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Talk

Ireland’s undiscovered past: the 1800s

Historian Gillian O’Brien goes in search of lesser-known men and women in the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland.

Date
3 October 2025
Location
Online
About this image

The history of 19th-century Ireland was dominated by big events, big men and big problems. The Act of Union of 1800, the Great Famine, and the campaign for land rights and Home Rule are among the most prominent events that shaped the country, while Robert Emmet, Daniel O’Connell and Charles Stewart Parnell all loom large over popular understanding of the century.

However, in this talk Historian Gillian O’Brien will delve into the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland in search of some lesser-known men and women and uncover their unexpected stories to reveal new interpretations of Ireland’s recent past.

This talk showcases the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland, an international digital humanities project that aims to reconstruct the lost state collection of Ireland following the destruction of the Public Record Office of Ireland in 1922.

Event details

Date
3 October 2025, 14:00 to 15:00
Price
Free

Pay what you can

Location
Online, Live-streamed on Vimeo
Part of series
Finding Ireland

This event has sold out.

Dates for this event

3 October 2025 (past event)

  • 14:00 to 15:00

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Speakers

  • Gillian O'Brien

    Professor of Public History at Liverpool John Moores University

    Gillian O'Brien is the author of The Darkness Echoing: Ireland’s Places of Famine Death and Rebellion and a former Fulbright Scholar.

Series

Finding Ireland

Hear all about this innovative international project to reconstruct the lost state collection of Ireland.