Ireland’s Memorial Records
Ireland’s
Memorial Records
Archives
& Special Collections has arranged a display to mark the centenary of the
ending of the First World War. The printed volume in the display case in the foyer
of the Hardiman Building comes from our set of the eight volumes of the Irish Memorial Records, originally
published in 1923 by the Committee of the Irish National War Memorial.
Prolonged debate had taken place in many countries both during and after the
War concerning an appropriate means by which the dead should be commemorated.
Initially many families had demanded the return of their loved one’s remains
but the scale of the casualties had quickly precluded this from happening. In
Ireland matters were further complicated by the huge shifts in public opinion
and political life wrought by the events of the revolutionary period. The
Committee of the Irish National War Memorial was established in 1919 with
Field-Marshal Viscount French of Ypres as its first President. The Committee’s
principal legacies are the Irish War Memorial Gardens at Islandbridge, Dublin
and the publication of these volumes, funded by public subscription. The latter contain over 49,000 names of men
who died during the First World War.
The
volumes were produced by the well-known contemporary Dublin publishers, Maunsel
& Co. and include fine handmade paper. The page borders were created by
Harry Clarke, then enjoying a significant reputation as an artist both in
stained glass and other media. One hundred copies of each book were printed and
they were intended to be available in most reference libraries. A list has been
compiled in recent years of the whereabouts of 35 surviving sets of the Memorial Records. The set held by this
library is apparently the only set in the West of Ireland. Our volumes are
available for consultation by researchers in the Archives & Special
Collections Room in the Hardiman Building.
From
the outset problems were experienced by those assembling the names as to the
definition of “Irish” and criteria for inclusion in the volumes. There was, as
we see in our display, also some confusion concerning duplicate entries. The
volume on display exhibits the entry for Robert Gregory, of Coole Park, Gort,
county Galway, who died in January 1918. The two entries appear to both refer
to the same Robert Gregory. Over the years researchers have indicated that the Memorial Records are not a definitive
list and that there are other Irish men who died in the War who are not listed
in the volumes for various reasons, principally to do with the location at
which they joined the forces or were killed.
The
Irish War Memorial Gardens were designed by the renowned architect, Sir Edwin
Lutyens, and eventually built between 1933-1939. They are now in the care of
the Office of Public Works. For more information see http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/dublin/warmemorialgardens/ & http://opwdublincommemorative.ie/
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