Archive is useless if access is restricted

AN awareness campaign by the Society of Archivists aims to promote ‘a network of archival repositories across Ireland, committed to preserving archives — the raw material of our country’s history’.

For the past few years I have been researching and writing my ninth book, a biography of WT Cosgrave (1880-1965). I kept this a secret, as no biography of Cosgrave had yet appeared and I wished mine to be the first.

Some months ago I decided to consult a relevant letter by General Richard Mulcahy which is in the Mulcahy Papers in UCD’s archives.