Digital Publishing Brownbag Series – Tim Robinson Archive

On Tuesday 1 November, NUI Galway Library will host a lunchtime event focusing on Digital work underway on the Library's Archives.

Our 2nd event in the series will focus on the Archive of Fear na Mapaí, Tim Robinson, which resides here at NUI Galway. This archive documents four decades of Robinson’s pioneering work in Irish landscape, which began in 1972 when he visited the Aran Islands with his wife Máiréad. His 1975 one-inch map of the Aran Islands was the first substantial map of the area to be created since the 6 inch Ordnance Survey map a century before, and its composition brought up several complexities that exist in this unique landscape, from place-names, to the geological, archaeological, and botanical features that are all inherent in the landscape. Beyond the publication of the map, he explored these subjects in a deep-mapping project of Aran, that led to the publication of two books, ‘Stones of Aran: Pilgrimage’ in 1986, and later ‘Stones of Aran: Labyrinth’ in 1995. His work brought him to map and consider the Burren and Connemara landscapes with equal emphasis, and in 1987, Tim and Máiréad won the Ford Ireland Conservation Award. They proceeded in the competition as Ireland’s official entry, and won the European Award in Madrid.

One particularly special element of Robinson’s archive is a meticulously accumulated index of the townlands of Connemara and the Aran Islands, which has inspired the Library’s first steps to a Digital Mapping project, focusing on Robinson’s archive, but with applications to future projects. This will be the focus of our inaugural Brownbag Pitch. As the name suggests, lunch will be provided, and we will take you through the story of the archive, the digital project, and plans for the future, before opening up the floor to some discussion about what parts of the project you consider useful, not useful, and if you think this has applications to your own research.

Everyone is welcome to the pitch, and registration is free, but for catering purposes, we would request that you please register, with details of how to do so at the bottom of this page.

Venue: Room G011, Hardiman Research Building, NUI Galway

Date and Time: Tuesday, 1 November 2016

Programme:

12:00     Lunch will be available from 12 in Room G011

12:30     Dr Nessa Cronin, Lecturer and Co-Director of the MA in Irish Studies, will introduce the work              of Tim Robinson

12:40     Aisling Keane, Digital Archivist at NUI Galway Library, will speak about the archive, its contents,              some examples of items of interest, and the work that has taken place on the archive so far

13:00     Dr Nessa Cronin will return to speak about creative engagement with the archive

13:10     Peter Corrigan, Head of Digital Publishing and Innovation at NUI Galway Library will speak about              the future of the project

13:25     Discussion and exchange of ideas

14:00     Session Ends

If you wish to attend this event please register on Eventbrite 

French Playboys of the Western World

As the build-up begins to the awarding of the designation of European Capital of Culture, a look into the archives reveal endless cultural exchanges between Galway, its people, place and of course culture and the continent. In 1984, La Baladin du Monde Occidental (The Playboy of the Western World) a French translation of the iconic play written by J.M Synge, was produced in Galway by a French theatre group - Théâtre du Pré Perché, a theatre group from Brittany. The play was produced at the Jesuit Hall in Salthill, a venue also used by other theatre groups such as Druid Theatre Company on various occasions.

A further French production of 'Le Balladin' and a programme for which is within the Druid Theatre Company archives at the Hardiman Library, NUI Galway, is a production by 'Théâtre des Treize Vents', the national dramatic centre of the region of Langeudoc-Roussillon, based in Montpellier. The programme contains numerous articles on the history of the play, information on the culture and history of the West of Ireland and a biography of Synge.

In 1896, Synge had a chance encounter with the poet and dramatist, W. B. Yeats, who gave Synge the now famous advice, which was to give up Paris and go to the Aran Islands. "Live there as if you were one of the people themselves; express a life that has never found expression." As well as the volume of essays published by Synge in his "The Aran Islands", the infamous 'Playboy' was born from that trip and as can be seen in these images, brought the wild stories of Christy Mahon to the French  language.  

Image from Aran Islands c.1894

The eagle-eyed among you may have spotted the new background image on our Twitter page. As well as providing a New Year's facelift, the image is question is one of the highlights among the many striking images from the Balfour Album which is housed here at the James Hardiman Library.

The Balfour Album of photographs was originally created in 1893-1895 by the Belfast photographer, Robert John Welch. It was a gift to the former Chief Secretary for Ireland, Arthur J. Balfour in recognition of his support for the building of the Galway-Clifden Railway. The album was presented to Arthur Balfour in the summer of 1896, a year after the railway had opened. It remained in the property of the Balfour family until 1987 when the Earl of Balfour offered to sell it to the National Library of Ireland. Staff at the National Library felt that it more properly belonged in Galway and it was accordingly offered to the Librarian of the James Hardiman Library who purchased it for the library's collection.

The large group of children, both boys and girls, are pictured mostly facing camera. They are standing in front of a cottage whose partially white-washed gable is visible. Many of the girls are wearing white pinafores. Some of the boys are wearing traditional Aran kintted clothing. Welch's use of the word "Firbolgs" in the caption possibly refers to the legendary motif that the Aran islands was the last bastion of the Firbolgs, a small dark race of people subsequently defeated by the Tuatha de Danann in Irish myth.

Reference Number: Bal/0018

The Balfour album is digitised in full online and can be viewed here