Augustinians hand over personal papers of Wood Quay campaigner

AN ARCHIVE of the work of the late Fr FX Martin, the leader of the campaign against the building of Dublin’s civic offices at the Viking site in Wood Quay, has been given to the National Library of Ireland.

A noted historian and expert in medieval history, Fr Martin was pursued by the then Dublin Corporation for £80,000 in costs in relation to a court case in the late 1970s which attempted to stop the destruction of archaeological remains caused by the construction of the new civic offices on the site.

He pleaded inability to pay and was some years later “forgiven” his debt by the council. Former president Mary Robinson, who was the legal adviser to Fr Martin, yesterday officiated at the handing over of the archive to the National Library by his order, the Augustinians.

While the court proceedings were lost “we won the long-term issue”, Mrs Robinson said. The site of Wood Quay was eventually declared a national monument.

The archive dates mainly from the 1960s onwards and includes a significant amount of material relating to Fr Martin's work as an historian including his work on the nine-volume publication, A New History of Ireland, which became a standard work of reference on Irish history.

Other noteworthy materials include those covering his work on the 12th-century cleric and writer Giraldus Cambrensis, as well as papers relating to the Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries in Ireland.

The archive also contains a small amount of primary source material relating to Wood Quay, including letters of support from international figures and prominent Irish citizens, including Mrs Robinson, who was a senator at the time.

The bulk of Fr Martin’s archives relating to the Wood Quay campaign are held in the National Museum.

An exhibition of selected Wood Quay campaign-related materials, together with television footage of a 1978 protest march addressed by Mrs Robinson, is on display in the National Library’s main hall for the next 12 weeks. The excavations of the Wood Quay site revealed new evidence about the Viking and later medieval settlements in Dublin, including Viking earthen defences, wattle-and-daub houses, and part of the city’s medieval stone wall.

Evidence of land reclamation and successive waterfronts from the 10th to 13th centuries were also revealed. Among the artifacts found were pendants of Baltic amber and glass, objects of carved walrus ivory, an antler comb case, gaming counters, and worked leather items – all providing evidence of Viking craftsmanship.

Another key find was a 13th-century pewter pilgrim’s flask in the shape of a ship.