An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 37 material and an enhanced online search facility. The MSPC and the BMH represent two of the most important archival collec- tions on the revolutionary period in Ireland, not only for military history but also societal, economic and political research. Additional 2016 projects include a digital timeline for 1916; a 1916 calendar and exhibition; lectures; and a collaborative transi- tion-year project with the Department of Education and Skills and Maynooth University among others. The Military Archives has also been involved with a wide variety of institutions and groups, including the 2016 Project team, Royal College of Surgeons, Military History Society of Ireland, county programmes, GPO Witness History exhibition, the National Museum, Dept of Education and Skills, Maynooth University, RTE, BBC, UCC, Digital Repository of Ire- land, Irish Examiner, Irish Independent, Irish Mail, Irish Times, Journal.ie, and internationally in events including ones in Liverpool and Poland. The MSPC, as the government's primary project for the decade of com- memorations, has assisted in creating awareness of many of the lesser known events and partici- pants of the period. The issue of female participation having long been written out of the history of the revolution- ary period has been largely addressed and remedied through the release of the BMH and MSPC. The 1925 pension application of Margaret Skinnider (released online in Jan 2014) faced an initial refusal for payment under the Army Pensions Act due to her gender. The treasury solicitor confirms this interpretation of the act, writing: 'I am satisfied that the Army Pensions Act is only applicable to soldiers as generally understood in the masculine sense.' Skinnider subsequently applied under the 1934 Military Service Pension Act and was awarded eight years service towards a military pension in 1937 for her role in the Rising, which included receiving three gunshot wounds while leading a squad of five men on Harcourt Street, and her subsequent service. Many of the files contained in the MSPC highlight a wide variety of interesting narratives from the period. Michael Mc- Cabe's claim is one such case, detailing his membership of Na Fianna Éireann and the Irish Volunteers from 1911. His application outlines his involvement in the Howth gun running in April 1914, and his 10-day detention following his participation in the Easter Rising before being released due to his age. McCabe goes on to relate that in 1917 he joined the British Army, serving until April 1922, at which time he joined the anti-Treaty IRA as a sergeant major and drill instructor, taking part in raids on the Curragh Camp, Dublin Port and Docks/Customs House. He was captured after the surrender of the Four Courts garrison in July 1922 and interned for the remainder of the Civil War. Released in December 1923, McCabe re-enlisted in the British Army with the Gold Coast Regiment, Royal West African Frontier Force, in the 1930s, and served in WWII, which meant he had been involved in two world wars, a rebellion and a civil war. He was awarded nearly five years pension for his military service during the period 1916-1923. As part of the government's 2016 centenary capital project, the highly anticipated new Military Archives building will be com- pleted and open to the public in April 2016. This new facility will provide the necessary research and storage facilities to ensure the long-term preservation of these important records. The brief for the building required a central archive facility to provide a repository and reading rooms for Dept of Defence and Defence Forces archive material, equipped with a mobile stor- age shelving system to maximise space efficiency. The building had to be energy efficient, robust and low maintenance, provide optimum environmental conditions (temperature, humidity and light) for its contents, protection against fire damage, secure storage, and have retrieval functionality. An existing building (the Old Hospital) will be refurbished and adapted to provide research areas for readers studying archive materials; storage areas for collections requiring special conditions; and administration and ancillary areas. The end gable will be opened up to provide a new public entrance to the reading room. The new archive building stands be- hind this, comprising two levels of storage, with the lower recessed into the ground. The new building's two gables match the height and general outline of the Hospital gable, to which it is linked by a series of glazed bridges across a dramatically folded wall. The Military Archives has worked alongside the Office of D Engineers, project architects McCullough Mulvin, and the Depart- ment of Defence, to develop a state-of-the-art facility that will meet the requirements of the Military Archives to preserve these critically important records long into the future, a project that benefited greatly from the professionalism and knowledge of the late Lt Col Kelly (RIP). The Military Archives has facilitated a wide variety of institu- tions, groups and individuals in the provision of its records at no charge, thus ensuring the widest possible audience can be reached. We look forward to continuing to support a wide variety of individual research, plays, films, theatre, novels, publications and lectures. New Military Archives architectural drawings Application for Pension & Gratuity Margaret Skinnider 23rd February 1925. MSPC

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