An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir April 2017 www.dfmagazine.ie 8 | REPoRt AnD PhotoS by SGT WAyNE FITzGERALD A ccording to Volunteer Ireland, which is the sup- porting body for all local volunteer centres and volunteering information services: "There were over 14,800 volunteers engaged with I-VOL and local volunteer centres in 2016 and these volunteers clocked up an incredible 490,000 hours of volunteering." Every institution, be it staffed permanently or voluntari- ly, is only as good as its people and while all members of the Defence Forces, permanent and reserve, volunteered to serve, there are also civilians within our organisation who work voluntarily for no pay. One of these, who has gone above and beyond an hour or two, is Mr Denis Mc- Carthy, who has been volunteering with Military Archives since 1979. On the 22nd February 2017, the staff of Military Archives held a special coffee morning in the Officers' Mess, Cathal Brugha Bks, for our volunteers, who come from many differ- ent backgrounds and services. In his opening address, Capt Daniel Ayiotis (2 i/c Military Archives) said: "The volunteer ethos is something that is at the core of the Defence Forces. We trace our lineage back to the foundation of the Irish Vol- unteers in 1913, still bearing the same insignia and the name 'Oglaigh na hEireann'. Since the foundation of the National Army in 1922 our ranks have been filled by volunteer soldiers and never conscripts. This same volunteer ethos serves a very significant role in Military Archives, and it is to recognise the contribution of our volunteers that we are here today." He then listed the volunteers who have helped Military Archives on many projects over the years, like Sgt (retd) Gerry McCann, who catalogued the Air Corps Vertical Nega- tive collection; Flt Sgt (retd) Jim Perkins, who is currently cataloguing over 300 uniforms; Lt Col (retd) Richard Cum- mins, who has catalogued many high-level collections; and Tony Kinsella, who has catalogued collections including the glass plate negatives; and, finally, Denis McCarthy BSc, who has been volunteering with Military Archives for over 30 years. Denis started his connection with Military Archives while researching articles and projects in the 1970s: he was a prolific contributor of articles to An Cosantóir, writing extensively on Defence Forces armoured vehicles. His first article, in September 1974, 'Thanks, But No Tanks!' was followed in March 1975 by 'Armour in the War Years - Ar- moured Car Mark IV' and in August by the first of a series titled 'Armoured Fighting Vehicles of the Army'. Denis went on to write many articles in this series, covering many of the vehicles that seen service in the Defence Forces since its foundation. In all, he penned 30 articles over a 20-year period for An Cosantóir. Denis went from writer/researcher to highly-trusted volunteer with Military Archives in 1979, which was then under the command of Comdt Peter Young. Over the last 30 years he has seen Military Archives' collection and location change dramatically. He was an important part of the unit's modernisation, being responsible for introducing comput- erisation and for creating Military Archives' first database. Lisa Dolan, archivist and Head of Volunteer Projects at Military Archives said: "Denis's database has been continu- ally modified, and he continues to work with our archivists to enable the database meet their needs. "Denis is currently cataloguing internee files from the Emergency, the output of which will be added to our gen- eral catalogue. Over the years he has created thousands of catalogue entries and, most importantly, assigned physical locations to each collection." The work the Military Archives volunteers do, be it a few hours a day or a few hours a week, cannot be underesti- mated. Without their enthusiasm and expertise, students and researchers wouldn't be able to access the number of files and photographs now available that are key to many a thesis or book. We commend Denis and his volunteer col- leagues for their continued assistance and wish them every success in their personal and professional lives. Lisa Dolan, Denis McCarthy, and Capt Daniel Ayiotis. Staff and volunteers of Military Archives and the Air Corps Museum and Heritage Project. A small collection of Military Archives items on display. I NEED A volUnteer!

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