Representative Church Body Library, Dublin Ms
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1 REPRESENTATIVE CHURCH BODY LIBRARY, DUBLIN MS 624 The records of the Young Women's Christian Association in Ireland (YWCA) including minute books and correspondence of the executive council, standing committee, several divisional councils and specific committees. 1885-2007 As well as general administrative material such as minutes, accounts and correspondence, the collection also includes memorabilia including leaflets, tracts, prayer cards and orders of service for special events giving colour to the organisation’s history. Topics covered include its early training home for missionaries; the national annual conference and annual sale; the development of the Dublin Bible College in the 1940s and early 1950s; and the development of camps activities for young people, boarding hostels and homes for workers throughout the island under both central and local branch control. Extensive materials also record the history of specific branches, hostels, houses and holiday homes, including Queen Mary Home, Belfast, the Baggot Street Hostel and the Radcliff Hall, Dublin, as well as the business and share- holding records of the YWCA Trust Corporation which managed YWCA properties. The collection is organised into 13 record groups, listed on pages 2 and 3 below. All of the material is open to the public with the exception of those items marked [CLOSED] for which the permission of the Board of the YWCA in Ireland, must first be obtained in writing, before access will be granted. From YWCA, Bray, deposited by Mrs Daphne Murphy, 1998; and YWCA headquarters, Dublin, 2012. 2 Arrangement 1. Minutes of the central administrative organisation (including the Executive Council, the General Council, the Irish Divisional Council, and the Standing Committee). 1885-1997 4 2. Papers, including agendas, miscellaneous correspondence, and annual accounts, extracted from minute books above. 1918-1995 8 2a. Correspondence on specific topics. 1900-1967 3. Minutes and related papers of various sub-committees (including the Jubilee, Centenary and 125 th Anniversary celebration committees), arranged in chronological order. 1891-1988 10 4. Materials relating to the Foreign Department and Missionary Fund for the training of overseas missionaries. 1908-1996 13 5. Materials relating to the National Conference and Annual Sales of Work. 1913-1972 15 6. Materials relating to the Dublin Bible College 1943-1950 16 7. Miscellaneous printed materials 1881-1990s 17 8. Printed histories of the organisation c. 1930-2005 19 9. Miscellaneous materials Late 19 th century–2000 20 10. Papers and related accounts of the YWCA Trust 1892-1990s 22 3 11. General material concerning the central administration of the YWCA’s various branches, hostels, branches, holiday homes and camps 24 1895-2006 12. Specific material about individual houses and branches, as they were locally run. 26 Arranged by location in chronological order, as follows: A. Harcourt Street (1890-1915) 26 B. Cork (1898-2006) 27 C. Glenada, Newcastle, County Down (1900-1973) 27 D. Queen Mary House Belfast (1915-1999) 28 E. Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin, including Trench House (1918-2000) 29 F. Baggot Street, Dublin (1919-2000) 30 G. Borrisokane, County Tipperary (1921-1936) 31 H. Waterford, including the Cliff, Tramore (1925-2007) 31 I. Coolnagriana, Greystones, County Wicklow (1927-2000) 32 J. Londonderry, Derry City (1950-1970) 33 K. Portstewart, County Londonderry (1963-1966) 33 L. Radcliff Hall, Sandymount, Dublin (1967-1996) 33 M. Lisburn Y Club (1978-92) 34 N. Central Club, Dublin (1971-91) 34 4 1. Minutes of the central administration in Ireland . 1.1. Minutes of the Executive Council and Workers' Committee (affiliated to the Executive Council of the YWCA in England and Wales). 1. 1885-1889 2. 1889-1890 3. 1890-1894 4. 1894-1895 5. 1895-1896 6. 1896-1897 7. 1898-1899 8. 1899-1904 9. 1904-1906 10. 1906-1907 1A. Minutes of the sub-committee of the Executive 1. 1889-1893 2. 1893-1898 3. 1903-1906 1.2 Minutes of the General Council (organised general business) 1. 1885-1895 2. 1896-1901 1.3 Minutes of the Irish Divisional Council (appears to take over the role of the Executive – continuing from 1.1. above). 1. 1907-1908 2. 1908-1910 3. 1910-1911 4. 1911-1913 5. 1913-1915 [this volume and subsequent volumes are indexed] 6. 1915-1917 7. 1917-1918 8. 1918-1919 9. 1920-1921 10. 1921-1923 11. 1924-1926 12. 1926-1929 13. 1929-1932 14. 1932-1936 5 15. 1936-1940 16. 1941-1953 [This set of minutes and subsequent items are unbound] 17. 1953-1973 18. 1973-1980 18a. Attendance book for meetings 1973-2005 [CLOSED] 19. 1980-1994 [CLOSED] 20. 1995-1997 [CLOSED] 1.4 Minutes of the Standing Committee 1. 1907-1908 2. 1912-1915 3. 1957-1960 4. 1960-1967 5. 1980-1984 [CLOSED] 6 2. Papers extracted from minute books 1. Working papers mostly agenda papers and annual accounts 1907-1919 2. Working papers mostly agenda papers and annual accounts 1920-1921 3. Working papers mostly agenda papers and annual accounts 1921-1923 4. Working papers mostly agenda papers and annual accounts 1924-1926 5. Working papers mostly agenda papers and annual accounts 1926-1929 6. Working papers mostly agenda papers and annual accounts 1929-1932 7. Working papers mostly agenda papers and annual accounts 1932-1936 8. Working papers mostly agenda papers and annual accounts 1936-1940 9. Miscellaneous correspondence, including correspondence with the YWCA of Great Britain, relating to the absence of Irish representation at European YWCA level, 1973; the visit of Miss Rhona Quinn, of YWCA Scotland and England in 1964; the rent of the Dawson Street premises 1974-75, establishment of a youth centre at Pim House, Belfast, and a seminar in conjunction with the Glencree Centre for Peace on contributing to society during a time of rapid change. 1973-1976 [CLOSED] 10. Miscellaneous correspondence including youth initiatives and a 15-point friendship and peace plan 1977 [CLOSED] 11. Miscellaneous correspondence including the appointment of a new Development Officer, accounts for the year, and a staff pension scheme 1978 [CLOSED] 7 12. Miscellaneous correspondence 1979 [CLOSED] 13. Miscellaneous correspondence including overseas outreach and plans for the Triennial Conference, and Young Wives Group. 1980 [CLOSED] 14. Miscellaneous correspondence including the Triennial Conference and programme of the Youth Development Officer. 1981-1991 [CLOSED] 15. Miscellaneous papers and notes relating to matters arising from correspondence and the conference of 1980 and other undated miscellaneous correspondence. 1980s, undated [CLOSED] 8 2a. Correspondence on specific topics 1. Official letters and telegrams, mostly from Buckingham Palace, acknowledging good wishes on royal births and marriages, and condolences on royal deaths sent by the Irish Divisional Council and YWCA in Ireland following the deaths of members of the British Royal Family, including those conveyed through the Irish Department of External Affairs in 1935. The earliest one in 1900 acknowledges the good wishes of Queen Victoria on the occasion of her visit to Ireland. The file also contains a letter from Mrs Rita Childers, following the death of President Childers in 1974; and a greeting card from Princess Hadja Humani Alga, MBE, Nigeria, 1963. 15 items 1900-1963, undated 2. Letters between members of the Irish Divisional Council and the British National Council (BNC), with related papers, concerning a dispute which led to the Irish division becoming an independent association in its own right. The dispute concerned the staging of a fund-raising matinee at Drury Lane Theatre in London, for munitions and woman war workers, held in March 1916. Members of the Irish Council were against this because they viewed support of a play on the stage as being opposed to the biblical teaching and evangelical basis of the organisation, as a ‘worldly’ activity. Arising from the protracted discussion the Irish council made the decision to break away from the BNC and form an independent association – the YMCA in Ireland, by May 1917. There is additional printed material outlining the scope of the BNC following the break with Ireland, from September 1916 to 1919, and subsequent correspondence about the YWCA for Ireland uniting with the Christian Alliance for Women and Girls, and its undertaking of work in South Africa, as well as the BNC’s desire to maintain links with Irish organisations, in 1920. 1916-1920, undated 3. Correspondence relative to a dispute about Irish links with the YWCA of South Africa (the patron of which was the Countess of Athlone) which was breaking its affiliation with the World Committee of the YWCA because of differences on the issue of ‘inter-confessionalism’, and seeking Irish support and prayer during their difficulties. Much of the correspondence was sent to Miss Macconchy in the Ireland, and the YWCA for Ireland produced a prayer letter for their South African counterparts. 9 4. Miscellaneous file of correspondence, including some Trust correspondence about investments, and related items concerning the setting up of a home for Protestant girls in the Dun Laoghaire area, 1948-53 to be affiliated with the World Affiliation of Youth; difficulties with the Waterford Hostel, in the 1950s; and the return of the bookcase that belonged to the former Bible College, which was requested to be handed to the London Bible College 1947-1967 For the main body of Trust materials, see section /10 below. 10 3. Minutes and related papers of various sub-committees arranged in chronological order. 1. Volume containing a complete list of candidates in alphabetical order, including dates of entry and exit from the Deaconess and Missionary Training Home, Mount Pleasant Square, which was opened for training in mission work in 1891, but closed in 1899. It was later replaced by the Foreign Department, c. 1908 (see section 5 below). The volume includes details of baptisms and confirmations (with dates) that appear to have taken place in the home during the early period.