Ellis Prize - the ‘Oscar’ of the recordkeeping sector is awarded to Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland
At an event at the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland on 21st November the Archives and Records Association (UK and Ireland) will present the prestigious Ellis Prize[i] to the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland. This is the first time the prize, considered to be the ‘Oscar’ of the recordkeeping sector, has been presented to a group rather than an individual and is only the tenth time it has been presented in the 50 years of its existence.
The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland is a research project working to digitally recreate the Irish state archives destroyed by fire in 1922. The project is led by Trinity College Dublin, in collaboration with over 70 libraries and archives worldwide.
The Virtual Treasury comprises five core partners, the National Archives, Ireland, The National Archives (UK), the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, the Irish Manuscripts Commission and The Library, Trinity College Dublin. It is funded by the Government of Ireland through Department of Culture, Dublin, under Ireland’s Decade of Centenaries Programme (2012-2023)).
Since the launch of the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland in June 2022, the public has been able to ‘step back in time’ to explore a virtual recreation of the Public Record Office of Ireland and its collections, as they were on the eve of their destruction at Dublin’s Four Courts at the outset of the Irish Civil War.
The Ellis Prize is being awarded to the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland for their excellent work in delivering back to the Irish nation and its diaspora more than 700 years of Irish history and culture. The project also demonstrates to the global record-keeping sector what can be achieved with innovation and imagination, through the use of new technology and through trans-national and trans-sectoral collaboration. It brings hope to other nations who have lost similar cultural treasures through acts of war and natural disaster.
The ruined Record Treasury of the Public Record Office of Ireland, 30 June 1922.
Image courtesy of the Irish Architectural Archive.
About the Prize
The Ellis Prize was set up by Roger Ellis, a past President of the Society of Archivists in 1972 to “to reward excellent work in our profession, and to recognise significant contributions to archive theory and practice”.
During World War II, Ellis served in the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives (MFAA) Section of Civil Affairs of the Western Allied Armies. Known as the ‘Monuments Men’[ii], they were a group of 348 American and British men and women. They were museum curators, art historians, librarians and archivists who volunteered for service in the newly created unit during World War II. Their job description was simple: to protect cultural treasures so far as war allowed.
Ellis is noted particularly for the salvage of the library of the Colombaria Society, Florence in 1944, which held codices, incunabula, manuscripts, and books and had been damaged by a combination of explosions, fire, and rain. The links to his past work in awarding this prize to the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland are clear.
Like Ellis in Florence, the staff of the Public Record Office in Dublin worked to salvage what was left of their archives following the fire and explosion in the Four Courts in the June 1922.
Inside the Virtual Treasury
Collaboration, Conservation, Technology
In the capable hands of the conservation team at the National Archives of Ireland, these ‘Salved Records’, rescued from the rubble, emerged from their wrappings to became one of the most captivating aspects of the research project that became the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland.
Copies of lost originals were held by other archives and an impressive number of transcripts survived at The National Archives (UK) and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. National, local, university and institutional repositories have also enthusiastically collaborated in finding replacement records. The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland has collaborated with over 70 libraries and archives as far afield as the west coast of the USA and Australia. Tens of thousands of replacement records have been contributed in this way to replace those lost in 1922. Of particular importance are the three ‘Gold Seams’ - (the Medieval Exchequer, Cromwellian Surveys and the 1766 religious census of Ireland) enriched reconstructions of almost entire collections where over 80 per cent of their original records have been recovered.
Technology plays a major part in the story of the Virtual Record Treasury. In addition to the ‘advanced search’ facility which allows the user to filter the results by date, document format or repository, the public interface also offers an immersive virtual reality experience. Entering through the front door into the reading room you can browse a selection of records and read them at the desk flicking through the pages. You can even proceed through the fire-break to the Record Treasury itself and go where nobody alive today has ever been. With so much manuscript and early printed material in the Virtual Treasury, providing searchable text posed a major challenge which was resolved through computer-generated transcription. The Transkribus software uses AI to transcribe handwriting, so you don’t have to be an expert in palaeography to decipher the records you have found.
Careful conservation work on the Athlone Port Revenue Accounts (1790).
Photo Credit National Archives of Ireland
Whether it was prescience or hope that drove them to save what others might have thought just ash – their professionalism has been rewarded. Modern technologies in conservation have evolved tremendously since 1922 and continue to do so at pace – allowing conservators to stabilise records ready for access and digitisation.
Alongside innovation and technology, collaboration is an essential feature of the project. An extraordinary level of collaboration has enabled the project’s success. It is the first time that the National Archives of Ireland, the National Archives (UK) and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland have worked together in this way. Those three archives were joined by the Irish Manuscripts Commission and The Library, Trinity College Dublin, as the Core Partners in the Beyond 2022 Research Programme.[iii]
As well as historians and archivists, Trinity also provided the team of computer scientists (from the SFI ADAPT centre) who brought to life the virtual reality environment to house the records treasury.
The Virtual Record Treasury can be found at https://virtualtreasury.ie/
You can watch a short video giving more information on the Virtual Record Treasury here:
On presenting the award, Aideen Ireland, President of the Archives and Records Association (UK and Ireland) says:
“Beyond 2022 - The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland is an exemplar project that shows the world what can be done through the use of new technology, through trans-national and trans-sectoral collaboration and how archives sit at the centre of a nation’s identity and culture. It shows that in their restoration to people of that nation, and the world, they can bring hope to many other countries where cultural identity is lost or threatened by the destruction of war, climate catastrophe or natural and man-made disaster, most notably right now in Ukraine, but also recently in Afghanistan, Syria and Mali[iv]. I am thrilled to be able to award the Ellis Prize to this excellent venture and look forward to seeing its development over the coming years. I extend my congratulations to all who have made this possible”
‘Beyond 2022’ Programme Director Dr Peter Crooks, Associate Professor in Medieval History, Trinity, said
"The award of the Ellis Prize is an extraordinary honour for the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland, and a fitting tribute to the power of collaboration. Our work to restore a lost archive has been enriched immeasurably by the generosity of over 70 archival partners. I am delighted to accept this Prize on behalf of the entire partnership — from London to Lifford, from Cambridge to Canberra. We look forward to deepening these collaborations and, together, driving innovation in the creative exploration of digital archives."
Orlaith McBride, Director of the National Archives said:
“This award recognises the ground breaking nature of this collaboration between archival, academic and technological partners. As part of the Decade of Centenaries 2012 – 2023 National Programme, Beyond 2022 has been one of its most innovative and ambitious legacy projects. The National Archive is privileged to be the successor institution to the Public Record Office (PROI) and through this project we are honouring the incredible commitment of the former staff of the PROI in 1922, who worked tirelessly to salvage what they could from the burning rubble. Our vision through this project has been to reconstruct the virtual treasury and the lost records as a timeless testament to their work over 100 years ago.”
Trinity’s Provost, Dr Linda Doyle, said
“The Ellis Prize is a fitting recognition of the outstanding work of the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland.
“I want to congratulate the entire team involved in this fantastic project. In particular I want to commend the researchers in our Department of History and in the ADAPT Centre in our School of Computer Science and Statistics who worked so creatively to make this resource available to the public. This skilful combination of historical research and technical innovation is hugely inspiring.
“Technology should be at the service of society and, having watched this project evolve over the past four years, it gives me great pride to see that recognised today.”
David Huddleston, Acting Director of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) said:
“I am delighted to see the Ellis Prize awarded to the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland. This is fantastic recognition of a project that has shown what can be achieved through collaborative partnership. From the ashes of the Four Courts 100 years ago, we now have this incredible online resource providing access to the reconstructed archives and demonstrating their value to users across the world. PRONI was excited to be involved in such an innovative project and congratulate the team on their success.”
Inside the Search Room at the Public Record Office of Ireland (1914) (Credit: Image courtesy of the National Archives, Ireland) and how it looks in the Virtual Record Treasury.
Notes
[i] You can read more about the Ellis Prize here https://www.archives.org.uk/ellis-prize
[ii] Archivist and conservator, Roger Henry Ellis specialized in historic British manuscripts. In 1934 Ellis began working at the Public Records Office (PRO, today the National Archives of the United Kingdom), where he studied document repair under noted archivist and Principal Assistant Keeper at the PRO, Sir Hilary Jenkinson. During World War II, he served in the British Army with the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers. Ellis was assigned to British Eighth Army in May 1944 along with American MFAA Officer Lt. Col. Norman Newton. Armed with Jenkinson’s lists, Ellis and Newton followed Eighth Army’s progression northward from Lazio through Umbria and into Tuscany, conducting early inspections and making arrangements for first-aid repair to cultural assets. Read more here: https://www.monumentsmenandwomenfnd.org/ellis-maj-roger-h
[iii] Full list of Beyond 2022 – Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland partners available here https://virtualtreasury.ie/partners
[iv] Information on destruction of heritage in Ukraine can be found here https://culturecrimes.mkip.gov.ua/
Information on other cultural destruction can be found here https://theblueshield.org/