The Project has four main goals: 

• to produce accurate texts of all of Collins' plays based on manuscript and printed copies

• to trace Collins' processes of composition of the play texts

• to enable comparisons between printed, manuscript and prompt copies of the plays

• to provide a scholarly resource to promote further work on Collins as a playwright

The Project started in 2005 and has covered extensively the collections of Collins' plays in many UK and American libraries, including amongst others the British Library (the Lord Chamberlain's manuscripts and Collins' privately printed texts), the Pierpont Morgan Library and New York Public Library in New York, Princeton University Library, Yale University Library, the Harry Ransom Centre, University of Texas at Austin, and the Huntington Library, California. Discussions of the holdings at these and other libraries will be found in the 'Manuscripts' section of the site.

Professor Richard Pearson, NUI Galway, editor and project director, is at present the sole member of the team.

The Project wishes to thank Dr. Mariaconcetta Costantini for her initial contributions.

Two assistants have worked on the Project in earlier days: Laura Tansley and Rachel Stephens who patiently transcribed, scanned and proof-read copies of the plays and Professor Pearson's notes.

The Project has been funded for the assistants and visits to libraries in the States and UK by the University of Worcester Drama division research funds, and the National University of Ireland Galway triannual travel grant funds.