[New] NATIONAL HERALDIC SURVEY Update

At the Board Meeting held on Thursday 12th January 2023, Shane Wilson, MGSI, Director of Internet Services and Laura Price, MGSI, Director of Special Collections, Research & Specialist Groups, outlined the features of the mechanism, by which, participants in the Society’s National Heraldic Survey will be able to capture and record the image, details and location of the use of heraldry throughout Ireland. The objective is for simplicity of use, uniformity of capture and recording, ease of submission and retrievability and, of course, archiving for further study.

The Society’s Honorary Herald, Dr. Antonio Salmerón Cabañas, FHA, FGSI, will be on hand to advise on the correct blazoning of each of the arms recorded, however, as many will have been assumed without necessarily adhering to the rules of heraldic design, this may not always be possible for obvious reasons. Remember, the survey is not about the quality or accuracy of the heraldic design, but simply on the use of heraldry in the community and how Irish people identity with and make use of, heraldry. This survey will be the first of its kind in Ireland and possibly, in Europe