Leanna Byrne | Editor
Trinity College Dublin’s (TCD) School of Ecumenics are keeping with the spirit of Christmas generosity by donating a large pallet of academic books to the Genealogical Society of Ireland for the University of Sarajevo this week.
The several hundred academic books collected by the Society for the library of the University of Sarajevo arrived safely in Sarajevo.
The university’s entire library collection was destroyed in August 1992 in the shelling and subsequent fire at the National & University Library in Sarajevo during the Bosnian Civil War.
A few years ago students at the university led by Jasmin Hasic and his colleagues launched an international appeal for donations of academic books to restore the university’s library collections. The Genealogical Society of Ireland, an educational charity, was delighted to assist with this campaign as the people of Ireland can readily empathise with the Bosnian people as we too lost an enormous part of our archival heritage in 1922 with the destruction of the Public Records Office at the start of our Civil War. Again, like the Bosnians we too lost over a thousand years of our nation’s archival heritage.
With generous donations from Prof. Geraldine Smith of the Irish School of Ecumenics at Trinity College Dublin and others, the Society was delighted with the support it has received for this important European heritage and educational initiative.
Mr. Gerry Dunne, CEO of Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company sponsored the cost of the shipment of the books. With the assistance of Alan Reid of DSV in Kildare and Tim Ryan of the Harbour Company the pallet load of books left Dún Laoghaire for Sarajevo and safely arrived.
The Society is now planning the collection of a second pallet load of academic books.
