The following is a press release written by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission:

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) has announced new and revised finding aids recently made available online, along with fresh uploads to the Texas Digital Archive, its repository of electronic items.

The State Archives preserves and documents the heritage and culture of Texas by identifying, collecting and making available for research the permanently valuable official records of Texas government, as well as other significant historical resources. Finding aids are written guides to archival records, including descriptive information and a folder inventory, and help researchers in the use of holdings that have been prepared for research. 

Researchers are invited to visit the State Archives during public service hours: 9:00 a.m. – 4:45 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. on the second Saturday of each month. Appointments to use archival materials are encouraged but not required. For more information, see www.tsl.texas.gov/arc/visit.

TSLAC provides access to online finding aids online at www.tsl.texas.gov/arc. A comprehensive list of all recently added and updated finding aids can be found in TSLAC’s online catalog at https://bit.ly/TSLACnewcollections. Contact archives reference staff at 512-463-5455 or archinfo@tsl.texas.gov to learn more about finding aids. 

New Finding Aids

Manuscripts

Friends of the Governor’s Mansion records are tour schedules, function sheets, docent manuals, historians' notebooks, correspondence, notes, oral histories, agendas, newsletters, electronic newsletters, invitations, financial reports, meeting minutes, renovation documents, historical information about the mansion, furniture and furnishing inventories, loan documentation, photographs, film reels and a VHS videotape about the history of the mansion, and ephemera related to the Docent's Committee, 1937, 1964-2023, and undated, bulk 1979-1995. A portion of these materials have been digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive.

The Sharpstown stock-fraud litigation case file encompasses subpoena records, trial testimony, trial notes, opening witness documents, closing jury arguments, appellate research, and appellate briefs submitted to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals pursuant to the trial in Abilene, Texas; and the opinion issued by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals at the conclusion of the appeal.

W. Lee O’Daniel collection, dating 1937-1948 and undated, consisting of photographs, artwork, maps, scrapbooks, and a lacquer disc recording of his "Hillbilly Boys" radio show. These document O'Daniel's family; political campaigns; his farm near Burleson, Texas; and news of the day. A portion of these materials have been digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive.

State Records

Texas Health Care Disparities Task Force meeting files consist of minutes, agendas, and supporting meeting documentation, dating 2002-2004.

Texas Health Care Information Council records are minutes, agendas, and supporting documentation of meetings of the council held between 1996 and 2004, and the agency's Sunset Commission review report and remarks from 1998; the bulk of the records date 1996-1997.

Texas Health and Human Services Commission Office of Inspector General organization charts showing the structure of the Office of the Inspector General, dated 2006-2022. 

Texas Statewide Health Coordinating Council meeting records dating 1977-1996, consisting of minutes, agendas, and supporting documents (including committee minutes, correspondence, council resolutions, and reports). 

Texas Department of State Health Services Promotor(a) or Community Health Worker Training and Certification Advisory Committee minutes and agendas, 2002-2013, documenting the work accomplished by the committee at its meetings.
 

Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services Council meeting records, 2005-2016, containing minutes, agendas, and supporting documents of meetings of the DADS Council.

Texas Secretary of State labor records, dating 1943-1979, consisting of labor exemption orders (1943-1971) and labor organizer card applications as filed with the office of the Secretary of State between 1943 and 1979, along with related materials such as labor organizer card revocation files and correspondence; and annual reports of Texas-based labor unions (1949, 1951, 1975-1978).
 

Revised Finding Aids

Manuscripts
A new TSLAC finding aid is now available for the Henry Arthur McArdle scrapbooks, which have been newly digitized and are available in the Texas Digital Archive. In addition, the online exhibit for the McArdle scrapbooks has been revised and redesigned, and the scrapbook images are also available there. We think you’ll like the new look of this very popular online exhibit.
 

Beauford H. Jester Railroad Commissioner campaign recordings and transcripts – all materials have been digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive. 

Price Daniel audiovisual materials and related papers - all materials have been digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive.
  

Texas Brewers’ Institute records – includes digitized materials that are part of the Texas Digital Archive. 

Zarh Pritchard collection – includes digitized materials that are part of the Texas Digital Archive.

State Records

Republic claims: TSLAC now has an improved researcher experience available for the Republic claims portion of its Texas Comptroller's Office claims records, including a revised TSLAC finding aid available. The Republic claims portion of the records has been digitized and is part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Texas Attorney General's Office Howard Hughes estate litigation case file

Texas Attorney General's Office litigation case files – includes electronic records that are part of the Texas Digital Archive.
  

Texas Attorney General’s Office, Office of the Solicitor General litigation case files

Texas Capitol Building Commission administrative records and architectural drawings – includes digitized records that are part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Texas Department of Water Resources water planning files

Texas Ethics Commission records – includes electronic records that are part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Texas House of Representatives recordings – all recordings are part of the Texas Digital Archive
  

Texas Secretary of State deed files

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division election returns (precinct-by-precinct) 

Texas Department of Transportation Right of Way Division records – all records are part of the Texas Digital Archive.
  

Texas Board of Criminal Justice minutes and meeting files – includes electronic records that are part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Texas Bureau of State Health Planning and Resource Development records 
  

Texas Historical Commission Community Heritage Development Division records

Texas Secretary of State legislative bills and resolutions filed (General and special laws) – includes digitized records that are part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Texas Water Development Board Office of Project Finance and Construction Assistance records – includes electronic records that are part of the Texas Digital Archive.
  

Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation records – includes electronic records that are part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Texas Executive Council of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Examiners records– includes electronic records that are part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Texas Department of Agriculture audiovisual materials – majority of the materials have been digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive.
  

Texas Secretary of State bonds and oaths – majority of the records have been digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Texas Water Commission minutes

Texas Water Development Board meeting files
 

Texas Department of Agriculture audiovisual materials – majority of the materials have been digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive. 

Texas Secretary of State bonds and oaths – majority of the records have been digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive. 

Texas Water Commission minutes
  

Texas Water Development Board meeting files

Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation records – includes electronic records that are part of the Texas Digital Archive. 

Texas Executive Council of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Examiners records– includes electronic records that are part of the Texas Digital Archive.
  Local Records

Galveston County (Tex.) County Clerk's Office records

###

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The following is a press release written by the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland:

60,000 pre-and-post famine names for family historians to explore in new Population Portal

175,000 new historical records are now freely available online in the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland to mark the 103rd anniversary of the Four Courts blaze that destroyed the Public Record Office of Ireland, and with it seven centuries of Irish history.

Launched three years ago, the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland (VRTI) is now home to over 350,000 records and 250 million words of searchable Irish history. Led by Trinity College Dublin and supported by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport, the project brings together historians, computer scientists, archivists, and librarians working to digitally recreate Ireland’s destroyed public record office and its lost collections.

Among new treasures freely available online today for the first time are 60,000 names from the 19th-century census destroyed in 1922. Painstakingly compiled from transcriptions preserved in National Archives of Ireland and Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, these recovered transcripts of census returns reveal ordinary lives across the island of Ireland in the decades before and after the Great Famine.

New in the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland for 2025:

• Population Portal: genealogical riches include 60,000 names from the 19th-century census destroyed in 1922. (NAI, PRONI, Trinity)
• The Age of Revolution Portal: documents illustrate the drama of the 1798 Rebellion and Ireland’s links to the American Revolution. (PRONI, NAI, Library of Congress, TNA)
• The Age of Conquest Portal: five million words of Anglo-Norman (1170-1500) Irish history translated into English. (TNA, IMC, NAI, Trinity)
• State Papers Ireland: (1660–1720) over 10 million words on governing Ireland in the dramatic years following Cromwell’s death. (TNA)
• Knowledge Graph Explorer: a powerful new tool for identifying people and places, and the links between them, in the records. (ADAPT Research Ireland Centre)

Trinity historian Dr Peter Crooks, Academic Director of the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland, said: “We are excited to release our latest collections freely online for citizen researchers, students, and the academic community. The scale, scope, and significance of these materials is remarkable. They will be of huge interest to anyone exploring Ireland’s story as a global island. Thousands of names of individuals from before and after the Great Famine; extensive intelligence reports from the Tudor era; and a host of medieval records presented in English alongside the original Latin parchment — these vast and varied collections are a testament to the power of collaboration.

“A stand-out for me is the extraordinary detective work by our research team and partners in Dublin and Belfast on the pre-Famine census returns. Millions of names were lost, tragically, in 1922 when those records went up in flames. But today, on the 103rd anniversary of the fire, we are releasing more than 60,000 names newly recovered from those very census returns. It’s a tremendous achievement. What we have uncovered after years of painstaking archival work will help families across the world trace their story deeper into the Irish past.”

The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland  is supported by the Irish Government through funding from the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport under Project Ireland 2040 and is freely and permanently available online at Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland (virtualtreasury.ie).

Patrick O’Donovan, Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, said: “The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland is a wonderful legacy for our Decade of Centenaries. It offers an invaluable historical resource for people of all ages and traditions across the island of Ireland and abroad, and democratises access so that our shared history is more accessible and engaging for everyone.

“These new releases are very exciting and I commend the team in Trinity College Dublin, who have led the project with such vision, ambition, integrity, and care. I would like to acknowledge also the core partners – the National Archives of Ireland (NAI), the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), the National Archives UK (TNA), the Irish Manuscripts Commission (IMC), and the Library of Trinity College Dublin – as well as the many other participating institutions who have so generously and enthusiastically shared their archival collections, as well as their time and expertise. From the beginning, all-island and international collaboration has been a cornerstone of the project’s success.

“The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland has enabled local communities and family historians to explore their own histories in new ways, through the freely accessible archival records and innovative technologies. This creative approach, underpinned by academic rigour, allows for new perspectives and a greater understanding of what we thought we knew already.  It is very inspiring to see how the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland has encouraged and stimulated new research and scholarship.  I encourage everyone to delve into the Treasury and its archival collections, and discover for themselves the riches contained within these records.”

Dr Linda Doyle, Provost of Trinity College Dublin, added: “The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland is a beacon project demonstrating the power of interdisciplinary research, advanced technologies and strong partnerships to achieve significant societal impact. The release of so many fascinating new records for free to the public is another impressive milestone and will be of interest to diverse audiences interested in preserving and exploring our shared past. The project is underpinned by rigorous academic scholarship, the ethical application of artificial intelligence, as well as many fruitful collaborations.”

To mark the 103rd anniversary the VRTI platform has also been upgraded with powerful new features including the Knowledge Graph Explorer developed as part of a research collaboration with ADAPT Research Ireland Centre. Based on semantic web research, it is the first of its kind for Irish historical research and harnesses the power of Linked Data to reveal connections across the archive in an accessible way.

Declan O’Sullivan, Prof. in Computer Science, ADAPT Research Ireland Centre and the School of Computer Science and Statistics, Trinity, said: “With the launch of the Knowledge Graph Explorer, we are providing a new way for citizen researchers to interact with Irish people and places in an intuitive and easy way that encourages exploration of Irish history. Building on over a decade of research into Knowledge Graph technologies within ADAPT at the School of Computer Science and Statistics, the VRTI Knowledge Graph Explorer provides a new way to structure historical knowledge and link to other sources of knowledge about individual people and places. And even better it provides us with the basis to link people and places to individual VRTI records and back again.”

Background: 

The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland (VRTI) is an all-island and international research partnership working to reconstruct the Public Record Office of Ireland — a magnificent archive destroyed in 1922 at the outset of the Civil War. It was Launched by Taoiseach Micheál Martin in 2022, as a living legacy from the Decade of Centenaries, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the destruction of Ireland’s public records dating back to thirteenth century.

VRTI is engaged with research at the forefront of technology including the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence. This research is led by the Research Ireland-funded ADAPT Centre and computer scientists in the School of Computer Science and Statistics. VRTI is committed to bringing Irish history to the people. It has delivered eight local roadshows from Donegal and Derry to Cork and Waterford since 2023 — with Youghal and Limerick to follow next on the list. A new digital exhibition ‘Collecting Ireland’s History’, exploring the crucial role of Libraries in Ireland and Britain in the recovery of Irish records, was launched in June 2025.  

Knowledge Graph Explorer: The VRTI platform has been upgraded with powerful new features — including the Knowledge Graph Explorer developed as part of a research collaboration with ADAPT Research Ireland Centre. This exciting new tool based on semantic web technology research harnesses the power of linked data to reveal connections across the archive in a format accessible to the general public, and is the first of its kind for Irish historical research.

The following is an announcement written by the  Ó Dochartaigh Clann Association:

The Ó Dochartaigh Clann Association is holding a gathering on Wednesday, July 23, at McGrory’s Hotel in Culdaff starting at 7:30 pm.

On the night, after a short introduction of our Executive Committee and Directors, we will share what the association has been doing since our last in-person meeting in Inishowen. It was held in July 2015, during the last Worldwide Clann Association gathering in Ireland.

Then the real fun will begin - the pub quiz, organised by the great quiz master Peter Doherty “Saddler,” to entertain and challenge us. Bring your friends and family and join in a friendly competition of trivia knowledge. Let’s show the visitors how it is done. Team sign-ups will happen at the door.

This non-profit organisation has been active in Inishowen and Derry since the early 1980s. Our mission is to “Gather the Clann.” Over the past couple of years, the Ó Dochartaigh Clann Association leadership has been holding monthly meetings on Zoom. A year ago, we began hosting Zoom classes on various subjects concerning clann history, Irish culture and Irish language, as well as clann genealogy.

The Association has held a couple of clann “Hangouts” on Zoom TOO and Ó Dochartaighs from all over the globe got to know one another. We will continue hosting these virtual gatherings - but now it's time to meet in person on July 23rd! For more information, email info@odochartaighassociation.org.

President – Eva Doherty Gremmert, Washington, USA, Vice President – Joe Doherty, Donegal, Ireland, Secretary – Kathleen Travers, Scottish Borders, Scotland, Director – Brian Dougherty, Michigan, USA, Director – Daniel Doherty, British Columbia, Canada, Director – Marie Doherty, Donegal, Ireland, Director – Michael D. Lacopo, Indiana, USA, Director – Rosie Doherty Gremmert, Utah, USA, Director – Will Dougherty III, Missouri, USA, Director – Zack Daughtery, Missouri, USA (Doherty Surname Y-DNA Project Volunteer Administrator)

The US bankruptcy court this week cleared the way for the sale of genetics testing firm 23andMe to a nonprofit group controlled by the company’s former CEO Anne Wojcicki for $305 million, the company announced.

TTAM Research Institute, or TTAM, a California nonprofit that will buy 23andMe, plans to continue the company’s privacy policies for customers and add additional data security features, 23andMe said in a statement.

The sale to TTAM replaces an earlier $256 million offer that was announced in May by drug company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. Regeneron said at the time the genetic data could be used to advance drug development.

Last month, 27 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit over the sale, seeking to block the transfer of customers’ genetic information without consent.

Wojcicki, 23andMe’s co-founder and former chief executive, said TTAM would be “operating for the public good.”

“I am thrilled that TTAM will be able to build on the mission of 23andMe to help people access, understand and benefit from the human genome,” Wojcicki said in a statement. “As a nonprofit, TTAM will be a champion of improving our knowledge of DNA – the code of life – for the public good, creating a resource to advance human health globally.”

“Core to my beliefs is that individuals should be empowered to have choice and transparency with respect to their genetic data and have the opportunity to continue to learn about their ancestry and health risks as they wish. The future of healthcare belongs to all of us,” Wojcicki added.

The firm’s bankruptcy filing in March this year elicited concerns over the privacy of genetic data for the company’s about 15 million customers.

The deal for 23andMe also includes Lemonaid Health, a telemedicine platform 23andMe purchased in 2021 for around $400 million.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March, saying in a statement it would enter a “court-supervised” sale process. At the time, Wojcicki stepped down as CEO of the company.

The filing came after a series of problems for the company, including a 2023 class-action settlement related to a data breach and a 2024 mass resignation among board of directors members.

Monday’s approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri came several weeks after the 23andMe and TTAM submitted the transaction agreement. The deal is expected to close in the coming weeks, the company said in a statement.

Customers will be notified of the sale by email before the acquisition is completed, the company added.

The following announcement was written by the (U.S.) National Archives and Records Administration:

Celebrate July 4th with the National Archives You're invited to gather at the National Archives in Washington, DC, on Friday, July 4, 2025, to celebrate the Fourth of July!  Featuring a reading of the Declaration of Independence, special performances by military bands, and remarks by Commander Everett Alvarez, Jr., the longest held American Prisoner of War in the Vietnam War and soon-to-be recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal. All July 4th activities are free and open to the public, with fun activities for the whole family.  PLUS!  The National Archives Museum will be open for extended hours on July 3rd through July 5th, from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. ET.  (left) Every July 4, the National Archives marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence with its traditional Independence Day program! (right) Commander Everett Alvarez, Jr., the longest held American Prisoner of War in the Vietnam War and soon-to-be recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal Reagan Library Celebrates Volunteer’s 100th Birthday On Monday, June 30, 2025, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, in Simi Valley, CA, threw a surprise birthday party for longtime volunteer Beatrice Restifo in celebration of her 100th birthday! Beatrice works the Monday docent shift at the Reagan Library, and has accumulated 3,000 volunteer hours over more than 20 years.   Volunteers at the Presidential Libraries serve a variety of important functions, such as providing museum tours and visitor assistance, working with library holdings, and working with educational outreach programs. Visit the National Archives online to learn more about volunteer opportunities at a Presidential Library near you.   Check out the Reagan Presidential Library YouTube Channel for more about Beatrice. Beatrice Restifo (right) reacts as she arrives for a surprise birthday thrown for her 100th birthday by fellow docents at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library June 30, 2025. (Photo by Andy Holzman/Los Angeles Daily News) Jazz KC Portraits Jazz KC Portraits, a new temporary exhibit at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, MO, showcases stunning portraits–by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Dan White–of iconic jazz musicians who have shaped the rich cultural tapestry of the city. Through these images, visitors will embark on a visual journey, exploring the rhythm, soul, and passion that define the essence of Kansas City Jazz.   Come view this curated collection of 50 beautifully framed photographic portraits made over the course of two decades (1987-2006), as well as new photos of up-and-coming artists created specifically for this display.   The Truman Museum is open Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT. Jazz KC Portraits will remain on display until December 30, 2025. Portrait of Kansas City-based jazz bassist Daahoud Williams, 1988 (Photograph by Dan White)

The National Archives Authority of Saint Lucia has officially announced the appointment of Mr. Patrick Freeman as the new National Archivist of Saint Lucia. The announcement was met with celebration and optimism as Mr. Freeman steps into the role with more than three decades of dedicated service to the institution.

Following a rigorous and highly competitive selection process, Mr. Freeman emerged as the standout candidate, praised for his exceptional knowledge, steadfast leadership, and forward-thinking vision for the future of archival management in Saint Lucia.

Mr. Freeman’s academic credentials include a Master of Arts in International Archives, Records and Information Management (awarded with Distinction), as well as a First Class Honours Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Social Studies, specializing in Information and Library Studies. His academic background is complemented by extensive practical experience, having represented Saint Lucia at numerous regional and international archival workshops and seminars. These opportunities have kept him at the forefront of global best practices in records management and preservation.

His appointment marks a new chapter for the National Archives as it aims to modernize and expand its reach in preserving the island’s rich documentary heritage. The Authority expressed full confidence in Mr. Freeman’s ability to lead the institution into a new era of accessibility, innovation, and national pride.

“We are confident that his leadership will greatly benefit the development and modernization of the National Archives,” a statement from the Authority read.

The National Archives Authority invites the public to join them in congratulating and warmly welcoming Mr. Patrick Freeman as he takes on this important role in safeguarding Saint Lucia’s historical records for future generations.

The following is a press release issued by the (U.S.) National Archives and Records Administration:

William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum 
Little Rock, AR 

Friday, July 18, 2025 - 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. CDT

Join us for "Picture This!" on Friday, July 18, 2025, at the Clinton Library and Museum for our next "Ask an Archivist, Converse with a Curator" event. In celebration of our new exhibition, "Portraits from a Presidency," we will showcase gifts presented to the Clinton Family during his administration. The "Ask an Archivist and Converse with a Curator" program takes place on the third Friday of every month at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. While admission to the library is required, the program itself is free of charge.

All events listed in the calendar are free unless noted.

The ‘Dictionary of Canadian-isms on Historical Principles’ has been updated for the first time since 2017, and for only the second time since it was launched in 1967.

The editors of the dictionary at the University of British Columbia (UBC) say it is the third edition of their lexicon, which is appearing digitally the first time.

The dictionary includes about 14,500 meanings to more than 12,000 Canadian terms.

Stefan Dollinger, a professor in UBC Department of English language and literatures, says he and his team have added new meaning in this edition.

“We added about 180 new meanings that were overlooked that we discovered,” he said.

He says it includes many First Nations terms for the first time.

Another new entry that was added is “Elbows Up”.

“The original hockey related meaning is from the 1970s, and the new one is from March 2025,” Dollinger explained.

Launched three years ago, the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland is now home to over 350,000 records and 250 million words of searchable Irish history. Led by Trinity College Dublin and supported by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport, the project brings together historians, computer scientists, archivists, and librarians working to digitally recreate Ireland’s destroyed public record office and its lost collections.

A total of 75 memory institutions across the island of Ireland and around the world are contributing digital images of replacement documents, transcripts and duplicates to the Virtual Treasury. This includes core partners National Archives of Ireland (NAI), Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), The National Archives UK (TNA), the Irish Manuscripts Commission (IMC) and the Library of Trinity College Dublin.

19th-century census

Among new treasures freely available online today for the first time are 60,000 names from the 19th-century census destroyed in 1922. Painstakingly compiled from transcriptions preserved in the National Archives of Ireland and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, these recovered transcripts of census returns reveal ordinary lives across the island of Ireland in the decades before and after the Great Famine.

New in the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland for 2025:

• Population Portal: genealogical riches include 60,000 names from the 19th-century census destroyed in 1922. (NAI, PRONI, Trinity)
• The Age of Revolution Portal: documents illustrate the drama of the 1798 Rebellion and Ireland’s links to the American Revolution. (PRONI, NAI, Library of Congress, TNA)
• The Age of Conquest Portal: five million words of Anglo-Norman (1170-1500) Irish history translated into English. (TNA, IMC, NAI, Trinity)
• State Papers Ireland: (1660–1720) over 10 million words on governing Ireland in the dramatic years following Cromwell’s death. (TNA)
• Knowledge Graph Explorer: a powerful new tool for identifying people and places, and the links between them, in the records. (ADAPT Research Ireland Centre)

Trinity historian Dr Peter Crooks, Academic Director of the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland, said “We are excited to release our latest collections freely online for citizen researchers, students, and the academic community.

The scale, scope, and significance of these materials is remarkable. They will be of huge interest to anyone exploring Ireland’s story as a global island. Thousands of names of individuals from before and after the Great Famine; extensive intelligence reports from the Tudor era; and a host of medieval records presented in English alongside the original Latin parchment — these vast and varied collections are a testament to the power of collaboration.

“A stand-out for me is the extraordinary detective work by our research team and partners in Dublin and Belfast on the pre-Famine census returns. Millions of names were lost, tragically, in 1922 when those records went up in flames. But today, on the 103rd anniversary of the fire, we are releasing more than 60,000 names newly recovered from those very census returns. It’s a tremendous achievement. What we have uncovered after years of painstaking archival work will help families across the world trace their story deeper into the Irish past.”

The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland is supported by the Irish Government through funding from the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport under Project Ireland 2040 and is freely and permanently available online at Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland (virtualtreasury.ie).

He added that "the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland has enabled local communities and family historians to explore their own histories in new ways, through the freely accessible archival records and innovative technologies. This creative approach, underpinned by academic rigour, allows for new perspectives and a greater understanding of what we thought we knew already.  It is very inspiring to see how the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland has encouraged and stimulated new research and scholarship.  I encourage everyone to delve into the Treasury and its archival collections, and discover for themselves the riches contained within these records.”

Dr Linda Doyle, Provost of Trinity College Dublin, added: “The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland is a beacon project demonstrating the power of interdisciplinary research, advanced technologies and strong partnerships to achieve significant societal impact.

"The release of so many fascinating new records for free to the public is another impressive milestone and will be of interest to diverse audiences interested in preserving and exploring our shared past. The project is underpinned by rigorous academic scholarship, the ethical application of artificial intelligence, as well as many fruitful collaborations.”

Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland

The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland (VRTI) is an all-island and international research partnership working to reconstruct the Public Record Office of Ireland — a magnificent archive destroyed in 1922 at the outset of the Civil War. It was launched by Taoiseach Micheál Martin in 2022, as a living legacy from the Decade of Centenaries, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the destruction of Ireland’s public records dating back to the 13th century.

VRTI is engaged in research at the forefront of technology, including the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence. This research is led by the Research Ireland-funded ADAPT Centre and computer scientists in the School of Computer Science and Statistics. VRTI is committed to bringing Irish history to the people. It has delivered eight local roadshows from Donegal and Derry to Cork and Waterford since 2023, with Youghal and Limerick to follow next on the list. A new digital exhibition, "Collecting Ireland’s History", exploring the crucial role of Libraries in Ireland and Britain in the recovery of Irish records, was launched in June 2025.  

Knowledge Graph Explorer

The VRTI platform has been upgraded with powerful new features, including the Knowledge Graph Explorer developed as part of a research collaboration with ADAPT Research Ireland Centre. This exciting new tool based on semantic web technology research, harnesses the power of linked data to reveal connections across the archive in a format accessible to the general public, and is the first of its kind for Irish historical research.

The VRTI in numbers

• A quarter of a billion searchable words of Irish history
• 350,000 replacement records
• 60,000 additional names for family historians to explore
• 75 partner archives, libraries and organisations worldwide
• 3 state archives sharing their records and expertise
• 10 Gold Seams containing particularly important sets of documents
• 16 Curated Collections highlighting significant historical topics
• 11K person details in the Knowledge Graph
• 67K place details in the Knowledge Graph
• 2.9 million triples of information in the Knowledge Graph