JOURNAL OF THE IRISH LABOUR HISTORY SOCIETY

SOURCES105Sources for Irish Labour History in theModern Records Centre, CoventryModern Records Centre, University of Warwick Library, Coventry CV4 7AL. Telephone0203 24011,ext. 2014. Open 9-5 Monday to Thursday, 9-4 Fridays. Half hour closure for lunch. Not openweekends. Reading room usually open throughout summer vacation, except August Bank Holiday butwrite or telephone in advance to check.Some of the oldest archi ves of local trade societies catering for craftsmen in Irish towns and citiesare to be found in the Modem Records Centre (MRC). Not because the Centre's agents have beenclandestinely stealing the Irish nation's heritage (the sad truth is that no one from the MRC has set footin Ireland since the Centre was established in 1973) but rather because the archives in question had beenabsorbed into the head office records of a number of British trade unions. In the course of rescuing thearchival heritage of the British trade union movement from a variety of dirty attics and damp basements,the Centre has, without any conscious intention of so doing, found itself acting as an agent for thepreservation of Ireland's trade union history too.Those who wish to be well informed about the Centre's holdings should consult its published findingaids which ought to be available in any good academic or reference library. The most comprehensiveof these publications is R.A. Sto~ey and A.G. Tough, Consolidated Guide, 1986, available fromthe Centre, price £5. The Consolidated Guide's first part contains brief descriptions of all accessionsreceived up to April 1986. The second part of the Consolidated Guide and the original Guide (1977)and Supplement (1981) contain fuller descriptions of the same material. The Centre's Annual Reportcan be used to keep abreast of additions to the MRC's holdings. Another publication which deservesto be mentioned is N. Baldwin, The 1nternational Transport Workers' Federation Archive, (1985),which is also published by the University of Warwick and is available from the MRC, price £2.25. Allof these publications are backed up by detailed descriptive lists and indexes compiled by the Centre'sstaff. These can be consulted in the Centre's reading room and copies of the lists are available at theNational Register of Archives in London. The Centre produces some useful Notesfor Researcherswhich explain its classification scheme and the structure of its finding aids: these and a location planwill be sent on request to potential research visitors.Irish trade union records in the Centre include the following.EngineersDrogheda Branch or the Amalgamated Society of Engineers: 1 volume containing minutes, 1855-60and out-letters, 1860-95 (Ref. MSS.259/BR/D/3/l). .GeneralRulebooks of County Wicklow General Labourers' Association (n.d.), Irish Agricultural and GeneralWorkers' Union (1918) and Irish National Trade and Labour Union (n.d.) (Ref. MSS.I27/NU/5/5/6/I-Ill).PrintersRulebooks ofTypographical Association branches: Armagh (1955), Belfast (1936), Bray and Wicklow(1939), Cork (1954), Dublin (1965), Omagh (n.d.), Waterford (n.d.) and Wexford (1965) (Ref.MSS.39Dff N4/6). Rulebooks of Typographical Association chapels: Athlone (n.d.), Belfast Telegraph(1946) and Kerryman (1947) (Ref. MSS.39DffN4n).Railway WorkersRules of benevolent and benefit societies: Belfast and Dublin Locomotive (1888), Great Northern