In March 2021 ITMA applied to the Heritage Council of Ireland for funding under their Community Heritage Grant Scheme.

The aim of the scheme is to support capital projects that improve access and inclusion to heritage sites; that apply good heritage practice to the management of places, collections or objects (including buildings). The scheme also supports the purchase of essential equipment. The scheme is intended to enable communities and heritage non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to continue their work in this area or to start new initiatives. - Heritage Council, March 2021

Positive Negatives: Unlocking the Image Collection of the Irish Traditional Music Archive

The aim of ITMA's project is to digitise, preserve & make accessible, to archival best practice, negatives, slides & photographs from ITMA's 2021 milestone collections: Cnuasach an Bhreathnaigh (the Breandán Breathnach (1912-1985) Collection) and the Gráinne Yeats (1925-2013) Collection. 

ITMA will work with Eneclann to digitise over 4,500 items from these two collection. The breakdown of items is as follows:

890 Photographs

2,684 Negatives

944 Slides

Heritage Week 2021

This year Heritage week will run from the 14 August – 22 August 2021. For Heritage week ITMA plans to publish on its website curated galleries of images from the two collections for the public to enjoy.

We look forward to working on this project in the coming weeks and months. The full photographic collections will be made available in the ITMA reading room once the project is complete in October 2021.