Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from The Irish Times
Archives Awareness
On Wednesday the broadcaster and writer, Dr John Bowman, who is also a member of the National Archives Advisory Council, will launch Archives Awareness Month in Dublin City Library and Archive in Pearse Street, Dublin. The event is intended as a high profile occasion to draw public attention to an aspect of the nation?s life, which although better known in recent years, remains, in many instances, shamefully ignored, inadequately funded and, at times, wilfully misunderstood.
As in the nation so in the church. In the last twenty years or so the Church of Ireland has made significant progress in the care and custody of its archives. The appointment of professional archivists and the development of appropriate storage accommodation at the RCB Library in Dublin have provided the foundations for a Church of Ireland archive service which has proved to be of benefit both to the church and the wider community. The RCB Library now manages records from over 860 parishes, 18 dioceses and 19 cathedrals, as well as a wide range of related manuscript material. The Representative Church Body and the General Synod have transferred their records to the Library and, most recently, so too has the House of Bishops.
However, much remains to be done. The day to day responsibility of making available to increasing numbers of researchers those records which have been transferred to the Library leaves little time for sorting and listing and so, inevitably, there are considerable backlogs. Yet there is a need to continue to encourage local custodians to transfer archives both to assist their accessibility and to ensure their physical survival. The poor physical condition of many of the transferred records is due largely to years of unsuitable local storage. A publications programme, begun in 1994, has successfully publicised the RCB Library as a significant archival institution but the demands of maintaining the programme, both in terms of time and money, are considerable.
The Church of Ireland is much given to talking about the significance of its heritage. In the case of its archival heritage, whilst it has moved from talk to action, it has some part of that journey still to travel. Resources of staff, buildings and equipment are needed if the Church is to fulfil its archival responsibilities both to its own members and to the wider Irish society of which it is a valued part.
Today (Saturday) the Choir of St Andrew?s Church, Malahide, directed by Rodney Baldwin, will sing Evensong in the Cathedral of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, Bristol, where they will sing the services tomorrow (Sunday). In St Patrick?s Cathedral, Dublin, tomorrow (Sunday) the services will be sung by the Unicorn Singers and the Cathedral Choir returns from its summer break on Wednesday when Matins will be sung at 9.40 am.
Tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon the Archbishop of Dublin will commission parish readers in Donoughmore, Co. Wicklow, where the rector is the Revd Declan Smith while in St Michael?s Church, Ballina, the Tuam, Killala and Achonry Diocesan Mothers? Union Service will be held.
Tuesday will be the final day of the exhibition in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, entitled ?The Christ Church Cathedral Psalter in Context. Manuscripts from the Medieval Priory? which has been running since the beginning of June. At lunchtime, in the cathedral crypt, Dr Raymond Refaussé, Librarian and Archivist in the RCB Library and the curator of the exhibition, will give a lecture which will be an overview of the exhibition and the manuscripts on display. The exhibition will finally close to the public at 5.00 pm.
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