RECORDS of the Quakers in Limerick dating back more than 300 years were yesterday opened for public viewing on Limerick City Council’s website through a joint initiative by the city council and the Society of Friends.The records date from the early 18th century.
The original records are held in the Quaker Library in Dublin and the Society of Friends approached Limerick City archives proposing to extend access to their records by microfilming the records and placing a digital copy of the microfilm online.
The project was funded by Limerick City Council and city archivist Jacqui Hayes said these records are of great interest to the Limerick area as the Quakers played a significant role in Limerick’s business and mercantile history in the eighteenth and nineteenth century.
She said: "The Quakers are meticulous record keepers. From July 1729 we have a complete record of the women’s meetings in Limerick. The men’s meetings survive for a little later – from 1779 and they are unbroken also up to 1956. This is an incredible record of Limerick men and women meeting and is a wonderful addition to the city’s digital archive." The records were initially microfilmed and the microfilm images were then converted to digital and delivered on CD in PDF format.
The Religious Society of Friends was founded in 1652 and the first meeting of Friends in Limerick was held in the home of Richard Pearce in 1655. Later in 1671 a meeting house was erected in Creagh Lane, they remained here until 1807 when a new meeting house was built in Cecil Street and in 1832 a Friends Burial ground was established near Peters Cell.
The principle element of Quaker faith was, and remains, the idea that each person is capable of direct experience with the Holy Spirit without interference from any other person.
The Quakers advocated a simpler way of practising the Christian way of life, which included freedom of religious choice and equality of the sexes.
Friends were to be sober, simple, plain, honest, industrious, and courageous.
The poor would be cared for, there would be no tale-bearing and there would be no swearing of oaths.
Ms Hayes said the Religious Society of Friends is well-known for its charity work and innovation, adding: "Perhaps the most cited incidence of this is during the Famine in Ireland when Friends formed Relief Committees which provided food to anyone in need regardless of their religion."
The Relief Committee Minutes Books record the decisions of the relief committee in relation to relief in Clare and Limerick during the Famine period.
This collection contains the minutes of the Limerick men’s and women’s committee. The minutes record discussions on travel, marriage, removals and correspondence from friends in Ireland and abroad.
The collection also includes account books, notices of removals records friends removed from the Society for improper behaviour, notices of friends transferring from and to other meetings and records of Quaker births, deaths and marriages.
Mayor of Limerick, Cllr Kevin Kiely said he was delighted that the historical Quaker records are now online for public viewing.
He said: "The collection is a wonderful insight into the Quaker community in the Limerick area, documenting their births, deaths and marriages, their monthly meetings and their response to prevailing social and economic conditions. In my view this project is an excellent example of how the City Council can work with communities to support them and enrich the general cultural value to all interested parties."
* To view the records online log on to www.limerickcity.ie
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