Museums And Archives

Heritage Reconnected: Celebrating 25 Years of CÓFLA Through Engagement and Preservation

We aim to significantly enhance the accessibility and engagement of two of our critical but underrepresented collections: The Traditional Sports and Pastimes and the Irish Overseas Archive. Through meticulous cataloguing, some digitisation, and a programme of community engagement, we aspire to illuminate the intricate narratives these collections hold, revealing the rich tapestry of Irish cultural heritage and diasporic history. For the Traditional Sports and Pastimes, our goal is to catalogue thousands of items, including valuable documents related to local sporting heritage, which remain largely inaccessible due to inadequate archival management. The Irish Overseas Archive presents a unique opportunity to explore the global journeys of Irish emigrants through approximately 250,000 items, including papers that trace back to influential figures and ordinary migrants. Our project will focus on indexing and digitising some of this collection to safeguard it against potential loss and to make it accessible for academic research and public curiosity.