CALLING ALL BOOK LOVERS
THE UCD LIBRARY APPEAL

The Library is at the heart of every great university and the James Joyce Library at UCD is an important resource for students and graduates. Our Library is unique in Ireland for the remarkable old and rare collections assembled over the years. Taking care of old and fragile books is an expensive business, so we have launched THE UCD LIBRARY APPEAL to help us ensure that these priceless treasures are preserved for future generations. Important manuscripts held in Special Collections include Leabhar na nGenealach or The Great Book of Irish Genealogies (1649-1653) by Dubhaltach Mac Firbishigh and Sir William Wilde’s History of Irish Medicine and Popular Cures (c1840). There is also a significant collection of historical maps, dating from the 16th century. Visual material includes the Gabriel Beranger watercolour collection, while in 1945 Count John McCormack bequeathed music scores, including the complete works of Bach and Handel. The Ó Cléirigh Institute holds over 15,000 manuscripts and 2,000 books originating from the 10th to the 20th centuries. Included in this deposit of a millennium of Irish history are the Annals of the Four Masters, Keating’s Foras Feasa ar Eirinn and archives of Irish colleges in Louvain, Prague and Rome. Sadly, many of the items within these collections were stored inadequately before they came to Belfield and are severely damaged or compromised as a result. Over 300 items have been withdrawn from use altogether and approximately 1,500 more, while still in use, are badly in need of repair. We urgently need funding so that essential work like damage repair, re-binding, digitisation and exhibition can be carried out on a regular basis. We are appealing to you, as a graduate of UCD, to help us ensure that these collections are not only preserved but augmented for future generations of students.

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