'A place to call home' - the conservation of a collection of rural labourers' minute books for New Ross poor law union, 1886-1899

The event will centre on the early stages involved in the conservation repair of a collection of Board of Guardian minute books under the Labourers (Ireland) Acts for the period 1886-99. Many of the volumes have sustained significant mould and water damage and Dr Pat McBride, paper conservator, will provide an illustrated overview of the varying stages of such disrepair and the conservation steps taken to date to salvage them.

Archivist Gráinne Doran will deliver a brief overview of the importance of the collection for academic, social, rural, and family history research purposes, and the responsibilities of the New Ross Board of Guardians, acting as the rural sanitary authority, in the provision of cottages for agricultural labourers, a number of which houses are still standing and occupied today.