Touch-type Read and Spell - Online Computer Course
As well as developing typing skills, TTRS is designed to benefit students of all ages who experience spelling, reading or writing difficulties. Students with dyslexia or literacy issues have found it helpful.
As you’re probably aware, last year we entered what’s being called the decade of commemoration. It began with the centenary of the lockout, and continues now with the onset of World War One. This war was such a catalyst: The world was a completely different place at the end of those four years than it had been at the start of them; and the sheer bad luck of that generation, finding themselves plunged into a maelstrom, is heartbreaking. The centenary brings a surfeit of material, and with it a danger of overkill, but that will pass, and the commemorative material and research will be invaluable down the line. In the meantime, here is a sample of both fiction and non-fiction looking at the war from different viewpoints.ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONTThe German viewpoint. One of the earliest, and best, novels written about the war, and from the perspective of a German soldier, who has joined up straight out of school with his classmates: ‘We were eighteen and had begun to love life and the world; and we had to shoot it to pieces’. The regular German soldier suffered just as much at the hand of fate as their counterparts, dealing with mismanagement, poor equipment, hunger, rats, slaughter, and yearning for a normal life: on one of their regular forays to the front they pass a mass of new coffins, ready and waiting for them. Remarque also wrote a sequel called The Road Back, which continues the story of the surviving characters, and describes their rehabilitation into a corrupt and uncaring society.A COWARD IF I RETURN, A HERO IF I FALLThe Irish viewpoint. Up until very recently, Ireland denied its role in the war: the Easter Rising executions and subsequent rise in nationalism changed the public’s view of the Irish Fusiliers from heroes to traitors; and men and boys who had joined up for a variety of reasons – financial, a sense of duty, a belief that it would further Home Rule, or purely for adventure – returned to find themselves booed and shunned by society, unemployable, and erased from their family history. Now, with a century’s distance, this view is changing, and this book commemorates through diaries and interviews with family members the significant and substantial role of Irishmen. The book admirably refuses to glorify, just to acknowledge.DOROTHEA’S WARA nurse’s viewpoint. The diary of Dorothea Crewdson, a volunteer nurse in France from 1915 to 1919, preparing wounded soldiers to get back to England to convalesce. A typical nurse, she is practical and unfazed in the face of horrific injuries, shellshock, and bombs, and continues nursing the wounded well into 1919. Lots of interesting little details, including Fords, flappers (in 1916!), and how messenger dogs were showered with (harmless) bombs while being fed to accustom them to the noise. The diary includes Dorothea’s very vibrant little line sketches.A BRASS HAT IN NO-MAN’S-LANDThe old soldier’s viewpoint. The memoir of a Northern Irish Protestant with a military background, who joins the Royal Irish Fusiliers in Dublin. Crozier describes how the men thrown together from both sides of the Irish divide found it difficult to free themselves from their insular and parochial mindsets, and to work together as a team. This book makes uncomfortable reading: it’s pretty graphic and Crozier freely admits in his memoir that his job was to provide cannon fodder; that said, he states that it’s far better for humanity to eradicate war itself than to pretend it can be undertaken without brutality. The voice and tone are very much of their time, but then this is what helps us develop a deeper understanding of a world we find difficult to relate to.IRELAND’S MEMORIAL RECORDSThis CD-ROM, produced by Eneclann, contains the records of more than 49,000 Irishmen who died in this war. Easy to use, with clear instructions, it gives each individuals rank and company details, and date and location of death. This is just a small selection of material exploring the First World War. There are many others, both fiction and non-fiction: highly recommended is the Monica Roberts Collection of letters from soldiers, now available to view online at Digital Repository Ireland.
This collection, 1916: The Women behind the Men, offers an insight into the integral role of women before, during and in the aftermath of the Rising. Although it is well known that Countess Constance Markievicz fought in St Stephen’s Green, other important roles played by women are perhaps less known.
When the Vikings founded the city in the ninth century in the area of the “black pool” (Dubh Linn in Irish) where Dublin Castle is today, they started what would later become the capital of Ireland and the largest city in the country. Dublin is a key to understanding Ireland; the history of this city helps us to better understand the history of the whole of the country, its development, its cultural features, its social composition and the political peculiarities in Ireland.
First steps in genealogyStep 1Where do you start?Start at home with your own family. Check the correct names, dates of birth, marriage and death of your parents and grandparents, and make out a record card for each one. List also the brothers and sisters of each parent or grandparent, as far as you can. This information can be obtained by asking your family members - parents, aunt, uncles, grandparents etc. Your record of these two generations should also include information on places - where they were born, lived, married, worked, died and were buried.Step 2Go to your local Public Library.Check on the origin of your family’s surnames and read some of the recommended basic guides to tracing family history prior to visiting major reference libraries or archival repositories. Check the library catalogue for relevant material in Dublin City Public Libraries.Step 3Verify the information in Step 1 from official sources and family records.Check details on headstones in graveyards, particularly for dates of birth and deaths, but also for any other relevant information. Go to the Dublin City Library and Archive to check civil registration indexes. Go to the General Register Office with the verified details of names, places and dates and get copies of any birth, marriage or death certificates.Step 4Check all information obtained so far.Look especially for details about members of the family not listed in your initial list of parents and grandparents and their generations.List great-grandparents and other relatives as revealed in these documents, noting especially any information on dates and places. This might also be a good time to make use of the many websites that deal with genealogy.Step 5Check Dublin Street Directories and Griffith's Valuation in the Dublin City Library and Archive. The Census Records for 1901 and 1911 in Dublin and the Tithe Applotment Books can also be consulted here. For countrywide records visit The National Archives to verify facts about places and dates discovered so far. If you are outside Dublin, contact your local public library for relevant directories and other information.Make copies of relevant documents or copy down the information as it relates to each person in each place.Step 6Having obtained records from the General Register Office check parish registers, which record baptisms, marriages and funerals. Roman Catholic Parish registers can be consulted on microfilm in the National Library of Ireland.Step 7Check other sources.Check with the Registry of Deeds for wills, property transfers, marriage licences etc.Check newspapers for announcements of births, marriages and deaths, funerals or obituaries.Check school, military and professional records.Step 8Remember that your ancestors may have been born, married or may have died outside of Ireland. Seek the advice of your local librarian if you don't know where to go to next.
The first shots of what became known as the First World War were fired on 28th July 1914. Over the next four years of war over 200,000 Irish men served in the British Army. Dublin City Public Libraries & Archive will be marking the Great War and Dubliners’ role in it, drawing on our extensive collections with a series of events and exhibitions, reading lists and digitisation projects.Current and upcoming events and exhibitionsExhibition: Ringsend seamen in the Great War: 70 faces from 1918 - Cabra Library during the month of SeptemberMarch Away My Brothers: Irish Soldiers and their Music in the Great War - Rathmines Library on Monday 25th August at 6pm, and the Central Library on Thursday 28th August at 1pmStories from the Great War: the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association Archive - Walkinstown Library on Monday 25th August 7pmHeritage Seminar focusing on the First World War at Sea - Dublin City Library & Archive on Friday 29th August 2-4pmDublin Festival of HistoryThe annual Dublin Festival of History which runs from 26th September to 8th October will feature talks and exhibitions on the First World War. Digitisation ProjectsOur first project is the online publication of the unique Monica Roberts Collection, which is held at Dublin City Library & Archive. Each item in the collection is now available to view online in the fully-searchable Monica Roberts Collection Database.The Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association Archive and the Monica Roberts Collection form just part of our extensive material relating to the First World War. We are adding to this collection, and this year Dublin City Archives have received significant donations to the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association Archive.A number of events and exhibitions drawn from these collections will be staged from 2014 on. Check Dublin City Public Libraries' Events Calendar for details of current events and exhibitions.Stories from the Great War: An exhibition at Dublin City Library & Archive, Pearse Street, featuring material from the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Archive, the Monica Roberts Collection, and other collections - October-December 2014.Dublin and the First World War: A programme of lectures in the Autumn City Hall Lunch-time Lecture series - October 2014.Letters from the Great War: A travelling exhibition of material from the Monica Roberts Collection - end 2014.Stories from Gallipoli: An exhibition at Dublin City Library & Archive, Pearse Street, drawn from the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Archive and other collections - March-May 2015.See AlsoRemembering Irish Men and Women who served in the First World War‘I met the boys in Gollypoly’ : World War I Collection
I've fallen so far behind with my book reviews (being amply complimentary to myself in calling them such!) that I had to revisit the archives in order to discover when I last posted and about what. In fact it was back in late May, and in my defence I declare that work and life has been too 'involving' and not afforded me the time to indulge myself in the pleasurable pursuit of putting on paper (metaphorically speaking) my thoughts on the books I read and then sharing those here on the library blog.While I have read quite a few crime novels over the past couple of months, I will restrict my mention here to five of those, in so doing jumping from southern Europe to northern Europe and finally to the southern portion of the African continent.First the get a mention is 'The Crocodile' by Italy's Maurizio De Giovanni, the second such title I have read by this author (the first being 'I Will Have Vengeance' which is set in 1930s Naples). This one involves Detective Inspectore Giuseppe Lojacono in the hunt for a killer of teenagers on the streets of modern-day Naples. Lojacono has been transferred to Naples after a career setback involving the Sicilian Mafia, his desk assignment now meant to sideline him and keep him away from criminal investigations. But he is soon brought on board in the hunt for this methodical killer of teenagers when his insights into the case are overheard by the attractive Assistant District Attorney Laura Piras. He doesn't buy the organised crime angle, but the pressure is on to find whatever link there might be between the victims that will lead to the discovery of the killer before he strikes again. The young victims all appear innocent of any sort of major wrong doing, so Lojacono, working closely with the Assistant District Attorney, investigates the possibility of links other than between the victims themselves. All the while you the reader know who the killer is, but the insights you periodically get by way of letters he writes to someone dear to him are never quite enough to reveal the why of his actions. The killer's full intent and motive eventually becomes clear as the story culminates in a race against time to save his next intended victim. This story is well crafted, well written and suspenseful right to the end, bitter or otherwise I will not say! And I can highly recommend it, as I did the first.Next I head north, to Iceland in fact. 'Strange Shores' by Iceland's Arnaldur Indridason is the latest, and possibly the last, in the series featuring Detective Erlendur of the Reykjavik police. I say possibly, for the ending certainly leaves room for speculation, and I think too that that is the author's intent, so don't be surprised if like Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole you see another in the series. In this Erlendur revisits a haunting event from his past, namely the disappearance of his younger brother during a snowstorm, in an attempt to bring some closure. Erlendur survived that snowstorm and largely blames himself for his brother's disappearance. That event has served to haunt him ever since. Erlendur is absent from the previous two titles in the series (Outrage, Black Skies); it might in fact be that events here happen in parallel with the storyline of the previous title.While his primary concern is his brother's disappearance, he finds himself investigating another disappearance, that of a young woman in somewhat similar circumstances during the war. Her disappearance during a blizzard occurred the same evening that a number of British servicemen were lost while on military manoeuvres, an unusual aspect of this storyline is that the event involving the British servicemen was in fact a real life occurrence. This investigation, while unofficial, takes him back and forth between a number of individuals still living who had associations with the woman in question. Erlendur is like a dog with a bone when it comes to solving a mystery, in particular when some doubt raises its head as to what in fact happened to her given that her body was never recovered. And dragging up the past is not to the liking of all. Meanwhile the activities of a now dead fox catcher is perhaps the only tenuous link and therefore hope for Erlendur in maybe finding his brother's remains.Much of the story too involves Erlendur looking back on events of that fateful night where we meet really for the first time the young Erlendur and his parents, and where we get too a real sense of the tragedy that befell them and shaped the rest of their lives.This is yet another class work from Indridason. A well constructed plot is at its core, but of equal measure is the character of Erlendur and the long time effect of his brother's disappearance on him. Indeed personal loss and its effect on people are central to the story, and you can't help but be engrossed in this well written story from start to finish. I can highly recommend it. Staying north, but heading due east for my next title, this being 'The Double Silence' by Sweden's Mari Jungstedt. Now it's always a pity to say that a book disappointed, particularly when the author's previous titles all proved reasonably satisfying reads. I started reading this confident that it would please, but soon found myself fighting the urge to put it down and not pick up again. I was one hundred or so pages into the book before it marked itself out as a crime novel, but even long before that I was struggling with it. I have rarely not finished a book and it was only the faint hope that things might improve that kept me going, but alas this book ultimately failed to satisfy.'The Double Silence' sees a group of close friends (a rather unreal closeness in fact) take a holiday together on a remote Swedish island, only for friendships to unravel once a series of fatal mishaps befall them. Like I said, I was one-third of the way into the book before a body showed up, by which time I had grown weary of the over concentration on the group members' family and personal lives and relationships. To the point of tedium. Whole passages could be given over to child feeding, nappy changing, domestic chores and trivial conversations, making me want to fast forward, but to where? Inspector Knutas, the principal investigator, is not so prominent in this as in the previous books, more's the pity, but as for his welling up with tears at one point, aaagh! Journalist Johan Berg, who plays a major part in the previous titles in the series (this being the seventh), also has a lesser role here than normal. One other criticism I would level at the book is that the chapters are too short, resulting in you being thrown from one scene to another with far too much frequency.The basis for the crime element is sound enough, jealousy and a shared secret past, but too much of the story is given over to matters of little interest or relevance for me to have really cared at any point. Enough said, not all reads can be rosy!Needing some warmth after recent ventures up north, I headed due south, thousands of miles in fact, to South Africa and a writer who indeed warmed me with the first book of hers that I read (Daddy's Girl). And glad to say, my second experience of Margie Orford, 'Water Music' , was equally warming. This is the fifth book involving Dr. Clare Hart, a civilian profiler working in Section 28, Cape Town’s Child Protection Unit. Section 28 is named after the clause in the South African constitution that lists the rights of children.In 'Water Music' an unconscious, emaciated three-year old girl is found abandoned and close to death on a lonely bridle path in Cape Town. Soon after, a grandfather appeals for help when his grand-daughter Rosa, a gifted nineteen-year old cellist, goes missing. Hart embroils herself in both cases, even though Rosa's is strictly outside her remit as Rosa is not a child in the eyes of the law. While pursuing the dual investigations in her usual stubborn and dogged manner, Clare has to deal with an unwanted and unwelcome pregnancy. As if this was not enough grief, Clare has to deal with those in the police force who do not welcome her involvement and who are in fact set on disbanding her unit. Consequently Clare pursues her investigations very much as a sole operator, this despite her romantic involvement with Captain Riedwaan Faizal, an undercover police officer who has his own difficulties with his superiors. He in fact faces exile of a sort with his unit too being disbanded and he sent far from Cape Town for his sins, thus affecting his ability to assist Clare however he can.This is a well-plotted, atmospheric, fast-paced thriller with twists and a climactic ending. But it is not just a thriller: it is a story of corruption, of a police force less than willing to tackle issues; it is too about darker topics such as enslavement, child abuse and male domination; it is about the challenges women face in a male-dominated environment such as that in which Clare operates; and it is about that other challenge woman are often faced with (but rarely men) - maybe having to decide between parental desires and other life/career ambitions.Following on 'Daddy's Girl' (read review), this book keeps Margie Orford firmly on my list of authors to watch out for. Thankfully there are a number of other titles by her that I have yet to read and which are within easy reach. You can add her to your list now too!Staying on the African continent, 'A Deadly Trade' is the second title from the writing team of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip but my first to read. Essentially a police procedural, it is based in Botswana and features, as in the first book, the rather rotund food-loving Detective Kubu. The story centres around two murders committed in a tourist camp in northern Botswana close to the border with Zambia, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Local officer Tatwa Mooka calls on the help of the more experienced Kubu from the capital, Gaborone, but as the investigation proceeds the plot thickens. The fact that one of the recently murdered men has been dead for many years does not simplify matters. The book hints at Agatha Christie in fact, as each of the characters has his or her own secret, or so it seems, but it does too have action and, probably its strongest aspect, Botswana and the recent troubled history of the wider region at its centre. There are hints at drug-running, war crimes and political interference. The book in fact mixes the serious with the light, humour and light-heartedness being brought by Kubu, his demeanour, and his love of food and desire to consume biscuits at every opportunity. But he is too a strong and resolute officer, as his response to the threat to his family will testify. 'Kubu' in fact means 'Hippo' in Setswana, the language of Botswana.Despite it being set in the warm, nay hot, climes of Botswana, I however found it hard to warm to this book; it felt overly long, the story didn't flow, there was a certain tedium in terms of detail, events being dragged out and indeed re-visited and re-capped. I was always conscious of it being the work of two authors, and reading it, it read like such. To my mind it needed some editorial intervention. In saying that, I found it hard to find a reviewer on the web who felt as I did about it!Botswana, if you are not already aware, is also the country in which the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, by Alexander McCall Smith, is based. If pressed as to which I preferred, McCall Smith would get my vote by some margin.Beware: this book is sold in the USA under the title 'Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu'.Happy reading!
In conjunction with ‘Rathmines Roar’ Community Information Day, 17th May, Rathmines library invited children to write a short story about their favourite book and to dress up as a character from the book. The winners were presented with their prizes at Rathmines library on Friday 30th May.View a slideshow of the competition winners and runners up.WinnersKate Heffernan for the 6 – 9 year old age group. Kate's story was inspired by her favourite book, 'I won't go to China' by Enda WyleyÉriu Dalton for the 10 – 12 year old age group. Ériu's story was drawn from her favourite book, 'The Emerald Atlas' by John StephensThe winners were presented with a €25 book token.Runners Up:Molly Gorby who chose 'Paddington visits the Toy Shop' by Michael Bond as her favourite bookYuan Sree Kandru whose favourite book is 'Stink and the Ultimate Thumb-Wrestling Smackdown' by Megan McDonaldLucie Walsh picked 'The Tale of the Sea', which Lucie herself wrote.
70 years ago today the Allied forces landed on the Normandy beaches, thus beginning the Allied invasion of German-occupied Western Europe (Operation Overlord). The Normandy landings on D-Day, codenamed Operation Neptune, involved the largest seaborne invasion in history. A myriad of books have been written about the war, the events of June and afterwards, and a myriad of documentaries and films have appeared on our TV screens ever since.Utah, Gold, Omaha, Juno, Sword - the names of the Normandy beaches where thousands of landing craft poured ashore. Over 160,000 soldiers crossed the English Channel on D-Day, and many soldiers lost their lives before they even left their landing point. Then too there was the airborne assault, with thousands of planes involved, soldiers landing behind enemy lines in order to secure bridges and other strategic points.There are many truths, and many myths, surrounding D-Day, and to help you get a clearer picture of what actually happened, and to help you understand the true nature and horror of war, we have compiled a list of books and films readily available in or via our branch libraries.One of the best known military history books has to be The Longest Day by Irish-born war correspondent Cornelius Ryan and first published in 1959. This remarkable history sometimes reads like a novel, but is based on the experiences of real people and entailed a huge amount of research. A 1962 film based on the book, and featuring many leading actors of the time, is also called The Longest Day. Unfortunately copies of the book are in short supply and we don't have the film version, but don't let that stop you requesting it and we will see what we can do.Right: Cover of first edition of The Longest Day.Other titles to seek out include:D-Day, the battle for Normandy by Antony BeevorD-Day by Martin GilbertD-day, piercing the Atlantic wall by Robert KershawTwo sides of the beach, the invasion and defence of Europe in 1944 by Edmund BlandfordThe D-Day companion, leading historians explore history's greatest amphibious assault, editor, Jane PenroseSix armies in Normandy, from D-Day to the liberation of Paris, June 6th-August 25th 1944 by John Keegan ...and DVDsThe World at War Box set (11 DVDs, 1343 mins) Episode 17: The development and execution of Operation OverlordBrothers in Arms - The Real Band of Brothers (1 DVD) Useful WebsitesThe Royal British Legion Facts & Figures of D-Day.The D-Day Museum and Overlord Embroidery (Portsmouth).Below: The front page of the Irish Press, 7th June, 1944.You can access the Irish Newspaper Archives online at any branch of Dublin City Public Libraries free of charge.