Historic Limerick police records online for the first time

Limerick’s online digital archive has been revamped by the Limerick Archives of Limerick City and County Council in a project spearheaded by Limerick archivist Jacqui Hayes.

More than 30 of the Archives’ collections are now available online and many others will be added over the next few months.

Among the collections online for the first time will be the rare collection based on the Limerick Police Force, providing insight into the number of men drafted into the civil force to keep the peace between the departure of the RIC and the establishment of An Garda Síochána.

Mayor at the time Stephen O’Mara recruited the Limerick City Police Force and the business owners of the city funded the wages of the 38 men selected to keep the streets safe for almost three months. This tiny collection has never been accessed by historians and it’s hoped that its availability online will allow its significance to be assessed.

Ms Hayes said: “These collections are part of a major expansion by Limerick Archives in digitisation and online access. As part of the new Limerick.ie site and enhanced access to services online, Limerick Archives has carried out a major digital preservation access to provide streamlined access to original archival material.”

“Many of the archives were previously available under earlier digitisation projects but access has now been streamlined. The public can now open archival documents easily without having to download a plug in. This removes barriers to access.”