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Irish History Collection
A go-to resource for all aspects of Irish history from the earliest times. Try out our online catalogues to find our more.
The Royal Irish Academy Library’s collection of books and pamphlets on Irish history, biography and archaeology, built up over a period of more than two hundred years, forms the core of the research collection in current use. The collection covers all time periods, from pre-history to the present, and the Library actively collects local as well as national history. In addition to acquiring recently published books by purchase and donation, the Library has strong antiquarian holdings in Irish studies, many of which were acquired by donation or bequest from Academy members.
The Library’s holdings in Irish history, biography and archaeology are available for consultation by registered readers in the Library Reading Room.
Catalogue records for most books in the Academy’s Irish history collection are available on the online Main Catalogue.
Reference works, editions of documents, and other core titles in Irish History are generally located on the Reading Room shelves, while less heavily used books and antiquarian items are stored in closed-access sections of the Library.
Irish history periodicals, including many journals published by local historical societies, are also available for consultation in the Academy Library. The most frequently used titles are shelved in the Library Reading Room, while a further selection is housed in closed-access areas of the Library. The online Periodicals Catalogue provides a record of the extent of Academy Library holdings of individual periodical titles. The catalogue does not index the individual articles within periodicals.
Bibliographies of Irish History
For bibliographical records of books and articles on Irish history in general, consult the free Irish History Online bibliography, compiled by Irish History Online (under the aegis of the Academy Library). Coverage is most comprehensive for late twentieth-century publications, though the scope of the Irish History Online bibliography is being extended retrospectively, as well as being updated according as new material is made available in print.