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Research Guides

History : Britain & Ireland: Primary Sources: Ireland

A research guide to primary and secondary sources for British and Irish history.

decorative images of primary sources

The long entangled history and occupation of Ireland by Britain means that many of the primary sources listed on the two British-focused pages will include material pertinent to Irish history. This page focuses on sources that were created in Ireland, both North and South.

Major Institutional Collections

These major university libraries and national libraries and archives host important digital collections covering the history and culture of Ireland. Keep in mind that many British collections will also include primary sources related to Ireland.

Government & Legal Documents

Collections of Reprinted Primary Sources

Easter Rising and War of Independence

For an overview with primary source illustrations of the Easter Rebellion see the National Library of Ireland's exhibit, 1916 Rising: Personalities & Perspectives. For additional digitized collections, search the National Library of Ireland's catalog for names of specific individuals, events, and topics.

Selection of newspapers from the period. Additional short spans of digitized Irish newspapers covering 18th to early 20th centuries plus those on microfilm (can borrow these via Interlibrary Loan) are available at the Center for Research Libraries.