The Archives and Records Association of the UK and Ireland (ARA) recently awarded its prestigious Ellis Prize to ADAPT Academic and Director of Beyond 2022, Dr. Peter Crooks, on behalf of Beyond 2022’s Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland.
Presented by Aideen Ireland, President of ARA, with Andrew Nicoll, the Chair of ARA, this is the first time this prize has been presented to a group rather than an individual. It is only the tenth time it has been presented since its creation in 1972 which marks a considerable achievement for the team. The Ellis Prize recognises significant contributions to archive theory and practice and was awarded to the Virtual Treasury of Ireland for their outstanding work in delivering more than 700 years of Irish history and culture back to the Irish nation and its diaspora.
The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland is an all-island and international collaborative research project, funded by the Department of Culture under the Decade of Centenaries Programme (2012 – 2023), working to create a virtual reconstruction of the Public Record Office of Ireland destroyed in the opening engagement of the Civil War on June 30th, 1922. From its inception the project has involved Computer Science research, along with research in History and Archival Studies, to provide greater access to Ireland’s deep history. The Virtual Treasury comprises five core partners, the National Archives, Ireland, The National Archives (UK), the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, the Irish Manuscripts Commission and The Library, Trinity College Dublin. The ARA is the lead professional body for archivists, archive conservators and records managers in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
