![]() ![]() ![]() This collecting scheme was initiated by the Irish Folklore Commission, under the direction of Séamus Ó Duilearga and Séan Ó Súilleabháin, Honorary Director and Registrar of the Commission respectively, and was heavily dependent on the cooperation of the Department of Education and the Irish National Teachers’ Organization. The Schools’ CollectionĪpproximately 740,000 pages (288,000 pages in the pupils’ original exercise books 451,000 pages in bound volumes) of folklore and local tradition were compiled by pupils from 5,000 primary schools in the Irish Free State between 19. The replies to the questionnaires comprise an important element of the Main Manuscript collection. Other subjects included The Feast of St Martin, The Last Sheaf, The Blacksmith, Roofs and Thatching, Ball Games, Matchmaking, Hurling and Football, The Great Famine, Funerary Custom, Food, Dress etc. The topics investigated varied greatly, the earliest questionnaires dealing with subjects as varied as Holy Wells and ‘Tally Sticks’ (‘ Bataí Scór’). In addition to submitting occasional items of local folklore recorded by them, these men and women also sent detailed responses to more than a hundred different Commission questionnaires concerning a variety of topics. A number of these were school teachers from throughout Ireland who had developed an interest in, and an understanding of, folklore in their local districts from their participation in the 1930s Schools’ Folklore Scheme. In addition to its team of full-time collectors, a great many part-time and voluntary collectors contributed to the work of the Commission. ![]() The Collection also includes in-depth descriptions of the Famine period in Ireland (1845-1849), first-person recollections of the historically significant 1913 Lockout and the 1916 Rising, as well as oral traditional accounts of historical figures such as Daniel O’Connell (1775-1847), making it a valuable primary source for scholars and educationalists. Galway Anna Nic a’ Luain of the Blue Stack mountains, Co. The Main Manuscript Collection features transcribed tales from some of Ireland’s most famous traditional storytellers, including Peig Sayers, the Great Blasket, Co. The Collection can be said to encapsulate the following 14 key subject areas of Settlement and Dwelling, Livelihood & Household Support, Communications & Trade, The Community, Human Life, Nature, Folk-Medicine, Time, Principles & Rules of Popular Belief & Practice, Mythological Tradition, Historical Tradition, Religious Tradition, Popular Oral Literature and Sports & Pastimes. They include valuable contemporary descriptions and biographical information relating to informants. These diaries are also included in the Main Manuscript Collection. All full-time collectors were expected to keep a diary documenting contextual information about recording sessions, their informants and their working day in general. A large proportion of the material taken down by full-time collectors consists of verbatim transcripts of field recordings made on Ediphone (wax cylinder) recording machines and, in subsequent years, on gramophone disks and tape recorders. These collectors were thoroughly familiar with the dialect and lore of their respective districts. The bulk of the Collection was assembled by full-time collectors working for the Irish Folklore Commission, for example Seosamh Ó Dálaigh in County Kerry and Seán Ó hEochaidh in County Donegal. The Main Manuscript Collection consists of 2,400 bound and paginated volumes - approximately 700,000 pages of material. It also recorded significant amounts of material in Scots Gaelic and Manx. In recognition of the ongoing decline of the Irish language, and the likely loss of tradition associated with this process, the Commission directed considerable resources to recording Irish-language tradition bearers in the early years of its operation. It features folklore recorded from across the 32 counties of Ireland, in both Irish and English. It is recognized as one of the largest collections of its kind in Western Europe. The body of material that makes up the Main Manuscript Collection, assembled by the Irish Folklore Commission and its successors, preserves an important record of Ireland’s oral tradition and material culture. The original holdings of the NFC are divided into collections: The Main Manuscript Collection The NFC, which is located in UCD, includes the following records: The objectives of the National Folklore Collection (NFC) are to collect, preserve and disseminate the oral tradition of Ireland. National Folklore Collection (NFC) and its collectionsĬopyright, digital preservation, sensitive material and contact National Folklore Collection (NFC) and its collections. ![]()
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