Creator
Gerard J. Hannan
Emerald Archives was created by Irish historian, author, journalist and broadcaster Gerard J. Hannan. His work has been shaped by a long-standing interest in Irish history, local memory, archives and the ways in which historical material can be made accessible to a wider public.
Background
Gerard J. Hannan spent more than twenty-five years working in journalism and broadcasting in Limerick. That career brought him into regular contact with the stories, personalities, disputes, memories and everyday experiences that form part of a community’s historical record. His later academic work added a more formal research framework to that experience.
His qualifications include a BA in History and Media, an MBS in International Entrepreneurship Management and an MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Together, those areas of study have influenced the way Emerald Archives combines historical research, communication, organisation and public accessibility.
Author and Researcher
Hannan is the author of a number of books, including Ashes, Tis In Me Ass and From Bards To Blackguards. His writing ranges across history, memory, humour and Irish life, while his research interests continue to centre on the preservation and interpretation of historical material.
Archive Work
He is also the founder and curator of Emerald Archives, a long-term digital preservation project created to collect, restore, organise and share historical material connected with Limerick and Ireland. That work developed into a broader ambition: to build a chronological Irish history resource that allows readers to move through the past one reference year at a time.
Creating Emerald Archives
Emerald Archives grew from that ambition. The project combines historical research, source gathering, writing, digital preservation and specially created illustrative imagery in a single public resource. Its Irish History Timeline begins at 32,000 BCE and continues to the present, while making clear where early dates represent archaeological or scientific reference points rather than precisely documented calendar years.
Hannan’s role is to guide the editorial direction of the archive, develop its historical content and continue expanding the collection. The purpose remains straightforward: to make Ireland’s long and complex past easier to discover, explore and understand.
From 32,000 BCE to the Present, One Year at a Time.