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The Joan Denise Moriarty Collection

The Joan Denise Moriarty Collection was donated to Cork City Library in 2010 by Moriarty’s executors. It is the largest historical ballet collection in Ireland, documenting almost 60 years of work for dance. It includes records of the Moriarty Schools and of her three ballet companies: Cork Ballet Company (1947-1993), Ireland’s first professional ballet company: Irish Theatre Ballet (1959-1964) and the Irish Ballet Company/Irish National Ballet (1973-1989). The programmes, photographs, letters, choreographic notes, scores, newspaper cuttings, radio and video material constitute a significant resource for the study of the cultural history of Cork and the history of ballet in Ireland.

The Music Library has begun the work of digitising the documents for the Moriarty website as part of its major contribution to the Moriarty centenary year. We would like to thank those who gave us access to their private collections to complete the digitisation of the programmes. We are very grateful to Lavinia Anderson, Julia Cotter, Ray Casey, Dan Donovan, Mary Galvin, Monica Gavin, Jean Gilbert, Brenda Last, Carmel McCarthy, Kay McLoughlin, Michael MacConaill, Eileen Nolan and Cherry O'Keefe, Michael Twomey and Maureen Weldon who have made valuable contributions to our archive. If you wish to donate items relating to Joan Denise Moriarty's life and work  please contact kitty_buckley@corkcity.ie.

As the material is digitised it will then be made permanently available on the website.
Joan Denise Moriarty Website plan
Personal Documents
The Moriarty Schools of Dance
The Cork Ballet Company
The Cork Ballet Company’s Folk Dance Group
Irish Theatre Ballet – Ireland’s first professional ballet company
Irish Ballet Company / Irish National Ballet: Moriarty’s second professional company