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The Liam O’Leary
Archive; Ireland’s
Film on Paper
The Project The collection is held in the National Library of Ireland and the project
is a collaborative project with the Irish Film Institute.
The aim of the project is to process, preserve, conserve, and catalogue
the Liam O’Leary Archive; and make it available to the public for re-
search. A potential outcome of the project is to produce procedures for access
and preservation of non-print materials such as audio reels, in the Na-
tional Library of Ireland. Another aspect of the project is to promote the collection and project
through a blog, social media, presentations and a possible exhibition.
The project is due to be completed in March 2017.
Potential Themes of Research Censorship and politics of film in Ireland Irish identity at home and abroad Audio visual heritage: preservation, access, obsolescence, copyright.
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Liam O’Leary and the start of the Archive
Born in Cork in 1910, Liam O’Leary was a leading
figure in Irish moving image archiving and worked
to promote a film industry in Ireland.
He worked for the Abbey Theatre, British Film In-
stitute and RTÉ, and also helped to form the
Dublin Little Theatre Guild and the Irish Film So-
ciety. In 1976 Liam O’Leary organised an exhibition en-
titled ‘Cinema Ireland, 1896-1976’ for the Dublin
Arts Festival in the Douglas Hyde Gallery.
He had been a researcher and collector of film
and cinema materials his whole life, however the
exhibition in 1976 was the official start of the
Liam O’Leary Archive. The collection was donated to the National Library in 1986.
A collection of film reels belonging to Liam O’Leary have been archived in
the Irish Film Institute.
Silk souvenir programme of Cinématographe
show given by the Lord Lieutenant in 1903.
Photograph of Liam O’Leary, courtesy of the Irish Film Institute Archive
Benefits of Collaboration
The project can avail of two institutions’ expertise and professional
connections; which may lead to further funding.
There is potential to exchange specialised knowledge and training.
Using both institutions’ resources and funding, the collection will be
catalogued and made available; this may not have happened with on-
ly one institution.
The project enhances the collections of the each institution; better for
the researcher and the general field of study.
Building relationships with other institutions may lead to further pro-
jects and collaborations.
Challenges of Collaboration
Both organisations may have different standards, policies, procedures
and environments which have to be navigated.
Two physical locations may lead to issues with coordination of the
project or communication.
How to collaborate well
Know the collection well and its po-
tential and limitations.
Communicate well, by asking for ad-
vice, sharing knowledge and giving
feedback.
Share responsibilities evenly; don’t ex-
pect the other institution to do the
work.
Be flexible; the scope of the project
may change, adapt with the changes.
Know and agree on the scope, poten-
tial and limitations of the overall pro-
ject.
Know each others institutional poli-
cies, requirements and limitations.
Have regular meetings and updates. A projector from the Liam O’Leary Archive
MS 50,000/149/103; Irish Film Society photograph from a Children’s Film Committee
matinee showing
Poster from the Theatre Royal, Dublin MS 50,000/230/29; Exterior of the Theatre Royal, Dublin
The Collection
The collection is made up of the personal research, memorabilia
and correspondence of Liam O’Leary. There is also a large collec-
tion of Irish Film Society materials. The collection includes:
Personal correspondence and research
Irish Film Society correspondence, administrative and event ma-
terials
Research and information on cinemas, Irish and international
films and filmmakers
Rex Ingram correspondence, research and photographs
Film posters, memorabilia and artefacts
Production stills, negatives, slides and newspaper clippings
Journals, periodicals, programmes and books
VHS tapes, film and audio reels.
