March 2004 Edition

Society of Archivists, Ireland

The very first Archive Awareness Month was held throughout September 2003. The campaign, with the slogan "Everyone has a history and we've got a bit of yours", aimed to raise the public profile of archives and archive services in Ireland.

The campaign was a great success and a tribute to all the work undertaken by event organisers and participants in the campaign. There were a total of thirty-five free events held in seventeen archives services throughout Ireland (both North and South) catering for various sizes of groups—from four to c.250 attendees. A wide range of events was held, including talks, exhibitions, open days and even a reconstruction of a nineteenth-century village fete!

The campaign was supported by posters and fliers specially developed by the Society of Archivists, Ireland and adverts in local newspapers, part funded by the Heritage Council. It received widespread coverage in both national and local newspapers and on local radio during the month of September.

Following on from this success, the Society of Archivists, Ireland plans to host another Archive Awareness Month in 2004. Again the theme will focus on raising public awareness of the rich archival heritage available in repositories throughout the country.

Eibhlin Roche
Publicity Officer
Society of Archivists, Ireland