The University of Galway has received funding to create a digital archive of letters from Irish expats in America over three centuries.
Minister for the Gaeltacht, Patrick O’Donovan announced that he has approved a grant of up to €36,408 for the University’s IMIRCE project.
This funding will enable the development of an archival site which will provide the public with remote access to letters sent home to Ireland from America between 1675 and 1950 and more.
A collection of transcripts of c. 10,000 letters, gifted by Professor Kerby A. Miller to the university, will be a foundational collection for the initiative.
Besides these transcripts, the collections will also include biographies, autobiographies, recollections, and ephemera (songs, poems etc.) – material that will henceforth be available online as a result of the project.
Minister O’Donovan said, “This project is intended to strengthen the connection between people of Irish extraction in North America and Ireland and to foster more interest in the country, encouraging people to visit, especially our Gaeltacht areas.”
“At the same time, IMIRCE will be a unique platform for the University of Galway and the State as we endeavour to foster ties with the diaspora, including the Gaeltacht diaspora.”
“To that end, I am pleased, as Minister of State, that my Department is in a position to provide a grant to the University of Galway to assist with this meaningful work.”
IMIRCE will be a unique resource for anyone, from professional to amateur researchers interested in family history and genealogy, the social and cultural history of Ireland or North America, linguistics, and literature.
This grant was approved under the Language Support Schemes for organisations based outside of the Gaeltacht, with more information available here.
