Before we can appreciate what was lost in 1922, it is important to understand the history of public records in Ireland: what records were created, a work seven years in the making. This guide, which listed the collections in the PROI, gained significant importance following 1922 because it could be used to determine what had been destroyed. However, the guide is not just a collection list for the PROI. Wood’s introduction sets out the history of public records generated in the administration and governing of Ireland, and how those collections were brought together to form the PROI. A genealogist, like a dog with a bone, can use it to ascertain whether a record had been created in the first place, and then, much like the Beyond 2022 team, try to establish whether a copy, substitute, ancillary record or even the original can be found. Wood also wrote an article for the journal (Volume 13, 1930, page 17), ‘The Public Records of Ireland Before and After 1922’, which discusses the history of the PROI and the material that was lost in the fire. You can read Wood’s guide and article for free online (see the box on the facing page).
