The Archives Department, University College Dublin, after consultation with the Franciscan Friars, has accepted custody of the papers of Éamon de Valera. An initial examination has been carried out to determine the preservation requirements and the archival processing needs of the collection.
It is proposed to produce a comprehensive and integrated descriptive list of the papers. This will resolve permanently the question of access to the whole collection. After processing, the papers will be microfilmed and made available for consultation. This will ensure the continued preservation of this immensely valuable research resource.
The full processing of the collection will begin almost immediately and will take three years. The papers will be fully available to researchers by the beginning of the year 2001. To minimise disruption to research, a number of limited measures will be possible to provide restricted access to the collection in the interim period. The Archives Department will continue to provide access to the three groups of documents already made available: 1916-21 Papers; Treaty Papers; Constitution Papers.
Such access will be provided by the production of photocopies only, as has been the case in Killiney with the Constitution Papers. It will not be possible to provide access to any other documents in the collection until processing has been completed. Access to the collection is subject to the standard conditions for access to all collections in the Archives Department, contained in the leaflet Rules for Researchers.
