Port Archives and Port City Culture

Port Archives remain a relatively unknown institution when compared to the visibility that maritime or port museums may have. They are often regarded as resource for researchers, but can also play an important role in the port-city-citizen relationship. Lar Joye, Port Heritage Director of Dublin Port Company explains in this article the different initiatives the port is taking forward to open up the archives, making them accessible for everybody and exploring their vast collection of documents and images. Three years ago, I joined Dublin Port Company (DPC) as Port Heritage Director, having spent the previous 20 years working in Archives and Museums in Dublin as a Curator and Archivist. One of the key roles of this new position was to look after the Port’s 300-year-old archive which the company is legally obliged to do under the 1996 Irish Harbours Act which requires Irish Ports to provide the “proper management, custody, care and conservation of its or their records and archives”. As I delved into the Archive, what I found was that a wonderful group of retired port staff like Niall Dardis had helped preserve what is a nationally important archive collection. Without the help of staff like this looking after their company’s heritage we would not have a collection that tells the story of the Port and Dublin City since 1700. Like many Ports in Europe, DPC has been called different names over 300 years which can be confusing and I still meet visitors of different ages who insist on calling us the Ballast Board, a term dating from 1707 or Dublin Port and Docks Board, a term dating from 1867. While Museums and Libraries have developed buildings and exhibitions for visitors, Archives are normally focused on the needs of professional researchers and family enquiries. In many ways, museums and libraries are cherished by their cities while archives are seen as important and worthy resource. What is…