The Schools' Manuscript Collection

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In 1937 the Irish Folklore Commission, in collaboration with the Dept. of Education and the I.N.T.O. initiated a revolutionary scheme in which schoolchildren were encouraged to collect and document folklore and local history.  The children collected material on legends, games and pastimes, traditional work practices, folklore and a great deal more, from their parents, grandparents and other older members of their local community.

Now known as the Schools' Manuscript Collection the scheme resulted in more than half a million manuscript pages, of which the following is merely a tantalising sample. The rest of the collection can be viewed on microfilm in Navan Library.

Fig. 1 The Abbey School