The Mac Lua Library Archive is a large multi-collection set of records, the majority of which span the years of 1950 – 2016. A large majority of these records pertain to the Troubles in Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement, also known as the Belfast Agreement. The collection was transferred to Special Collections and Archives within the University of Liverpool from the Institute of Irish Studies where it had resided as part of the Mac Lua Library.
The Mac Lua Library was a departmental library within the school of Languages which housed reference materials for the Irish Studies students including books, archives and AV materials. The Library was named as such after Brendan Mac Lua, the founder of the Irish Post and close friend to the Institute of Irish Studies President at the time, Patrick Buckland. Mac Lua donated the entire run of the Irish Post from 1970 – 2012 to the Library which is now a highlight of the Mac Lua Library Archive.
This archive portrays just how complex the fight for Peace was in Ireland during this period of 1960 – 2000. From notes regarding political parties and statistics on death tolls from both sides, to some of Lord Hylton’s tireless work on the Prisoners and their releases the archive is a wealth of information and opinions from this period. A large section of this archive is the Peace Process Files supplied by the Irish Human rights watch archive. This extensive collection of documents details all sides of the political arguments taking place and is a record of articles and information printed from internet sources. Much like the Newspaper collections within this archive these files give a good insight into media and public opinions of The Troubles and the Agreement as it unfolded in real time.
Ulster, being a city on the border between Northern and the Republic of Ireland had a spotlight on it throughout The Troubles and the archive also reflects this tension within the city as there are collections from the Ulster Unionist Council as well as materials from the Royal Ulster Constabulary. Furthermore, within other collections there is a mixture of statistics regarding Ulster specifically, highlighting the tension and the danger within this city before, during and after the peace process.
At the heart of this archive is the community it both encompasses and serves; the Irish Community both in Liverpool, across the UK and in Ireland. While there are many academics whose collections contribute to this archive, part of the archive is surrounding the lives of Irish people such as the prisoners, the Irish people’s vote on the agreement and the collection of personal letters and business records from the Power/O’Neill family, who came over from Ireland in the 1920’s and owned a tobacco shop in the centre of Liverpool.
The Power Family correspondence and Business records were donated by Michael O’Neill, the son of Kathleen and Sybil, whose letters make up a large part of this collection. Through these letters we can not only see the love and support of this family and how they would spend large amounts of time apart while Kathleen travelled back to Ireland but also the changing times as the letters span the decades from 1925 all the way to around the 1960s/1970s. It gives us insights into the beginning of the second world war, the death of close family members, births of children and also a wealth of greeting cards for Christmas, Birthdays and St. Patrick’s Day cards.
The Mac Lua Library Archive is now catalogued and available to view within Special Collections and Archives at the Sydney Jones Library by appointment.
