MS 108 Irish Electoral Ephemera 1922–1948

Special Collections is pleased to announce that the MS 108 Irish Electoral Ephemera 1922–1948 Collection is now available for consultation.

The collection comprises 14 rare items of electoral ephemera from four Irish political parties: Cumann na nGaedheal, Fianna Fáil, Labour and Sinn Féin. The items present a range of political perspectives from the post-revolutionary era of Irish politics and offer a textual record of political discourse in the first decades of Irish independence, from the Free State to the beginnings of the Republic.

The collection includes broadsides, handbills, and multi-page leaflets, which disseminated manifestos of key general elections (1922, 1927, 1932, 1948), by-election material, and municipal appeals. These materials give insight into welfare, housing, labour, and class issues in early twentieth-century Ireland, and the varying ideological responses to the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 and the Free State. 

This collection of rare items of electoral material provides a unique insight into Irish political history. The collection is of research value for researchers working across a range of disciplines, including Irish political history, print and material cultures, nationhood, public policy, labour history, and media studies.      

A full listing of the MS 101 Irish Electoral Ephemera 1922–1948 Collection can be found on the Special Collections webpages.

The collection can be consulted by appointment at Special Collections. Please contact us to arrange consultation.