Dublin based vendor Eneclann (www.eneclann.ie) has been awarded a contract by the Irish Government's Defence Department to computerise the Military Pension Service Project. This will, in the first instance, seek to make available online a finding aid to pension and medal records relating to the original Irish Republican Army and associated bodies such as the Irish Citizen Army and Cumann na mBan, which fought to remove Ireland from the United Kingdom (which it had been a member of since 1801).
Following Partition in 1921, when dominion status was granted to the 26 counties forming the Irish Free State (but not to the north, which rejoined the UK as 'Northern Ireland'), the old IRA basically split. Over half of the army was reconstituted to form the Free State Army, the Irish Free State's first military force, whilst the rest refused to accept the Treaty provisions and became known as the Irregulars, ultimately taking the country to a tragic civil war which they subsequently lost.
The thirty month project commences in August, with results due to be placed eventually online at Military Archives website (www.militaryarchives.ie) in time for the centenary of the Easter Rising, in 2016. Further records will also be processed in due course.
For full details visit Eneclann's site at www.eneclann.ie/2012/07/military-service-pension-project/ (and congrats to Eneclann!)
UPDATE 23 JUL: In my original post I inadvertently stated that these records were to be digitised - in fact the index is to be computerised rather than images to be digitised. From Vicky McAlister at Eneclann: "We're not actually digitising anything for this project though nor are there plans to digtise the archive, rather the finding aid (adlib database) will be placed online where people can see search to see if there are any records of interest to them in the collection." More than happy to clarify! (With thanks to Vicky)
Chris
Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)
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