The exhibition, held in partnership with the British Embassy, features a selection of images of soldiers and medics, nurses and stretcher bearers, drivers and cyclists, sailors and pilots, accompanied by the stories their families have treasured for generations. The photographs were collected and catalogued by the NLI and a number of partners during a series of World War I roadshows since 2012. The roadshows were held as part of Europeana 1914-1918, an initiative that encouraged people across Europe to bring family letters, photographs and keepsakes from WWI to be catalogued and digitised.
British Ambassador to Ireland, Dominick Chilcott, will attend the media preview and launch of the exhibition. He will be joined by Brian Meyer and Carole Budd Cullen, whose relatives are featured in the exhibition.
Speaking ahead of the launch, exhibition curator Sara Smyth from the NLI said: “It has been a great privilege to meet Irish people whose families are in some way or other connected to the events that shook Europe between 1914 and 1918 and to hear their stories. The photographs featured in the exhibition really shine a light on the experiences of Irish men and women during World War I and preserve historical memory for generations to come.”
‘Portraits of the Invisible’ is free to visit, and is open seven days a week: Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm and 12noon to 5pm on Sundays. The exhibition runs in the NPA until January 2016.
For more information on the NLI’s photographic collections and exhibitions, visit: www.nli.ie
Contact: Sebastian Enke, DHR Communications, Tel: 01-4200580 / 087-3239496.
About Europeana 1914-1918
Europeana 1914-1918 brings together resources from three major European projects each dealing with different types of First World War material. The result is an archive that allows the national collections of libraries to sit beside personal stories and treasures and important film archives. Together, this creates a unique perspective of the First World War, showing it from every side of the battle lines and with insights from every point of view. Further information is available at http://www.europeana1914-1918.eu/en.
About the NLI
The mission of the National Library of Ireland is to collect, preserve, promote and make accessible the documentary and intellectual record of the life of Ireland and to contribute to the provision of access to the larger universe of recorded knowledge. It is open, free of charge, to all those who wish to consult the collections. The Office of the Chief Herald in Kildare Street and the National Photographic Archive in Temple Bar are both part of the National Library. Further information is available at www.nli.ie, @NLIreland.
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