National Folklore Collection UCD

A gentleman taking voice recordings from two old ladies in Dunquin
  • Free to visit
  • Rainy days
  • Pre-booking essential
The National Folklore Collection is one of the largest collections of folklore material in the world, and is inscribed into UNESCO Memory of the World Register‌. The collection can be visited at the Newman Building, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4.

Visitors are invited to explore the large selection of books, manuscripts, audio recordings, videos and photographs, drawings and paintings dealing with Irish life, folk history and culture. The National Folklore Collection, in Dublin City, also documents the history of field recordings, and displays of early sound recording equipment.

The specialist library contains books, periodicals and off-prints on Irish and comparative folklore, ethnology and related fields. A range of finding aids will assist researchers in locating information about a particular subject, or material contributed by any of the many thousands of storytellers, collectors and correspondents over the years. New material continues to be added.

The collection is open to the public. Tours are by arrangement, podcasts relating to the National Folklore Collection are available online. Researchers and visitors need to make an appointment in advance when looking to consult the collections.

The Dúchas Project is an initiative that seeks to digitise the National Folklore Collection so that the public can access material from the collection online.

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