Database for record of the Troubles

IN Northern Ireland there are people with private collections of material related to the Troubles. These could include pamphlets, publications, broadcast recordings, posters, badges or personal photos and home movies.

As that period, hopefully, is consigned to history, some of that material could be of enormous interest to researchers. Also, much of the older material could be at risk as paper and videotape do not age well.

Perhaps some of your readers have such information, or have acquired it from relatives.

ARK, a major research project by Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Ulster (www.ark.ac.uk), is working to create an online, searchable catalogue of qualitative materials relating to the Troubles. ARK has acquired funding to locate this material for the purpose of cataloguing and, if necessary, helping to preserve it.

Any material submitted will remain the property of the individuals and families who collected it. It will not disappear into some ‘ivory tower’, but will enable researchers to find out what is ‘out there’ and who owns it. Descriptions of all material that is listed will be indexed in a database that researchers and other interested parties will be able freely to access as part of the ARK website: www.ark.ac.uk/qual/conflict/search.html.

People who have generated or collected such materials, and would be willing to have them catalogued, should contact [e-mail], or phone the ARK office at 02871375500.

Dr Peter McLoughlin

ARK — Northern Ireland

Social & Political Archive

School of Sociology and Social Policy

Queen’s University

Belfast BT7 1NN