‘Open the Archives’: Introduction

Katie Breen examines a copy of ‘The Irish Times’, from 8 July, 1922, documenting the first days of the Irish Civil War
Katie Breen examines a copy of ‘The Irish Times’, from 8 July, 1922, documenting the first days of the Irish Civil War

#OpentheArchives at the National Print Museum

As part of her MA in Public History at University College Dublin, Katie Breen carefully selected and researched items from the Museum’s lesser-known archive.

“Being onsite at the National Print Museum for the last month has been such an incredible experience. While the museum had a fair idea about what was in their archive, combing through it and picking out what interested me, and being the first to research those pieces has been simply amazing. As a history student I chose to focus on the stories of the events and people in these pieces. In a living and working museum such as the National Print Museum, having an onsite archive filled with important newspapers and documents from the past is so important, and adds to the heritage of the museum which you can see and touch, just like the printing machines themselves!”
Katie Breen, MA, Public History, University College Dublin, Spring 2022

Katie Breen examines some photographs capturing the ‘Battle of the Four Courts’, printed in ‘The Irish Times’, Saturday, 8 July, 1922
Katie Breen examines some photographs capturing the ‘Battle of the Four Courts’, printed in ‘The Irish Times’, Saturday, 8 July, 1922

Éamon de Valera is installed as third President of the Republic of Ireland at a ‘brief and simple ceremony’ at Dublin Castle on June 25....

Over the coming days we will be sharing some of the carefully selected pieces from our archive chosen by Katie Breen across our social media platforms....

“Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist Party?” … In the early 1950s when anti-Communist hysteria swept across the United States of America, thousands of Americans had to ...