Music at the National Library of Ireland

This project, a collaboration between RISM Ireland, the National Library of Ireland and the DIT Conservatory of Music & Drama, sought to locate and catalogue the pre-twentieth century musical manuscripts, scores and librettos in the National Library, with a preliminary focus on uncatalogued materials.

The National Library holdings comprise the country's most comprehensive collection of rare music materials and will represent the most significant addition to the RISM Ireland database. They have the potential to contribute greatly to our understanding of Ireland’s multi-faceted cultural history and to place Irish musical history within an international context through RISM worldwide.

Scoping and feasibility studies were undertaken to establish the number uncatalogued of pre-twentienth century music scores and manuscripts held by the National Library of Ireland, and to determine the practicalities of RISM Ireland cataloguing the uncatalogued collections within the National Library.

Lead researcher: Dr Catherine Ferris
Research assistant: Lindsay Dowling