WATERFORD COUNTY ARCHIVES SERVICE Repository Repository Name: Waterford County Archives Identity Statement Reference Code: IE WCC GNA Titles: Waterford County Council: General Administration Papers Dates: 1812-1979 Level of Description: Fonds Extent: 402 items Creator Creators: Waterford County Council Administrative History: Waterford County was one of the earliest counties established by the writ of John, King of England and Wales and Lord of Ireland. In the medieval period a County Sheriff appointed by royal authority administered the County. The County Sheriff was assisted in the administration of the County by the Grand Jury, the members of whom he chose, although later in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries there was a limited franchise. Local Government in Ireland was reorganised under the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898. Under the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898 the Grand Juries ceased to exist and the functions of the Grand Jury were taken over by Waterford County Council. The local electorate elected the members of Waterford County Council to the Council. In 1898 the local electorate consisted of the parliamentary electorate and also women and peers. The parliamentary electorate were property owners, occupiers of property who paid rates direct or through the landowner as an addition to rent and any lodger paying more than £10 rent per annum. The records provide details of the move from the Grand Jury system of local government and trace the early developments of Waterford County Council and its services. The files and volumes of accounts, registers and other records in this collection reflect the broad range of functions carried out by Waterford County Council‟s elected representatives and staff. Archival History: The records for this Descriptive List came from the County Secretary‟s Office in Arus Brugha, Dungarvan and detail the early years of Waterford County Council. It should be noted, however, that this collection is not a 1 WATERFORD COUNTY ARCHIVES SERVICE complete collection of the early records of Waterford County Council and early records relating to specific sections will be listed with the records from that section in further Descriptive Lists. These records were sent to storage at Lismore Library Headquarters in 1996 and were moved to Dungarvan to the newly built Archive Store in 1999. Acquisition: Waterford County Council Content and Structure Scope and Conent: Papers relating to the early years of the Council where all functions were controlled from the County Secretary‟s Office. The collection contains official correspondence, files, account books, notices and registers from Waterford County Council. The collection contains records of local elections from 1900-1960 including registers of electors and nomination papers (WCC/GNA/20-30). Correspondence in the collection relates to the operation of local government under Dáil Éireann (WCC/GNA/131). The collection includes records of attempts to introduce the 1934 Town and Regional Planning Act and on the introduction of the Planning Act, 1963 and the first Development Plans for towns in County Waterford (WCC/GNA/168-174). The collection includes detailed information on early bridge and road building in County Waterford and the provision of water supplies to Waterford County. The records of the County Waterford War Pensions Committee (WCC/GNA/331) and records of damage to roads and bridges and the costs of repairs during the War of Independence (WCC/GNA/332) provide information on the activities of the IRA brigades during the War of Independence. Contains also the records for the establishment of the County Fire Service in 1940 during the Second World War (WCC/GNA/380-382) documenting the difficulty in supplying the firefighters during the Second World War. Includes also records of the building of Ardkeen Sanitorium as a tuberculosis hospital (WCC/GNA/266) and records of the proceedings of the County Waterford Tuberculosis Committee (WCC/GNA/267). Content keyw pers/inst: Waterford County Council Content keyword: Local Government (subject) Content keyword: War of Independence (subject) Content keyword: Health/Tuberculosis (subject) 2 WATERFORD COUNTY ARCHIVES SERVICE Content keyword: Firefighters Arrangement: The arrangement of the collection has been carried out with due consideration to the guidance in Guidelines for the Development of Local Authority Archives Services. The collection has been divided into two sections: A: The Workings of Waterford County Council – this section details the administration of Waterford County Council and how the Council staff and elected members functioned. B: Services Provided by Waterford County Council – this section provides information on the many and varied services provided by Waterford County Council. Within these sections the collection is broken down according to the function of the records. The files have not been altered and reflect the manner in which the files were first set up. As a result, the files, in some cases, contain records from the Grand Jury administration, which were used by Waterford County Council in the continuation of functions such as, bridge building and maintenance. Within each section the files are in date order. Conditions of access and use Access Conditions: Access restricted for records containing personal information Language: English and Irish Finding Aids: Descriptive List Physical/Technical Reqs: Damp press letter books only available on microfilm Copies Information: Some letters have been digitised for www.learnaboutarchives.ie Related Material: WCC/GNA/1 Waterford County Council Minute Books WCC/GJ/1- Waterford Grand Jury Collection Archivist‟s Note: Joanne Rothwell Rules/Conventions: IGAD: Irish Guidelines for Archival Description, Dublin, Society of Archivists, Ireland, 2009 ISAD (G): General International Standard Archival Description, 2nd ed., Ottowa, International Council on Archives, 2000 National Council on Archives: Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, Chippenham, National Council on Archives, 1997 Date of Description: May 2005, Revised October 2009 3 WATERFORD COUNTY ARCHIVES SERVICE CONTENT AND STRUCTURE Map of Waterford County i Introduction 3 A. THE WORKINGS OF WATERFORD COUNTY COUNCIL I County Secretary 6 II Staff 6 III County Councillors 8 IV Elections 9 V Correspondence 11 VI Administration & Meetings 14 VII Official Enquiries 16 VIII Newspaper Reports 16 IX Workhouses and Boards of Guardians 17 X Local Authorities 18 XI Waterford County Board of Public Health 19 XII Central Authorities 23 4 WATERFORD COUNTY ARCHIVES SERVICE B. SERVICES PROVIDED BY W.C.C. I Finance 26 II Rates & Valuations 29 III Planning 30 IV Engineering: Roads 32 V Engineering: Sanitary 36 VI Housing 40 VII Land Acquisition and Compulsory Purchase 41 VIII Health 58 IX Agriculture (Contagious Diseases of Animals Act) 59 X Education 62 XI Legal 63 XII Public Services 64 XIII Monuments & Amenities 64 XIV Environment 66 XV Industry 67 XVI Transport 67 XVII Road Vehicles 68 XVIII Harbours & Piers 70 XIX War & Defence 71 XX Turf Production 72 XXI Social Assistance 72 XXII County Libraries 73 XXIII Fire Services 77 XXIV Regulation of Businesses 78 XXV Natural Disasters 78 XXVI Insurance 79 XXVIII Fishing 80 XXIX Advertising 80 XXX Weights & Measures 81 5 WATERFORD COUNTY ARCHIVES SERVICE INTRODUCTION Waterford County was one of the earliest counties established by the writ of John, King of England and Wales and Lord of Ireland. In the medieval period a County Sheriff appointed by royal authority administered the County. The County Sheriff was assisted in the administration of the County by the Grand Jury, the members of whom he chose, although later in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries there was a limited franchise. Local Government in Ireland was reorganised under the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898. The Grand Juries that had been in existence from the thirteenth century in Waterford County were abolished and replaced by County Councils and Rural District Councils. Under the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898 the Grand Juries ceased to exist and the functions of the Grand Jury were taken over by Waterford County Council. The local electorate elected the members of Waterford County Council to the Council. In 1898 the local electorate consisted of the parliamentary electorate and also women and peers. The parliamentary electorate were property owners, occupiers of property who paid rates direct or through the landowner as an addition to rent and any lodger paying more than £10 rent per annum. The records in the following Descriptive List provide details of the move from the Grand Jury system of local government and trace the early developments of the Council and its services. The records for this Descriptive List came from the County Secretary‟s Office in Arus Brugha, Dungarvan and detail the early years of Waterford County Council. It should be noted, however, that this collection is not a complete collection of the early records of Waterford County Council and early records relating to specific sections will be listed with the records from that section in further Descriptive Lists. These records were sent to storage at Lismore Library Headquarters in 1996 and were moved to Dungarvan to the newly built Archive Store in 1999. This Descriptive List is titled Waterford County Council General Administration and reflects the early form of the Council where all functions were controlled from the County Secretary‟s Office. In later years, the services