Protecting the Past: Caring for Archives and Collections

As part of National Heritage Week 2026 and this year's theme, Heritage at Risk, join the Irish Museums Association (IMA), for a practical talk on caring for archives and collections.

We welcome Marta Lopez, Conservator and Archivist, from Dublin Port Company (Port Heritage and Special Projects) who will share simple and effective ways to protect paper records, photographs, and historic objects from damage and deterioration. Drawing on her experience working with museum and archive collections, Marta will offer practical tips that could be applied to collections of all sizes.

Whether you care for a personal archive, a local history collection, or records held by a community group or small organisation, this talk will highlight how effective preservation and collection care methods can safeguard your heritage for the future.

Speaker: Marta López Alarcón is a conservator specialising in maritime heritage, archives, and collections care. She works with Dublin Port Company’s Port Heritage and Special Projects team, where she manages projects relating to the Port’s archive and heritage collections. She holds a BA (Hons) in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage from ESCRBC (Madrid) and is currently completing an MSc in Archives and Records Management at UCD.

The Irish Museums Association (IMA) is an all-island network for the Irish museum community. The IMA promote and support the museum sector through activities that highlight the value of our collections and the contribution of museums to our society as places of learning, conservation, research, and interpretation.