Military History Society of Ireland, Military Archives, National Museum

The Military Archives has been the official place of deposit for records of the Defence Forces, the Department of Defence and the Army Pensions Board since 1990, as defined in the National Archives Act, 1986. Our brief is to collect material from the foundation of the State up until the present day, including records from overseas missions. From as early as 1924, the National Army, recognising the importance of the War of Independence, undertook to preserve historical documents from that time. Some of the earliest collections preserved by the Historical Section include the Collins Papers, Civil War Operations and Intelligence files and Captured Documents (Civil War up to 1925), which continue to be made available today. The Military Archives provides a vital national resource in the provision of primary source materials relating to the 1916 Easter Rising and the revolutionary period in Ireland. The Department of Defence, as part of the Government Centenary Commemoration programme, is cataloguing and partially digitising the Military Service Pensions Collection (MSPC), in the custody of the Military Archives. Key to understanding and researching the period, context and the events of Easter Week 1916 are the Military Service Pensions Collection 1916-1923 (MSPC) and the Bureau of Military History 1913-1921. The MSPC has been described as the single most important archival collection relating to Irelands revolutionary period, providing a significant insight into not only military activities but also social, economic and political aspects of the participants in the struggle for Independence. With over 2,500 files of confirmed 1916 veterans already online, the MSPC is a key primary source for the public and researchers alike.