Beyond 2022 Reimagining and recreating our national archive It allows for the re-exploration of the history June 2022 marks the centenary of the destruction of the Public Record Office of Ireland (PROI). In one afternoon, seven of our island and the links forged over centuries with our neighbours Deepening All-Island and International Collaborations centuries of Ireland’s collective memories were destroyed. While not comparable with the loss of human life, the destruction of our national records was one of the great tragedies of Ireland’s Civil War. An Taoiseach Micheál Martin describes Beyond 2022 as ‘a landmark initiative, not just because of what it will achieve through ground-breaking technology, but because of its collaborative approach. It allows for the re- As part of the Decade of Centenaries, this summer will see the launch of the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland - the outcome exploration of the history of our island and the links forged over centuries with our neighbours’. of a five-year State-funded programme of research hosted at Trinity, entitled Beyond 2022 . Trinity College Library is a core partner in Beyond 2022, together with the National Archives of Ireland, the National Founded and directed by Dr Peter Crooks, associate professor in medieval history in Trinity, Beyond 2022 combines historical investigation, archival conservation and technical innovation to reimagine and recreate, through digital technologies, the archive lost on 30 June 1922. Archives UK, the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland and the Irish Manuscripts Commission. The initiative draws on a unique partnership of over 55 research institutions across Ireland, UK, Europe, North America and Australia. Their work democratising access to invaluable records now serves as a lasting and meaningful legacy of the Decade of Centenaries. Digital Futures The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland will be open-access, freely and permanently available to anyone interested in Irish history. An extensive and growing treasury of digitised records - scattered over space and time, but now reunited on-screen - brings ordinary lives buried in official documents back into the light. Creative Responses to a Global Challenge This research addresses a global challenge - how to recover from cultural loss - which has been the focus of the Trinity Long Room Hub’s recent lecture series, Out of the Ashes , an examination of cultural loss and recovery through the ages, from the destruction of the ancient Library of Alexandria to the contemporary vulnerability of digital archives. The Beyond Exciting developments in linked data and knowledge graph technologies will enable users to delve deeper into our digitised collections, identifying connections between people and places across seven centuries of Irish history. Through its immersive 2022 artist-in-residence, Mairéad McClean, based in the Trinity Long Room Hub, works through film, sound and photography to offer a creative response to the Four Courts blaze of 1922 and inspire new forms of engagement with our shared past. Web3D experience, online visitors will be able to re-enter the beautiful reading room of the PROI, as it appeared on the eve of destruction, and explore its reconstructed collections. Click here to watch the Beyond 2022 video
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