A collection of irreplaceable heritage material, comprising rare books, maps and unique voice recordings, is being housed in a damp, insecure building in the Phoenix Park and could be destroyed at any time, according to IMPACT, the public service union.
The collection is in the placenames department of the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands in a leaky, 18th century building.
It is at risk not only from the damp and the building's poor condition but also from the minimal security, according to Dr Sean O Cearnaigh, secretary of the IMPACT branch at the department. There is public access but no reception area.
He said the Office of Public Works had failed to relocate the collection despite repeated calls to do so.
The department was part of the Ordnance Survey before being moved to the Department of the Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands last year. The material at risk includes 17th century books, such as John Colgan's Acta Sanctorum, which contains a rare compendium of Irish saints and placenames. There are also first editions of Ordnance Survey sea charts, such as early McKenzie coastal charts.
The material is under a leaky roof close to electrical sockets. "We're afraid we'll come along one morning and find just a charred mass," said Dr an O Cearnaigh. "We're reluctant to say that this stuff is priceless because that, in effect, is an open invitation. Seven original 18th century fireplaces were stolen from the building last year and it is clear the building is being watched."
The only security is a camera pointed at the front door.
The department also houses an irreplaceable collection of "native speaker" recordings, both Irish and English. Much of this important folklore was collected by, among others, Mr Ciaran Mac Mathuna, of Mo Cheol Thu fame, who worked with the department in the 1950s and 1960s.
Dr an O Cearnaigh said it would be impossible to replicate this material now. Original sources for field research of this type were now extremely rare.
He said between 7,000 and 8,000 books relating to placenames were housed in the building. O Cearnaigh relating which related to placenames. These included valuable records of English placenames contained in the first Ordnance Survey. There was also a manual index which listed every piece of text.
"Even if the place was totally computerised, the very fact of having that index in our possession is a tremendous boon, not only for us but for future generations of researchers."
Dr O Cearnaigh and his four research colleagues in the placenames department are reluctant to make a huge fuss. The building, for example, has no fire escape and it could be closed on safety grounds.
"If that happens we'll just be sitting at home doing nothing while the documents are put at even greater risk."