This afternoon a seminar took place to mark the 90th anniversary since the announcement in Dáil Eireann on 17 October 1928 of the membership of the newly formed Irish Manuscripts Commission. Today’s event kicked off with the launch by the Ceann Comhairle, Seán Ó Fearghaíl TD of the Irish Manuscripts Commission Strategic Development Plan for 2018-2022. To much amusement the Ceann Comhairle pondered if in 90 years time IMC might be publishing a primary sources based on the collected Tweets of various social-media savvy politicians! The launch of the new plan was followed by four short presentations reflecting both the people who were so important in the foundation of the Commission and its early publishing programmes, chiefly Eoin MacNeill, and also exciting updates on two projects with which IMC is associated and which use the best of modern techniques to make sources for history available for the widest possible study. Pictured to the right are (L-R) Ceann Comhairle, Seán Ó Fearghaíl, TD, Dr Michael Kennedy (DIFP, Royal Irish Academy), Dr Elva Johnston (UCD), Dr Peter Crooks (Beyond 2022, TCD) and Zoë Reid (1922 PROI salved materials, NAI). The IMC Chair, Professor John McCafferty thanked the speakers for making the seminar such a special occasion. Of course a birthday party isn’t a party without cake, so there was plenty of cake to mark this special day.
