The International Inventory of Musical Sources - Répertoire International des Sources Musicales (RISM) was established in 1952 by the International Musicological Society and International Association of Music Libraries. In thirty-five countries around the world, non-profit RISM groups work to locate and catalogue all surviving manuscripts, printed scores, writings on music theory and libretti. They transmit the results to the RISM Zentralredaktion in Frankfurt, which then edits and publishes the entries. The resulting catalogues have become established as primary research tools for music, and are used worldwide by academics, students, performers and others to trace and identify music materials. The work of RISM Ireland is project-based, focusing on diverse areas of Irish musical life and individual institutional holdings. These projects highlight the numerous previously unknown-of, forgotten or thought-lost musical manuscripts and scores lying dormant in repositories throughout the island of Ireland and provide access to source documents invaluable to musicologists and performers.

In 2013, RISM Ireland launched an Irish-focused free-to-access database and website of pre-twentieth century musical materials held in repositories throughout the island of Ireland. Prior to this, Ireland’s contribution to the RISM project was historically linked with the work of RISM UK. Update (2022): That site, which used to have the URL rism-ie.org, is no longer functional.

Researchers and other interested parties are invited to contact any member of the RISM Ireland Steering Committee with information they may possess regarding hitherto unidentified, uncatalogued or little-known music sources or any other repositories in Ireland. We also welcome any information regarding any completed or ongoing cataloguing or research projects.

RISM Ireland Steering Committee