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Changed Utterly: recording and reflecting on the Rising 1916 –2016

The Proclamation TCD Papyrus Case 16 no.1
The Proclamation TCD Papyrus Case 16 no.1

The Library of Trinity College Dublin has launched a Long Room exhibition to commemorate the 1916 Easter Rising. Changed Utterly: recording and reflecting on the Rising 1916 –2016 will run from 1 March to the end of April.

The exhibition features exhibits of unique material from Trinity’s Manuscripts & Archives Research Library and Early Printed Books collections relating to the 1916 Easter Rising, including photographs, diaries, memorabilia as well as digital content. The display will trace methods of recording and reflecting on the Rising from the initial scramble to record the events as they happened in 1916; the commemorative activity of 1966 and through to the Library’s current project to capture and preserve the 1916 related websites produced in 2016.

Silver cup presented to Cadet R N Tweedy of the Dublin University Officer Training corps for service during 1916. TCD MUN/OBJ/25
Silver cup presented to Cadet R N Tweedy of the Dublin University Officer Training Corps for service during 1916. TCD MUN/OBJ/25

Highlights of the exhibition include:

  • The Library’s copy of the Proclamation, said to have been torn from the walls of the GPO, along with the World War I recruitment posters found pasted to the back
  • Photograph of British Troops in the Front Square of Trinity College Dublin
  • The scrapbook of Elsie Mahaffy, daughter of Trinity Provost John Pentland Mahaffy, and occupant of the Provost’s house during the Rising
  • Silver cup presented to a member of the Dublin University Officer Training corps for service during 1916
  • The casing of a bullet which pierced the roof of the Library during Easter week 1916.

    The casing of a bullet which pierced the roof of the Library of Trinity College Dublin during Easter week 1916
    The casing of a bullet which pierced the roof of the Library of Trinity College Dublin during Easter week 1916

The items displayed all appear on the Library’s popular 1916 blog project Changed Utterly – Ireland and the Easter Rising.

The exhibition also showcases the work of the Library’s 1916 Web Archiving project which sees the Library working in collaboration with the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford and the British Library to archive websites from both the Irish and UK web domains as they reflect on the 1916 Easter Rising.

Photograph of Troops in Front Square TCD/MUN/MC/207
Photograph of Troops in the Front Square of Trinity College Dublin TCD/MUN/MC/207

The exhibition and web-archiving project are part of the Library’s contribution to the Trinity College Dublin Decade of Commemoration.

 

All Changed, Changed Utterly

TCD MUN MC 207
TCD MUN MC 207

Changed Utterly – Ireland and the Easter Rising is a new blog project from the Trinity College Library Research Collections Division. Launching today, the 99th anniversary of the start of the 1916 Easter Rising, the project aims to explore the Library’s collections relating to the Rising through a year of weekly blog posts.

The posts will draw on the rich and diverse collections of 1916 material held in the Manuscripts & Archives Research Library, the Department of Early Printed Books and Special Collections, the Glucksman Map Library and the Music Library. Posts will focus on one extraordinary item or collection each week, and will include diaries, letters, pamphlets, photographs, objects and even items of clothing.

The posts will draw on the rich and diverse collections of 1916 material held in the Manuscripts & Archives Research Library, the Department of Early Printed Books and Special Collections, the Glucksman Map Library and the Music Library. Posts will focus on one extraordinary item or collection each week, and will include diaries, letters, pamphlets, photographs, objects and even items of clothing.

By starting in April 2015 the aim is to showcase the breadth of the 1916 collections and to act as a catalyst for research ahead of the anniversary in April 2016.

Helen Shenton, Trinity College Librarian and College Archivist with project leads Estelle Gittins, M&ARL and Shane Mawe, Early Printed Books and Special Collections
Helen Shenton, Trinity College Librarian and College Archivist with project leads Estelle Gittins, M&ARL and Shane Mawe, Early Printed Books and Special Collections

Blog posts are written mostly by Library staff, with contributions from Trinity College academics and other experts in the period. Each blog post will contain further links to entries in Trinity College Library catalogues, and to digitised items on TCD Digital Collections, as applicable.

The site can be accessed via www.tcd.ie/library/1916 where you can read the first entry – ‘The Howth Gun Running’. You can also follow on Twitter – @TCDLib1916.

Estelle Gittins