June Muintir na Tíre Archive Donated to NUI Galway

Archive tells story of Ireland’s most significant rural community development movement of the twentieth century

NUI Galway is opening to scholars and the public the archive of Muintir na Tíre (People of the Land), Ireland’s most significant rural community development movement of the twentieth century. The archive, donated to the University in 2016, is a major resource for understanding the development of rural Ireland in the last century and is now catalogued, selectively digitised and available for use. Professor Maurice Manning, Chancellor of the National University of Ireland, opened the archive during a two-day conference at NUI Galway on rural Ireland in the twentieth century.

Muintir na Tíre, was founded as a rural renewal movement in 1931. Its extensive archive, contains an abundance of material relating to social and economic conditions in rural Ireland, Irish rural civil society, the involvement of the Catholic clergy in local community organising, and rural civil society/state relationships over a period spanning more than 80 years. The collection consists of the administrative records of the headquarters of Muintir na Tíre, based in Tipperary Town, as well as records of some of the leading figures within the movement including Canon John Hayes, Archbishop Thomas Morris, Tomás Roseingrave, Jim Quigley and Pat Doyle. Coverage includes rural electrification, the parish plans of the 1950s, and a variety of national and European community development schemes from the 1970s onwards, most notably the Community Alert scheme. There are around 400 archival boxes of material in the collection.

Dr Caitriona Clear, Department of History, observes that “The Muintir na Tire archive tells of a hidden twentieth-century Ireland of community effort and enterprise, of men and women coming together to try to improve the lives of the many, rather than the few.   We are accustomed to seeing the history of early-twentieth-century Ireland as a narrative of failure, stagnation and repression. The story of Muintir and its members testifies to energy, optimism and sheer hard work over decades of difficulty.”

Over many years NUI Galway, in its teaching and research, has developed an internationally recognised specialist expertise in rural and community development. In addition, the more recent developments in Health Studies and Family Studies have witnessed fresh attention being paid to issues of social inclusion and intergenerational relationships in rural society. The Muintir na Tíre archive will significantly complement the University Library’s existing extensive collections relating to landed estates and social and economic conditions in rural Ireland. In tandem with collections at NUI Galway such as the John McGahern and Thomas Kilroy papers it will facilitate a better understanding of both the representation of Irish rural life in Irish fiction and of the social, cultural and political conditions in which Irish writers have functioned in the post-independence period. Researchers from outside the University will make extensive use of the archive.

The catalogue of the archive is accessible at https://tinyurl.com/yaf8l2fs and two of Muintir na Tíre’s journals, The Landmark and Rural Ireland, have been digitised and published online at https://tinyurl.com/ya8d2vt6.

John Cox, University Librarian, commented: “The archive of Muintir na Tíre is a great addition to our collections on rural Ireland. I have been particularly struck by the huge interest in it across a range of disciplines expressed by researchers at NUI Galway and other institutions in and beyond Ireland. It will be a valuable resource for teaching as much as research and our students will get great benefit from this generous donation by Muintir na Tíre.”

ENDS

                     Cartlann Mhuintir na Tíre Bronnta ar OÉ Gaillimh

Tá scéal na gluaiseachta forbartha pobail tuaithe is tábhachtaí san fhichiú haois le fáil sa chartlann

Tá OÉ Gaillimh ag cur chartlann Mhuintir na Tíre, an ghluaiseacht forbartha pobail tuaithe ba thábhachtaí in Éirinn san fhichiú haois, ar fáil do lucht léinn agus don phobal. Is áis thábhachtach an chartlann seo, a bronnadh ar an Ollscoil in 2016, a chuideoidh linn tuiscint a fháil ar fhorbairt na tuaithe in Éirinn sa chéad seo caite. Tá catalógú déanta ar an gcartlann agus tá digitiú déanta ar chuid di. Tá fáil uirthi anois. Sheol an tOllamh Maurice Manning, Seansailéir Ollscoil na hÉireann, an chartlann ag comhdháil dhá lá in OÉ Gaillimh faoin saol faoin tuath in Éirinn.

Bunaíodh Muintir na Tíre mar ghluaiseacht athnuachana tuaithe in 1931. Ina gcartlann fhairsing tá flúirse ábhair a bhaineann le cúinsí sóisialta agus eacnamaíocha shaol na tuaithe in Éirinn, sochaí shibhialta na tuaithe in Éirinn, an bhaint a bhí ag an gcléir Chaitliceach le himeachtaí pobail áitiúla, agus an caidreamh idir sochaí shibhialta na tuaithe agus an stát ar feadh níos mó ná 80 bliain. Is éard atá sa bhailiúchán ná taifid riaracháin cheanncheathrú Mhuintir na Tíre, atá lonnaithe i mBaile Thiobraid Árann, chomh maith le taifid a bhaineann le cuid de na daoine mór le rá sa ghluaiseacht, an Canúnach John Hayes, an tArdeaspag Thomas Morris, Tomás Roseingrave, Jim Quigley agus Pat Doyle san áireamh. I measc na n-ábhar a luaitear ann tá leictriú na tuaithe, pleananna paróiste na 1950í, agus scéimeanna forbartha tuaithe náisiúnta agus Eorpacha éagsúla ó na 1970í i leith, an scéim Pobal ar Aire go háirithe. Tá thart ar 400 bosca cartlainne den ábhar sa bhailiúchán.

Bhí an méid seo le rá ag an Dr Caitríona Clear, Roinn na Staire  “Insíonn cartlann Mhuintir na Tíre dúinn faoi Éire cheilte an fhichiú haois, faoi iarrachtaí agus fiontair phobail a bhí ar bun, faoi fhir agus mná ag teacht le chéile ag iarraidh saol an phobail trí chéile seachas saol an bheagáin a fheabhsú.   Nuair a thráchtar ar stair an luathfhichiú haois in Éirinn is gnáth go labhraítear ar theip, ar mharbhántacht agus ar chos ar bolg. Ach is scéal faoi fhuinneamh, dóchas agus obair chrua a bhí ar siúl ar feadh na scórtha bliain drochshaoil é scéal Mhuintir na Tíre agus a cuid ball.”

De thoradh an teagaisc agus an taighde atá ar siúl san Ollscoil le blianta fada, tá saineolas ag OÉ Gaillimh i bhforbairt tuaithe agus phobail agus aitheantas idirnáisiúnta aici dá bharr. Chomh maith leis sin, i bhfianaise a bhfuil tarlaithe le gairid i Léann na Sláinte agus Léann an Teaghlaigh, tá aird á tabhairt athuair ar cheisteanna a bhaineann le cuimsiú sóisialta agus caidrimh idir ghlúine éagsúla i bpobail tuaithe. Cuirfidh cartlann Mhuintir na Tíre go mór leis na bailiúcháin fhairsinge atá ag Leabharlann na hOllscoile cheana féin, a bhaineann le háitribh talún agus le cúinsí sóisialta agus eacnamaíocha sa saol faoin tuath in Éirinn. Díreach mar a dhéanann bailiúcháin eile in OÉ Gaillimh ar nós pháipéir John McGahern agus Thomas Kilroy cuirfidh an chartlann seo ar chumas daoine tuiscint níos fearr a fháil ar an léiriú a thugtar ar an saol faoin tuath in Éirinn i bhficsean na hÉireann agus ar na cúinsí sóisialta, cultúrtha agus polaitíochta inar fheidhmigh scríbhneoirí Éireannacha sa tréimhse i ndiaidh don tír neamhspleáchas a bhaint amach. Bainfidh taighdeoirí lasmuigh den Ollscoil an-leas as an gcartlann.

Tá teacht ar an gcartlann ag https://tinyurl.com/yaf8l2fs agus tá digitiú déanta ar dhá iriseán de chuid Mhuintir na Tíre, The Landmark agus Rural Ireland, agus tá siad foilsithe ar líne ag https://tinyurl.com/ya8d2vt6.

Bhí an méid seo a leanas le rá ag John Cox, Leabharlannaí na hOllscoile: “Cuireann cartlann Mhuintir na Tíre go mór leis na bailiúcháin atá againn a bhaineann le saol na tuaithe in Éirinn. Chuir sé an-iontas orm an spéis mhór atá á cur ag taighdeoirí ó dhisciplíní éagsúla in OÉ Gaillimh agus as institiúidí eile in Éirinn agus níos faide ó bhaile inti. Is áis luachmhar a bheidh inti don teagasc agus don taighde araon agus bainfidh ár gcuid mac léinn an-tairbhe as an mbronntanas flaithiúil seo ó Mhuintir na Tíre.”

CRÍOCH