The Special Collections and Archives Department at ΊΪΑΟΙηβs Glucksman ΊΪΑΟΙη has been awarded significant funding to digitise the Shannon Development photographic archive.
ULβs Special Collections has been awarded around β¬125,000 (Β£107,365) in funding from the Wellcome Trust to catalogue, conserve, digitise and increase accessibility to the key photographic archive, which boasts around 25,000β36,000 original photographic negatives.
The funding is part of an overall award of Β£427,809 granted by Wellcome to the collaborative project βThe New Jerusalems: post-war New Town archives in Britain and Irelandβ, granted to a network of archives services to catalogue and conserve eleven post-war new town collections.
This funding award from Wellcome is significant for UL, as it will allow the Glucksman ΊΪΑΟΙη to hire dedicated project staff and to purchase the necessary materials to catalogue, digitise and rehouse the original photographic negatives taken by the Shannon Development photographers of Shannon Town, Shannon Industry and Shannon Airport.
The Shannon Development Photographic Archive was transferred to the Glucksman ΊΪΑΟΙη at UL in 2014. The collection comprises approximately 250,000 photographic items, including press cuttings, reports, brochures spanning over five decades.
Project lead Dr Kirsten Mulrennan said the project would ultimately make these unique images of Irelandβs only new post-war town more accessible to researchers, and encourage greater community engagement with the collection.
Developed in the 1960s to house the thousands of workers in the industrial zone and airport, Shannon was granted town status on 1 January 1982. Shannon Development was established by the Irish Government in 1959 as an agency to promote Shannon Airport and the broader Shannon region. Its key achievements include the building of Shannon town; the creation of the βShannon Free Zoneβ as the worldβs first modern free trade zone; and the development of a National Technology Park, located adjacent to the ΊΪΑΟΙη.
The archive chronicles the evolution of Shannon town, as well as the broader Shannon region (Clare, Limerick, North Tipperary, South Offaly, and North Kerry) from a large agricultural base to a leading industrial and tourism centre. Of particular significance are the photographs taken between 1959β1998, which visually capture the Shannon Development story, and provide unique insights into the life in Ireland in the latter half of the twentieth century.
UL ΊΪΑΟΙη Director Gobnait OβRiordan said: βThis project will enable global access to the Shannon Town archive for research and cultural heritage. The library continues to seek funding to make available the remaining collections of the full Shannon Photographic Archive including the Airport development, Shannon Free Zone and Mid-West Region.β
Dr Alina Congreve, an independent consultant in sustainable planning, who brought together the partners to work on the proposal said: βThere is renewed interest in many aspects of new town design as we reflect on how life might change in the aftermath of COVID-19.
βNew Towns have much to contribute to current policy making in urban planning and public health, including: wide pedestrianised shopping streets; generous public green space; amenities within 15 minutes of peopleβs homes; and supporting walking and cycling. It is exciting to be working with new towns across England, Wales and Ireland on this project,β she added.
The overall bid was developed by the Association of New Town Archives and Museums (ANTAM), which received initial funding from The National Archives (TNA) in the UK, through their βNetworks for Changeβ fund in 2020.
Follow the progress of the project on Twitter and on the Special Collections and Archives Department blog .