The National Archives of Ireland (NAI) closed due to water leak

Following the detection of a water leak on the top floor of The National Archives of Ireland (NAI)'s premises on Bishop Street on Wednesday 25 October, emergency control plans were immediately activated and the NAI will remain closed until Tuesday 31 October to enable essential works to be carried out.

Following a visit by Catherine Martin, TD, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, to view the damage, the Minister reported that the situation was brought under control in a timely fashion and commended the NAI staff for their speedy management of the situation, adding:

“Their own staff, their facilities Management Company, the Office of Public Works as well as electricians, plumbers and ICT specialists were on site since early this morning to ensure the situation was brought under control in a timely fashion.”

“The National Archives is an extremely valuable State resource; and its collections are of great value to those researching the political, social and economic development of Ireland from the 18th century to the present day, as well as being of great use for family and local history research. The Department is committed to ensuring they are supported in any way to ensure their collections are secure for future generation.”

Orlaith McBride, director at the National Archives, said staff and conservation teams have been on-site all day assessing the extent of the damage, and added:

The special archival storage boxes and folders used by the National Archives are designed to withstand a high degree of water ingress; any damaged boxes from the affected areas have been removed to secure storage and are undergoing further examination. We can confirm that Census 1926 records have not been affected.

"Most of our records have already been moved off-site and are stored in secure storage elsewhere in anticipation of a major redevelopment project which is due to commence shortly.”