IRELAND’S PART IN World War 1 will be explored next week at Trinity College Dublin.

The World War 1 Roadshow will be hosted by the college next Saturday in partnership with RTÉ Radio 1 and the National Library of Ireland.

Members of the public are being invited to bring in family items, letters and mementos related to the war to be evaluated and catalogued by a team of experts.

The roadshow will also feature a series of pop up talks and lectures on the Great War.

Trinity Professor James Wickham said: “The World War One Roadshow forms part of Trinity College Dublin’s engagement with the Decade of Commemorations.

It will also remember the over 450 Trinity College graduates who died in the Great War.

“We want it to be an informative and thought provoking day concerning Ireland’s part in World War One.

We want people to come away from it with a greater understanding of Ireland’s role in what was one of the bloodiest conflicts of our time.

As part of the Family History Collections Day of World War 1 – experts from the National Library of Ireland and Trinity College Dublin will upload precious items related to the war to an online archive.

It will be the first ever online European archive of private stories and documents from World War 1.

It’s being developed by Europeana – Europe’s digital library, museum and archive.

Head of Services with the National Library of Ireland, Katherine McSharry, said:

We know the Irish public have a wealth of items and stories to share in relation to World War 1, and we look forward to discovering more fascinating material during this event.

There will be plenty of entertainment on the day with pop up talks, covering different aspects of WW1, taking place every 15 minutes in the Trinity Long Room Hub, Fellows’ Square.

Meanwhile in the Trinity College Chapel,  readings with musical interludes charting various scenarios from WW1 will be performed.

Four actors will read from accounts, diary entries and love letters capturing a glimpse of the human side of battle as part of this unique event.

You can check out the schedule of events for the day here. 

Read: Did someone in your family survive World War I?>