Poster presented at CONUL conference, May 2018, Galway, Ireland

1. Michael Davitt: An Irishman’s Eye
The Collection
The Library of Trinity College Dublin is
home to the papers of Michael Davitt
(1846-1906), convicted Fenian, Irish
nationalist, MP, investigative journalist,
who helped found the Irish National Land
League. This extensive collection, which
was presented to TCD in 1978 by his son
Cahir Davitt, includes over 6000 letters,
550 photographs and 40 diaries.
The Davitt photographic collection (TCD
MS 9649) provides a visual record of his
later career as a journalist investigating
the migration of Scottish crofters to
Northwest Canada following the Highland
Clearances, the rush to settle the gold
fields of Western Australia and the
aftermath of the Kishinev pogrom in the
Russian Empire.
The photographs provide glimpses into
the lives of immigrant communities on
the fringes of the British Empire, at a time
of massive social transformation.
Manuscripts & Archives, Research Collections
Davitt goes digital …
• The online catalogue has been expanded and
enhanced, increasing the findability of the
collection.
• The visibility of the collection will increase
once digitisation has been completed by late
2018, engaging new audiences by providing
online access to the photographs.
• There is potential for future projects that
engage with emerging technology trends, such
as using IIIF to digitally link the photographs
with corresponding entries in Davitt’s diaries.
• Social media and an online exhibition will
promote public awareness of the digitisation
project.
• Researchers will be provided with open access
to a visual record of the immigrant and
indigenous communities within the collection.
Studio portrait of Davitt in New York
(MS 9649/8)
Davitt wearing a Russian fur coat and hat,
Moscow, 1905 (MS 9649/17)
Reception Committee for Davitt during his lecture tour of Australia
in Maryborough, Victoria, 1895 (MS 9649/32)
Davitt on his return voyage to Europe from reporting on the
Boer War, 1900 (MS 9649/479)
Davitt with a Jewish family after the Kishinev Pogrom,
in modern-day Moldova, 1903 (MS 9649/504)
First Nation Canoe in Victoria, British
Columbia, Canada, 1891 (MS 9649/280)
Scottish crofter family, the McKenzie’s wearing their
‘best’ in Manitoba, Canada, 1891 (MS 9649/296)
Contact: Dáire Rooney, Assistant Librarian, rooneyd4@tcd.ie Images by TCD’s Digital Collections, digitalcollections@tcd.ie