to the collection can obtain photocopies of material but are not allowed to publish any of the information obtained without permission. The Irish folk music section of the collection is housed at Earlsfort Terrace.

Material from the collection is also available in certain third level institutions to students, scholars and researchers but may not be published without the permission of UCD. Material for publication must be cleared by the department of Irish folklore but permission is granted in the vast majority of cases.

UCD has advised that for various reasons it is not possible to make the main manuscript collection available to county libraries. In particular, there are considerations concerning the sheer volume of records contained in the collection and the sensitive nature of some of the material – it is understood that it may include information on specific individuals – in the collection. Unlike the schools' collection, the materials in the main manuscript collection are not accessible on a county by county basis.

Members of the public can access the schools' collection through their county libraries, all of which have been supplied with microfilm copies of the locally relevant material. This collection has proved to be a most valuable asset in local studies and school projects.

So Éamon de Valera's initiative is going largely unheeded.

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