Jacobite Risings Exhibition Launch

Thursday, July 6, 2017 - 13:15

The exhibition, which is a collaboration between Maynooth University Library, the Jacobite Studies Conference, St. Patrick’s College Maynooth and the Church of Ireland RCB Library, features over twenty titles including books, pamphlets and manuscripts dating from 1679 to the mid-19th century. It was curated by Dr. Éamon Ó Ciosáin, Maynooth University French Studies and Barbara McCormack, Special Collections & Archives, Maynooth University Library.
 
The exhibition features material from the historical collections of St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth as well as the St. Canice’s Cathedral Library, which is on long-term loan from the Representative Church Body. Material is displayed in eight cases with themes such as: The succession of James, Duke of York in 1685, Anti-Jacobite propaganda following the birth of James Francis Edward Stuart in 1688, the Scottish Rebellion of 1715, and the 1745 Rebellion. Particular highlights include Gaelic manuscripts from the Murphy and the St. Colman’s College, Fermoy collections.
 
The exhibition was launched on Friday, 30th June by Professor Philip Nolan. Other speakers at the event include the Ambassador of France in Ireland, H.E. Mr Stéphane Crouzat, and Dr. Susan Hood,   Librarian and Archivist of the Church of Ireland, RCB Library, along with Barbara McCormack, Dr. Éamon Ó Ciosáin and Hugh Murphy from Maynooth University.
 
This event marks the first formal exhibition of material from the St. Canice’s Cathedral Library since it was relocated from Kilkenny to Maynooth University in 2015 for preservation and safe-keeping. Founded in 1694, it constitutes one of the oldest diocesan library collections in Ireland and contains over 3,000 titles dating from 1483 until the mid-nineteenth century. The collection has now been fully catalogued and is available for consultation in the Special Collections Reading Room of the John Paul II Library here at Maynooth University.