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Briain Kelly, 24 May
A collection of photographs documenting the history of University of
Galway has been published after being collected and archived in a project
sponsored by the Retired Staff Association.
More than 350 images, ranging from the late 19th century to the mid-1990s,
have been discovered and digitised to preserve the living history of the
university.
The collection illustrates the University in diverse ways from formal
occasions; to connections to the city and the region; to real-life stories
of students and staff; and the changing character and environment of the
campus.
The project began in November 2021 as part of the celebrations of the
175th anniversary of the foundation of the University in 1845. It was
supported by the University President’s fund for research into the history
of the University.
The result is visual history photographic database entitled Visual History
of the University of Galway, Retired Staff Collection, which involved a
partnership between research team and archivists in the University
Library.
The collection and searchable database is available online to explore the
long history and changing face of University of Galway.
President of University of Galway, Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, said,
“University of Galway is nothing without its people, its community. This
is the people’s history and we are indebted to the retired staff who have
brought forward a vibrant idea and brought new life to our University
while reflecting on our past.”
“We are delighted to have been able to support this project and the
community of retired staff and our Library colleagues in order to
illustrate our history and heritage and the people who made it. It is a
much richer tapestry for it.”
The Project was launched by Dr Lisa Griffith, Director of the Digital
Repository of Ireland. University of Galway is the first university in
Ireland to launch such a project, with a visual, fully-documented record
of its past, going back several generations.
The images are from private collections, and the project was made possible
because of the generous response of retired staff, friends, relations and
alumni who loaned their photos and shared their recollections.
It highlights the importance of students’ and staff’s individual, and
sometimes unexpected, perspectives in capturing the lived experience of
university life.
Together with the personal memories and research that accompany them, they
contribute to the social and institutional history of a period of
significant change in university education in Ireland.
The research team which led the project are Professor Jane Conroy
(Emerita, French); Dr SĂ©amus Mac MathĂşna (former RunaĂ/Academic
Secretary); Professor Stephen G. Jennings (Emeritus, Experimental
Physics); and History lecturer Dr Jackie UĂ Chionna.
They collaborated with Library colleagues on the development of the
digital exhibition, advising on digitisation, metadata and access
requirements.
Eimhin Joyce, Digital Projects Officer with the Heritage Collections and
Digitisation team, worked closely with them on the creation of the
exhibition using the University of Galway Digital Exhibition platform.