A Family at War: Mary Martin’s Diary, 1 January – 25 May 1916 is an online exhibition of the Diary of Mary Martin, a widow and mother of twelve children, living in the affluent Dublin suburb of Monkstown.

Mary wrote the diary to her son Charlie, a soldier with the Royal Dublin Fusiliers who went missing in action on the Salonika front, in the hope that one day he would return home and be able to read it.

Set against the backdrop of the Easter Rising and the First World War, the diary chronicles the daily activities of Mary, her family, friends and relatives.

Created by students enrolled in the Digital Scholarly Editing module on the MPhil in Digital Humanities and Culture and PhD in Digital Arts and Humanities (DAH) taught by Susan Schreibman, Trinity College Dublin, Spring 2012, this online exhibition is a fascinating source for anyone interested in Irish history, military history, women’s history and genealogy.

The Mary Martin Diary includes 132 diary entries that were recorded from January 1- May 25, 1916. Each of these entries has been transcribed and compiled into searchable database. The original diary is held at the National Library of Ireland.

The diary is searchable for specific people and places, and can be read chronologically, or by a specific entry. Take a look at the diary now.