Join me for an online talk: Ireland’s Undiscovered Past: the 1800s Ireland in the 1800s using the rediscovered treasures from the Virtual Treasury. The talk is part of the National Archives Finding Ireland series. It’s online and free but you do need to book: Book - Ireland’s Undiscovered Past

The history of 19th-century Ireland was dominated by big events, big men and big problems. The Act of Union of 1800, the Great Famine, and the campaign for land rights and Home Rule are among the most prominent events that shaped the country, while Robert Emmet, Daniel O’Connell and Charles Stewart Parnell all loom large over popular understanding of the century.

However, in this talk Historian Gillian O’Brien will delve into the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland in search of some lesser-known men and women and uncover their unexpected stories to reveal new interpretations of Ireland’s recent past.

This talk showcases the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland, an international digital humanities project that aims to reconstruct the lost state collection of Ireland following the destruction of the Public Record Office of Ireland in 1922.