By Clare Ryan The Clayton Woollen Mill Collection, housed in the Meath County Archive, preserves over a century of records (1888–1969) and offers a rare, documentary view of one of Ireland’s most significant textile enterprises. The Clayton Woollen Mill, on the banks of the River Blackwater in Navan, operated from 1867 to 1968 and became … Read more
By Joanne Rothwell The workhouse schoolmistress was tasked with instructing the children, taking them out for exercise and ensuring their discipline and moral character. She was subject to inspection by the Board of Guardians and the National Board of Education. In their advertisement for an infant schoolmistress in the Waterford News and Star on 19 … Read more
By Ciara Fahy The Forster and Kelly family papers, preserved in Clare County Archives, document more than three centuries of Irish history. They include leases, wills, correspondence and estate accounts, but it is the rent books and ledgers that most clearly show the everyday running of estates in north Clare and the gradual decline of … Read more
By Lorraine McCann The main collection of cemetery records held in Louth County Archives is the Dundalk Joint Burial Board collection for St Patrick’s Cemetery at Dowdallshill, Dundalk. St Patrick’s is one of two graveyards operated and maintained by Louth County Council, the other being the relatively new Newtown Cross Lane Cemetery at Newtownstalaban, Drogheda, … Read more
By Catherine Wright The records of John Tate’s Charity are perhaps one of the more unusual collections in Wicklow County Archives. Founded as a bequest in the will of John Tate in 1787, the charitable trust supported the poor inhabitants of the parish of Rathdrum for over 200 years. Remarkably, the charity is still in … Read more