An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir Dec 2017 / Jan 2018 www.dfmagazine.ie 34 | military service (1916-1923) Pensions Project By CéCIlE GoRDoN – SENIoR ARChIVIST AND MSP PRoJECT MANAGER T he Military Service (1916-1923) Pensions Project is a joint Department of Defence and Defence Forces contribution to the Decade of Centenaries. The project is mandated to release the files and records of the Department of Defence dealing with the service of mem- bers of the Irish Volunteers, the Irish Citizen Army, the Hibernian Rifles, Cumann na mBan, Na Fianna Éire- ann, the Irish Republican Army and the National Forces from the period April 1916 to the 30th of September 1923. This involves cataloguing the files of those members who applied for service pensions but also medals, allowances and other gratuities as well as processing applications lodged by the dependants of the deceased members of those organisations. Files are processed according to stringent archival standards and each file is read entirely before data is inputted in our dedicated database. Each page is scanned manually as no automatic processes can be used with unique and very fragile archives. All the information contained on files (apart from Data Protection and other legal considerations) is made available online through phased releases on the Military Archives website. It is a meticulous process necessary in order for the project to yield as much new and unique information as pos- sible. There is now an unprecedented amount of archival material being made available to all in Ireland but also internationally. Through this rig- orous work, the Project has enjoyed positive interest from other bodies interested in setting up medium to large-scale archival projects involving extensive digitisation. The collection is the largest collec- tion in the Military Archives (around 250,000 individual files) and the Project is staffed with a dedicated team of archivists in Cathal Brugha Barracks. Material contains not only information on the leadership but also reveals unknown identities of the rank-and-file, gives a voice to the dead (through the dependants' claims), and has given us completely unique perspectives on the role of women during the War of Independence and the Civil War. The material offers possibilities for studying themes like military operation and military structure, of course, but also social and welfare history, politics and women's history. It is a national asset in the sense that, as a whole, the material conveys the idea of a common Irish history while showing a multiplicity of experiences and memories. There have been four releases from the Collection to date since January 2014, and in October 2017 a fifth tranche of MSPC files entered the public domain for the first time. Including this latest addition, around 20,000 scanned files relating to 6,563 individuals can be accessible online. To this can be added around 1,300 files forming the 'administration series' in- cluding the membership lists (pre and post-Truce) for the IRA, Cumann na mBan and Na Fianna Eireann. These offer a wonderfully rich contextual backdrop for the entire collection. So far, 850,000 individual pages have been scanned and made avail- able online. What is contained in the october 2017 release? • 343 IRA Civil War casualties. • 66 individuals executed during the Civil War. This brings the total number of individuals who were executed during the Civil War and whose files will have been released by the Project to 73. The total number of politi- cally related executions dur- ing the Civil War was 77 with a further 4 executed for criminal offences at that time. Of the 66 executed individuals included in this release 6 had service in the British forces and of the 277 total casualties 16 had previous service with the British armed forces and 1 had served with the Australian forces during WW1. • 352 claims lodged by dependants of deceased participants. • 5 veterans of Easter Week. • 300 claims lodged by women who were active during the War of Independence and Civil War. 11 applications were lodged by the dependents of deceased mem- bers of Cumann na mBan. October 2017 Release Wandsworth Prison

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