Louth County Archives wishes to develop curated digital content that will support local research and scholarship by providing free online public access to original local archival sources.

To do this, a collection of rural district council minute books from the 1900s – 1920 period will be assessed for conservation needs and those in poor condition, if any, will receive treatment by a professional conservator prior to being professionally digitised. Once digitised, a public access copy of the volumes, will be placed online on the County Archives website for researchers and members of the community and public to view.

The project will assist in the democratisation of access to records. The digitised archives will help local historians, students and writers in carrying out new research or creating new publications. The minute books contain a range of subjects handled by the councils and illustrate their concerns of both local and national political and social issues affecting society at the time. Access to the books will assist in the understanding of events in the years leading up to Irish independence.

Please note that the details of events listed above are provided by the relevant Local Authorities.