01.10.2014
RCB Archive of the Month October 2014 – The Church of Ireland Gazette editions for 1914 fully searchable online
Following on from the successful digitization of the 1913 editions of The Church of Ireland Gazette last year, and continuing its commitment to mark the Decade of Commemorations, the RCB Library is pleased to present all 52 editions of The Church of Ireland Gazette for 1914, in a fully searchable format online, as Archive of the Month for October 2014.
The Gazette which has always been editorially independent, provides the longest–running public commentary on the Church’s affairs, and as such is a recognised resource for understanding the complexities and nuances of Church of Ireland identity, both north and south, as well as the Church’s contribution to political and cultural life throughout the island. The RCB Library in Dublin holds the only complete run of paper – from the first issue in March 1856 up to the present date bound up in hard copy volumes for each year where they remain an invaluable resource. However, like collections available elsewhere (such as the National Library of Ireland) the hard copy is suffering wear and tear and is cumbersome to use and research from.
All the 1914 issues have been professionally scanned using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) by the service provider Informa, and via a sophisticated information platform are fully searchable online, alongside the existing copy for 1913. Browsers may simply enter any key word or phrase of interest in the search box on the platform, and then view the list of relevant entries as they appear in chronological order, viewing each either as a single page, or in the wider context of the particular issue of the newspaper in which it appears.
Of particular interest will be the commentary on the war as it began and progressed into the winter of 1914. A special column entitled “The War Week by Week” became a permanent feature from 21 August 1914, and provided weekly graphic detail of the Allied campaign for readers. There is also some fascinating editorial commentary from the Gazette’s lay editor, W. B. Wells, who elsewhere had described himself as ‘imparted of Nationalist sympathies’ – but used his weekly editorials to galvanize support for the war effort in Ireland, viewing recruitment drives in Ireland as having a potential ‘unity of purpose’, north and south.
Digitization and free availability of the 1913 and 1914 Gazette editions demonstrate the potential of this resource for online research, allowing researchers worldwide to unlock its hidden knowledge. It comes at some cost, and the 1914 project has only been possible with the generous support of an anonymous donor.
The RCB Library in collaboration with the Editor and Board of the Gazette now aims to complete the other years – initially the three remaining ones of the First World War and of the Decade of Centenaries, 1912–22, by seeking philanthropic support from individual sponsors for specific years, or an outright full cost donation, either to sponsor a specific year during the First World War period, or in the Decade of Commemorations, but ultimately to complete the project. Full details of how to support by making a charitable donation are now available online or by contacting the RCB Library.
Overall then the contents of the Church of Ireland Gazette provide an invaluable insight to the opinions and attitudes of members of the Church of Ireland through changing times. Written and read by lay and clerical members of the Church north and south, access via the online search engine brings to life at the touch of a button how unfolding political events in Ireland and abroad were communicated to and received by members of this significant minority community on the island one hundred years ago, which deserves to be more widely understood.
Online release on Wednesday 1st October 2014 here: www.ireland.anglican.org/library/archive