Dublin & Dubliners
Published on 28th March 2012
James Joyce's Dubliners (1914) presents a raw and uncompromising portrait of his native city in a book he described as 'my nicely polished looking glass'.
These images from the Dublin City Council Photographic Collection show Dublin as it was over fifty years later. They illustrate how the city had changed and yet, in some respects, stayed the same. The churches, streets, and pubs through which Joyce's characters roamed and schemed remained as central to Dublin life in the middle of the twentieth century as at the beginning.
Joyce's Dublin is in some respects 'an eternal city', a city as recognisable in these photographs as it was when Joyce put pen to paper.
Further Resources
Dublin City Libraries has a wide range of sources on the social, political, and cultural history of Dublin, some of which are available online and some through the Dublin City Libraries network.
The Reading Room, Dublin City Library and Archive, Pearse Street holds a wealth of material on the history of Dublin, including books, pamphlets, journals, street directories, and almanacs.
The following online resources can be accessed free of charge at your local library. Ask library staff for information and assistance.
- DRI - Digital Repository of Ireland is a national digital repository for Ireland’s humanities, social sciences, and cultural heritage data. Here you will find select digital collections of Dublin City Library and Archive. Highlights of the collection include the Fáilte Ireland Photographic Collection, the Jacobs Biscuit Factory Photographic Archive, Wide Street Commission and the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association Archive.
- Irish Times Digital Archive: This online archive service gives access to contemporary editions of the Irish Times from the mid-nineteenth century until the present.
- Irish Newspaper Archive: This online archive service gives access to contemporary editions of the Irish Independent and a range of other newspapers.
- The Ireland-JSTOR Collection: This online archive of academic articles can also be accessed free of charge at your local library.
For further reading, consult the Library Catalogue.