The Irish Manuscripts Commission (IMC) is a public body founded in 1928. Its remit is based on the principles of dissemination, preservation and promotion of original source materials in public and private ownership for the history and cultural heritage of Ireland.
Since 1930 the Commission has established a proud record of publication and it is recognised nationally and internationally as a publisher of primary sources for the histories and cultures of Ireland. It has overseen the publication of over 210 titles, mainly editions of original manuscripts. Its serial publication, Analecta Hibernica, of which the first volume appeared in 1930 and the 51st volume was published in 2020, is devoted to the publication of shorter manuscripts, lists and reports. It also carries reports of the Commission’s activities.
IMC continues to promote awareness of primary sources for history among the general public and to advise the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, when requested, on matters relating to manuscripts.
Today the demand for the Commission’s publications comes from a broad catchment area of scholarship. A wide range of disciplines need primary resource materials and rely on having available guides to, and calendars of, primary sources. These include historians (social, political and economic), anthropologists, linguists, political and social scientists, historical geographers, genealogists, demographers and those engaged in gender and cultural studies.
IMC publications are an essential resource for Irish Studies courses in academic institutions throughout the world. Copies of IMC publications are routinely lodged in thirteen copyright libraries throughout Ireland and the United Kingdom.
IMC receives an annual grant from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Art, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.