The most complete visual record of Ireland, in map and print form, ever assembled by a private collector has been acquired by the National Library of Ireland.
The Bonar Law Collection, compiled by expert collector Andrew Bonar Law, comprises close to 10,000 maps and 9,000 prints, which include caricature prints and ballad sheets, going back to the 16th Century.
The collection has been purchased by the National Library of Ireland with special financial support from the Department of Tourism and, under a loan arrangement, will be housed at University College Cork.
The Bonar Law Collection includes over 90% of the listed maps and prints of Ireland ever produced.
The collection is now to be digitised and will be available online in the coming months. It is hoped it will be available to view at UCC once conservation work is finished after 2025.
Announcing the acquisition at UCC, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said the collection of maps, sea charts and prints of Ireland is unrivalled in the holdings of any public institution, including the British Library and the Library of Congress.
"I am delighted that we have been able to preserve this valuable asset. It offers a fascinating insight not only into Irish geographical history, but also into the changing political landscape of the last 200 years, for the benefit of the State and for the people of Ireland."
The collection was compiled by Andrew Bonar Law who opened the Neptune Gallery in Dublin in 1965. An expert collector, he has also written a number of noted publications.
His grandfather Andrew Bonar Law was Conservative prime minister of the UK between 1922/1923. His father was Richard Law, 1st Baron Coleraine.
Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin said the work represents a life's work of study and expert knowledge of maps.
She said it is a testament to Andrew Bonar Law and his family that "such a unique historical record exists and that it can now be preserved for the public good and will remain in Ireland".
National Library of Ireland Director, Dr Audrey Whitty, said they welcomed the collaboration with UCC, "given their unrivalled scholarship in historical geography".
UCC President Professor John O'Halloran said that "through digital technology and innovative cartographic techniques, UCC Research staff will activate the potential of the collection to better understand how Ireland has changed, not just physically but socially, politically and ideologically through the ages".
The collection will be housed in the Boole Library at UCC and will be available to researchers and members of the public by contacting the UCC Library Special Collections and Archives team.
