merrion street

Speaking at the the Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) conference event “Realising the Opportunities in Digital Humanities”  Minister for Research and Innovation, Sean Sherlock TD,  higlighted the importance of Digital Humanities in “Boosting Ireland’s image and reputation through the global exposure of Ireland’s culture and heritage through digital means”.

The three day Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) conference which concludes today (Thursday) was attended by over 200 national and international attendees.

Minister Sherlock stated that “The area of Data Repositories preservation, and access, is an important part of harnessing Ireland’s human capital – and a great way to link the past with the present and the future.” The Minister emphasised to those present, which included a sizeable international contingent including EU representatives, that “Research and innovation is a cornerstone of Ireland’s overall economic development and that the Humanities and Social Sciences are very much a part of our research and innovation agenda.”

The DRI is an online digital resource and a national digital infrastructure. Digitised cultural material is an important resource for European cultural and creative industries. European Cultural Heritage is the world’s most diverse and richest, and is of significant economic importance to industries such as tourism, heritage conservation, education and music amongst many other areas.

Minister Sherlock added “I was extremely impressed by the diverse and exciting range of presentations on show here today in Croke Park, and how each in their own way are contributing significantly to the further development of Ireland.”

During his address Minister Sherlock also launched the DRI’s national report entitled ‘Digital Archiving in Ireland - National Survey of the Humanities and Social Sciences’, commenting that “the Digital Repository of Ireland is now coming into its own as a champion of digital innovation in Ireland.”

The DRI event is central to one of Ireland’s national research priority areas in Digital Platforms, Content & Applications.  Research prioritisation is a core element of the Irish Government’s jobs agenda.  

Speaking at the event the Director of the Digital Repository of Ireland, Dr. Sandra Collins said “The DRI is building a vast interactive national digital repository for contemporary and historical, social and cultural data held by numerous Irish institutions. The aim is to link together and preserve this data by providing a central internet access point and interactive multimedia tools for use by the public, students and scholars. “

Dr. Collins added “A core aspect of the work of the DRI is that we are building richer, deeper stories which are constructed through accessing multiple complementary collections of content in a single location. And it is terrific to be able to say that through various supports from Government and other partners that Ireland is truly amongst the leaders globally in Digital Humanities.”

The conference is being held to showcase Ireland’s strengths in digitisation with the support of the Royal Irish Academy, the Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI) which is a Science Foundation Ireland funded CSET; the Digital Humanities Observatory and the EU funded Digital Research Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities (DARIAH).

A truly diverse range of speakers and participants are involved which include the National Library of Ireland, Microsoft Research (USA), Google (USA), National archives of Ireland, the BBC, RTE, IBM (Ireland), The Higher Education Authority, Oxford University, The National Library of the Netherlands, RTE Radio na Gaeltachta, Kings College London, the Digital Preservation Coalition UK and the Ludwig-Maximilians Universitat Germany.  

The DRI is part-funded by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through an award totalling €5.2m over four years under the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions, which is administered by the Higher Education Authority.

ENDS

Notes for Editors

The Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) at the Royal Irish Academy –

The Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) is building an interactive national trusted digital repository for contemporary and historical, social and cultural data held by Irish institutions. It will link together and preserve the rich data held by Irish institutions, thereby providing a central internet access point and interactive multimedia tools, for use by the public, students and scholars.

The DRI is a national e-infrastructure for the future of education and research in the humanities and social sciences; cutting edge digital technology is creating public benefit through preservation and access for social and cultural data.

The DRI Research Consortium Partners are: Royal Irish Academy  RIA (Lead Institute)

National University of Ireland Maynooth  NUIM

Trinity College Dublin  TCD

Dublin Institute of Technology  DIT

National University of Ireland Galway  NUIG

National College of Art and Design  NCAD

The DRI is also collaborating with a network of academic, cultural, social, and industry partners, including: National Library of Ireland  NLI

the National Archives of Ireland  NAI

Raidió Teilifís Éireann  RTÉ

Ireland’s Research Prioritisation Exercise

The Irish Government has endorsed the Report of the Research Prioritisation Steering Group, which recommended that the majority of public investment in science, technology and innovation, over the next 5 years, be aligned to the 14 areas of opportunity identified by the Steering Group as most likely to deliver economic and societal impact and ultimately jobs. The Group also recommended that room should be left for continued funding for policy-based research and research for knowledge.

The Digital Repository of Ireland activities fall under Priority Area C – Digital Platforms, Content and Applications, a priority area that is focused on the development of platforms that enable the commercial exploitation of ICR research and the development of ICT based public services.

For more information regarding Ireland’s research prioritisation see

Launch of DRI National Report: Digital Archiving in Ireland - National Survey of the Humanities and Social Sciences.

The Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) is conducting a national programme of stakeholder interviews to determine the digital preservation and access practices in cultural institutions, libraries, higher-education institutions, funding agencies and more. These findings shape their requirements in building the national repository.

The DRI is also at the beginning of a process to agree national guidelines on digital preservation for the humanities and social sciences. The DRI approach is first to determine national practice, then to work with the community in building national guidelines and hence to inform national policy.

In keeping with the partnership ethos, the DRI recognises the importance of shared experiences, and learning from one another and from best practice both nationally and internationally, in serving the community of users now and into the future. Community engagement and informed dialogue are an essential part of this.

Digital preservation of Ireland’s social and cultural heritage is an imperative, not a luxury. The DRI is working to raise awareness of the need for and benefits of digital preservation and open access, while respecting and acknowledging ownership, copyright, intellectual property rights, privacy and confidentiality.