Introduction
UCD Archives acquires collections from institutions and bodies within the university and from external sources. Since its establishment in 1971 it has developed a collections profile centred on a core of political private papers. This continues to be the main focus of its collecting policy.
It also sought from an early point to acquire and preserve the archives of those bodies which had preceded the establishment of UCD and were subsumed into it. Responsibility for university and university-related archives was formalised with the establishment of a University Archives Service in 1997.
A third curatorial function was established through our ongoing relationship with the Order of Friars Minor which resulted in the signing of the UCD-OFM Partnership Agreement. As part of this agreement an initial transfer of non-Franciscan private paper collections from the Franciscan Library Killiney to UCD Archives took place in 1997. This was followed by the transfer of the renowned collection of Irish-language manuscripts designated ‘A’ Manuscripts, including the Annals of the Four Masters; 'B' Manuscripts (manuscripts in languages other than Irish); 'C' Manuscripts (official and quasi-official letters and papers relating to the Irish Franciscans); and 'D' Manuscripts (letters and papers of the Irish Franciscans in the seventeenth century).
UCD Archives is a contributing repository to the UCD Digital Library and works in partnership with our colleagues in UCD Special Collections and the National Folklore Collection.