An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir March 2020 www.dfmagazine.ie 10 | MIL ARCHIVES NEWS MIL ARCHIVES NEWS BY COMDT DANIEL AYIOTIS, OFFICER-IN-CHARGE THE MILITARY ARCHIVES VISIT FROM FOYLE COLLEGE GRAMMAR SCHOOL TO THE MILITARY ARCHIVES O n 5 February the Military Archives hosted a group of stu- dents from Foyle College Grammar School, Derry City. The 22 pupils, accompanied by 2 teachers, were visiting several locations as part of their study of Ireland under the Union 1800- 1900 and the Partition of Ireland 1900-1925 for their A Level history exams. The purpose of their visit to Dublin was to broaden their understanding of this time period. Departing at eight in the morning they had a busy schedule. Be- fore arriving at the Military Archives in the afternoon the group had already visited the National War Memorial Gardens at Islandbridge, the National Museum of Ireland at Collins Barracks, Arbour Hill, Glasnevin Cemetery and Dublin Castle. They had also undertaken their own walking tour of key sites relating to their studies includ- ing College Green, the Garden of Remembrance, the GPO, O'Connell Street and the Parnell and O'Connell monuments. Following some very welcome refreshments and an introduc- tion to the Military Archives in our lecture room, the class was divided into four groups and brought to the Commandant Peter Young Reading Room. Here Archivist Lisa Dolan, assisted by Military Archives' volunteer and visit coordinator Mr Tony Kinsella, had ar- ranged a workshop using a broad selection of primary sources from the 1916-1921 period. The workshop was aimed at introducing the young historians to identifying and understanding primary source records and, equally important, how to do so critically. During the workshop the pupils had to consider the values or attitudes reflected by the content of the documents presented to them, the intended audience, the reli- ability and limitations of the sources and the importance of cross referencing for corroborating or contradictory information. The first activity station invited students to examine a selection of documents and artefacts originating from the British Army in Ireland during the revolutionary period. These included: original documents signed by Major Bernard Law Montgomery (Monty) while stationed at Bere Island, Cork, (later Field Martial Montgom- ery, legendary WW2 commander and great rival of Erwin Rommel); the tunic of Lieutenant Edward Gerrard of the Royal Artillery, still bearing the bullet hole from when he was shot (non-fatally) during the 1916 Easter Rising, his photo album containing an image of him recovering in the Portobello Barracks hospital (now the Military Archives), and his statement to the Bureau of Military History; and an instruction from the General Officer Commanding the 6th Divi- sion in Cork prohibiting Officers from hunting at the height of War of Independence hostilities. The second and third stations covered intern- ment. One focused on the War of Independence and Ballykinlar intern- ment camp in particular, using the beautifully hand-illustrated prisoner autograph book known as the Book of Ballykinlar and a witness statement to the Bureau of Military History made by one of the internees, Francis O'Duffy. The other station focused on internment during the Civil War and introduced the students to archival assets such as the Civil War internment ledgers, again focusing on prisoners from the Derry area. The fourth station covered online resources available on the Military Archives' website. Here the students were introduced to using online assets to research IRA activity in their own locality, particularly the Military Service Pensions' applications, IRA nominal rolls, Brigade Activity Reports and Bureau of Military History wit- ness statements. Afterwards the groups reconvened in the lecture room with a nominated representative from each presenting their findings to the rest of the class. The students unanimously expressed that they had found the visit extremely interesting – not just the subject matter but also learning about the work of archivists, particularly those students applying for courses in History and Museum Stud- ies next year. They also found it very beneficial getting to find out about the personal stories and roles of Derry people during the War of Independence through contemporary primary source material. The visit ended with a tour of the Cathal Brugha Barracks Museum with CQMS Noel Montgomery (retired), introducing them to some of the wider history of the barracks and the Irish Defence Forces. The mission of the Military Archives is to acquire, preserve and make available Ireland's documentary military heritage. That final part, to make available, is something we consider to be a broad imperative. It is not enough for a national archival institution to just make available records in the reading room. Within the academic world, and the humanities in particular, Archivistics is an increasingly interdisciplinary pursuit. It fulfils a role in inform- ing many fields central to human experience, especially indi- vidual and collective identity and memory. Howard Zinn described archiving as "an inevitably political craft" but by acknowledging our subjectivity we humanise it. For this reason outreach activities are one of our core roles. Doing this in a collaborative and open spirit means that the Military Archives is in a position to share the history of Ireland's revolutionary past and find common ground with visitors from all traditions on the island. Hope- fully the visit from Foyle College achieved this and will become an annual event. Web: www.militaryarchives.ie Twitter: @dfarchives

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