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Rory Davies, Jacqueline nee Creaven d’Towey, Catherine Naughton
Volunteers helping to transcribe historical documents in Roscommon Library
One of the many joys of volunteering is being able to follow a passion or interest that you may have had for a while but due to work or family commitments may have found it difficult to pursue. 38 volunteers in Roscommon have followed their interest in local history and have signed up for a heritage project to transcribe historic leases relating to Roscommon town. Vincent Delaney, who is managing this project on a voluntary basis on behalf of Roscommon County Council and Hertfordshire County Council in the UK, guides a team of eight volunteers reading and transcribing historic documents into word documents.
The documents connect the Earls of Ranelagh, The Earls of Essex and the Earls of Leinster to the town of Roscommon and date back as far as 1630, so patience, persistence and sometimes a little detective work are required! According to Vincent ‘This work which will be available to be inspected in Roscommon Library and will be a very valuable resource for genealogists, family researchers and historians for many decades to come.’
Catherine Naughton is one of the volunteers in Roscommon Library every second Monday afternoon, ‘I retired last November and there’s only so much housework you can do. I wanted to get out and meet others and give something back. It’s great to feel you’re part of what is happening in the community.’ Roscommon County Council and the Roscommon Volunteer Centre support this project.
If you are interested in donating an hour or two to this project or any other interest you may have, we would love to hear from you. There are a wide range of volunteering opportunities available through Roscommon Volunteer Centre from animal welfare, environmental projects, the arts, communications/media, and health related opportunities. Drop into the office in the Square, Roscommon, call 089-2199930 for more information or email info@volunteerroscommon.ie
