Two important historical archives with photographs, diaries and documents detailing life in Limerick and the Mid-West from the early 20th Century went on public display for the first time today.
The photographs of Franz Sebastian Haselbeck are included in an exhibition opened at the Hunt Museum.
They include over five decades of work from pictures of Home Rule meetings and large farmers' demonstrations, to volunteer meetings leading up to the War of Independence.
Mr Haselbeck's family were originally from Germany, but had settled in Limerick in the early 19th Century.
The collection also includes pictures of the building of the Shannon Scheme where Mr Haselbeck not only recorded the construction of the country's first hydroelectric power station, but also worked as an interpreter for Siemens, who built the station.
The collection has been restored by the ESB Archives and Patricia Haselbeck, the photographers granddaughter.
Ms Haselbeck had promised her grandfather on his deathbed that she would preserve the collection and bring it to public prominence.
Meanwhile, the diaries and photographs of Cecil Mercier, a former Mills Manger in Ranks for over 40 years, were donated to the Limerick City Archives today.
Limerick had a tradition of milling dating back to the 13th Century, and Ranks took over the Mills at Limerick Docks in the 1930s.
Limerick City Archivist Jacqui Hayes said it was an important historic addition to the City Archives because Ranks Mills had such an impact on the economic and social development of Limerick.
