Folklore archive is there for all to see

IN your feature article headlined ‘There is a touch of the seanchaí in us all’ (September 23), we note that storyteller Batt Burns mentions “a fabulous collection of stories… ”

He says it is “a shame” that many of these are currently gathering dust at the National Folklore archives at University College Dublin.

In fact, the archive is open to the public, Monday to Friday, 2.30pm-5.30pm. As well as this, copies of the Schools Manuscripts Collection were made available to county libraries across the country many years ago.

Furthermore, elements of the collection have been digitised and representations from the archive, in manuscript, photographic and audio formats, are available on the UCD website through the IVRLA (Irish Virtual Research and Library Archive).

Finally, a large corpus of material from the archive has been published over the years in Irish and in English in book form, in monographs, on compact disc and through the media.

The National Folklore Archive is indeed a unique resource for researchers, artists and the general public. Professional and amateur storytellers, poets, dramatists and others draw on its collections in their work on a regular basis. We might also mention that the archive is actively increasing its holdings and welcomes contributions from members of the public.

Dr Ríonach Uí Ógáin

Director

National Folklore Archive

Newman Building

UCD

Belfield

Dublin 4