Opening of ‘Cúinne Caird’ in the RCB Library, Dublin

The opening of ‘Cúinne Caird’, a collection of Irish books and related materials of the late Bishop Donald Caird (1925-2017), took place in the RCB Library on Saturday, 14th September 2019. 

This printed collection was presented to the RCB Library by Nancy, his widow (in the context of a larger collection of related archival and photographic materials), and a special corner of the Library, ‘Cúinne Caird’, has been created to exhibit the books in memory of Bishop Donald Caird.

The collection as a whole consists of documents, photographs, sermons and other related materials pertaining to his great interest in the language.  The Library has catalogued the printed collection to date, and as Robert Gallagher, Library Administrator, explained: ‘As the Library did not have many books in Irish in its collections, it was decided to keep the collection together in a special section dedicated to the memory of Bishop Caird, which we have called Cúinne Caird.  I began the project by organising the books in order of the date they were published and, in addition to this, each book was recorded on our digital catalogue.’

A special cabinet, in which the collection will be exhibited, was commissioned from Shane Duffly.

Bishop Donald Caird was a long-time member of the RCB Library. He often visited there throughout his career and subsequently during his retirement.  He was a member of Cumann Gaelach na hEaglaise (the Irish Guild of the Church) since 1943.  In 2010, he was awarded the Ghradam an Phiarsaigh prize which is central to the ‘Cúinne Caird’.

This event has been organised by the RCB Library and Cumann Gaelach na hEaglaise.