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The Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association (RDFA) was established in 1996 to commemorate all Irish men and women who volunteered, served and died in the First World War. In 2005, the RDFA decided to place its archive with Dublin City Library & Archive, where it is available for public consultation in the Reading Room. The RDFA Archive is managed by Dublin City Archives.Right: Lieutenant Herbert Justin LemassJust added to the Collection areItems relating to two brothers, Edwin and Herbert Lemass, who both served in the British Army during the First World War. Second Lieutenant Herbert Justin Lemass and Lieutenant Edwin Stephen Lemass were second cousins of Sean Lemass, one of the most prominent Irish politicians of the 20th century. At the time that Herbert, age 19, and Edwin Lemass, age 21, were in the trenches on the Western Front, their second cousin, Sean Lemass, age 17, was fighting the British in the General Post Office during the 1916 Easter Rising. Herbert dies at the Battle of the Somme on 23rd October, 1916, while Edwin, a barrister-at-law, went on to become one of Egypt's leading judges after the war.Volume 9 of the Monica Roberts Letters. The items contained were donated by Mrs Mary Shackleton, daughter of Monica Roberts, to the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association at Dublin City Library and Archive on 28 July 2014. The letters give vivid pen-pictures of conditions at the Western Front and reveal the courage of troops in the face of appalling circumstances.The Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association Archive Collection currently housed in the Dublin City Library & Archive now includes:The Monica Roberts Collection.The Corporal Henry Kavanagh Collection of letters and photographs.The: Moriarty Collection, which  relates to 19th century India and consists mainly of correspondence from Jeremiah Moriarty of Cork, a travelling magistrate who worked in India during the 1850s and 1860s.The Keogh Collection Postcards, covering the period 1897-1922.The Gunning Brothers Collection, containing the records of two Enniskillen brothers, George Cecil and Frank Douglas Gunning, who fought at the battle of Gallipoli during the First World War.The Irish National War Memorial Committee Archive. Founded in the summer of 1919, the committee contracted Sir Edward Lutyens to design the War MemorialGardens at Longmeadows, Islandbridge.The Lemass Collection.Visit the Reading Room, Dublin City Library & Archive, 138-144 Pearse Strett, Dublin 1.

Dublin City Library and Archives were given a boost, when An tArdmhéara Críona Ní Dhálaigh was formally presented with the family papers and genealogy materials of the O’Connor/O’Neill families going back to the 1750’s.  The presentation was made by Sean O’Connor, head of the O’Connor family at a ceremony today in Dublin’s Mansion House attended by members of the O’Connor and O’Neill families.Right: Sean O’Connor  at his school, Francis street CBS, 1951The O’Connor/ O’Neill family papers were assembled by Sean O’Connor with the help of archivist Ellen Murphy and City Archivist Mary Clark.  After much painstaking research, the family papers have now been presented to the city which was home to the two families. The donation helps to strengthen the Dublin City archives as a valuable record of social history including accounts of happy times and challenging experiences in the Dublin Liberties. An tArdmhéara Críona Ní Dhálaigh commented "Dublin City Archives hold a host of interesting material and I’m certain this addition to the archives will be much sought after and referenced in years to come. To trace a family back to the 1700s living here in Dublin City must qualify you as a true blue Dub. I want to thank Sean O’Connor for donating this material to the Archives and to wish him well with his book ‘Growing up so high – a Liberties boyhood’. Given the amount of research done it is a riveting read. Is mór an t-éacht atá déanta aige agus molaim é."Speaking at the event, Sean’s son Joseph O’Connor, McCourt Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Limerick commented: "There is much in the O’Connor O’Neill archive that is concerned with the everyday, and it builds into a composite mosaic of a life that no longer exists in the Liberties or anywhere else. But if we want to know where we came from, or how we got here, or who we once were, and how we became what we are, the story is now there to be experienced again.  They feature instances of great courage, humour and there are examples of what I would call the Liberties spirit - a sense of independent-mindedness and a quiet resolve not always to do what you’re told."Examples include family journal entries of 1850, recording neighbourhood events at the tenement home where they lived over a shop in 52 James’s Street:May 1879 - Today I had the chimney swept and my top coat dyed. I had to pull the tail feathers out of my sick canary. Miss King left 52 James’s Street for America. She sails from Londonderry in the ship Devonia in a few days.September 1879 - Kate went to see Mrs Ward in Mercers Hospital and saw a medical student sitting in a nurse’s lap. Very improper.October 1879 - Some person unknown left a foundling baby in the open hallway of 52 James’s Street and went away.Mary Clark, City Archivist added, "Family papers are always welcome in public archives as they tell a personal story from a fresh perspective. We are delighted to have the O'Connor/O’Neill family archives for Dublin City Archives as these go all the way back to the 17th century which is very rare."The catalogue can be viewed at online and the O’Connor/O’Neill Family Papers 1750-2013 are available to view at Dublin City Library and Archive’s Reading Room, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2. It is open to all readers holding a current Research Card, issued by Dublin City Public Libraries and available on application to all parties who wish to consult the Dublin City Library & Archive collections.

For over 180 years, Dublin zoo has been known to house a vast array of wildlife. In its early years, the zoo was home to 46 mammals and 72 birds all donated by the London Zoo. Dublin Zoo has been transformed over the years to what it is today: Ireland’s largest family attraction. The images from the Fáilte Ireland Photographic Collection show these treasured animals thriving and coexisting with each other between the spring of 1960 and the summer of 1961.

This 18th century manuscript is the meticulous record by an early Dublin meteorologist, who documented the weather in the city on a daily basis during the period 1716 to 1734. The manuscript is part of the Gilbert Collection and is held in the Special Collections of Dublin City Libraries.

The Rathmines Township was created on the 22nd July, 1847, by Act of Parliament. In 1862 the townlands of Rathgar and Sallymount (the latter comprising present-day Ranelagh) were added to the renamed Rathmines and Rathgar Township. The Township was further extended in 1866 to include townlands in Uppercross, while Milltown was added in 1880.Originally the Township was governed by Commissioners, who felt they needed a place where they could meet and conduct their business. Their first house was at 71 Rathmines Road, so it really became the first town hall.Archives of the Rathmines and Rathgar Township, 1847-1930 (PDF, 529kb) (A detailed descriptive list by Dr Mary Clark, Dublin City Archivist). Visit The Reading Room, Dublin City Library & Archive, Pearse Street.The original Township was created as a sanitary area, but new functions were added with subsequent Acts, including responsibility for public lighting and water supply as well as drainage, which was provided jointly with the Pembroke Township.Under the Local Government (Ireland) Act of 1898 the Rathmines and Rathgar Urban District Council (UDC) was established as the elected governing body. After 1898 the UDC built a number of small housing schemes under legislation for housing of the working classes.Right: Rathmines, Postcard. Click to view larger version..The UDC met in the magnificent Town Hall on Rathmines Road, the first meeting being held in January 1899.  Work on the Town Hall began in 1895 on the site of the previous town hall. The commissioners asked one of the best-known and respected architects of Ireland, Sir Thomas Drew, to design this building. He put up a fine building of red sandstone and brick with a bay window on the first floor. But the most famous feature was the high clock tower, which could be seen from afar. The clock on the tower was made by a local firm called Chancellor and Son. They claimed they could beat any English and Scottish company so they got the job. The clock has four faces, one for each side of the tower. Before the clock could be run with electricity, the four sides would often show different times so the clock was called 'four-faced liar'.Left: Rathmines Town Hall, 1908. Click to view larger version.The town hall had a boardroom where the town commissioners would hold their meetings. There was also a gymnasium, a kitchen and a supper room (other people could hire this room out). There was an assembly hall for meetings which could fit 2,000 people. It had a stage and a room for an orchestra. Apart from being used for council meetings, the  Town Hall also became a centre for social life in the area with concerts, dances and other events. Percy French, who wrote many well-known songs about counties in Ireland and who had his own theatrical company, gave many performances in the town hall and one of the first moving films made by a man called Edison was shown here in 1902. The Rathmines and Rathgar Musical Society also performed there (see below).The first public library in Rathmines was opened in June 1887 at 53 Rathmines Road. In 1899 it moved to 67 Rathmines Road, where it stayed for 14 years. Rathmines Fire Brigade later used this building. The library was then moved to its present location at 157 Lower Rathmines Road, where it opened on 24th October 1913. The present library was built with the aid of a £8,500 Carnegie grant. Andrew Carnegie was an American industrialist who gave money to build libraries and museums across the world. The architects of this fine building were Batchelor & Hicks.Left: Rathmines Library.The Baroque style façade of Rathmines Library is composed of Arklow brick walls with terracotta dressings, and was designed to fit in with the style of the Town Hall located across the road. It was also intended to be an ‘ornament to the township’. The library and technical school next door were part of the same building but each had a separate entrance. The library entrance is flanked by two-storey high Ionic columns. A large, stained glass window depicting an allegory of literature is located above the entrance. The window was designed by William Morris, a famous English artist and designer of the time. A ventilating cupola is located on the centre of the roof. Large Venetian windows provide light to the ground floor. The interior retains a fine staircase to the first floor which divides into two parallel flights.In the beginning there was no children’s library. Mary Kettle, a councillor in Rathmines, and other women councillors were very interested in making poor children’s lives better. They voted to provide school meals to make sure that children were not hungry. They also supported the opening of a children’s library in Rathmines, and this happened in 1923.Right: Rathmines and Rathgar Musical Society Programme, 1913. Click to view larger version.The Rathmines and Rathgar Musical Society was founded in 1913.  Still in existence today, its first performance was the Gilbert and Sullivan Operetta, The Mikado.  Based in the prosperous and expanding townships of Rathmines and Rathgar, the members of the society tended to come from the members of the middle classes who were not attracted to the music or song of the Celtic revival. Under the Local Government (Dublin) Act of 1930, the district of Rathmines and Rathgar became part of the City of Dublin, under the administration of Dublin Corporation. The UDC held its last meeting in the Town Hall in 1930 and today the building is the Rathmines College of Further Education.See also in our catalogue:Rathmines township 1847-1930, by Seamus O Maitiu. The Rathmines township : a chronology and guide to sources of information, by Angeal O'Connell.

The Irish Theatre Archive, held at Dublin City Library and Archive in Pearse Street, was founded in 1981 and now consists of over 250 collections, and 100,000 individual items. Included are collections deposited by theatres, theatre companies, individual actors, directors, costume and set designers, as well as theatre critics and fans. Collections can include theatre programs, handbills, posters, newspaper cuttings, stage managers books, production notes, costume and set designs, correspondence, administration files, scripts, photographs and recordings.Right: Anna Manahan.A number of detailed descriptive lists of various collections are now online and the list online is set to grow. The names associated with those collections are readily identifiable as giants of the Irish theatre world, names such as Jimmy O'Dea, Micheál Mac Liammóir,  Vernon Hayden, Christopher Casson, Hilton Edwards and Anna Manahan.The Anna Manahan collection indeed was formally donated as recently as June 2015, having been on temporary loan for exhibition purposes to the Irish Theatre Archive since September 2009, by kind permission of Anna’s brothers Joe and Val Manahan.About Anna Manahan (Excerpt):Anna Manahan was born in Waterford on 18 October 1924. After early success with her native Waterford Dramatic Society, Anna Manahan enrolled in the Gaiety School of Acting, run by Ria Mooney in 1944. Her first professional job was with Shelagh Ward’s fit up company, and throughout the late 1940’s and 1950’s, she worked as a freelance actor in many of Dublin’s theatres.In 1955, she married stage director and actor Colm O’Kelly. He died less than a year later whilst they were both on tour in Egypt with the Gate Theatre Company. Anna went on stage that same night dedicating her performance to her husband. She never remarried.Right: Some of the greats featured in the Irish Theatre Archive.In 1957, she came to national prominence for her critically acclaimed role of Serafina in the first Irish production of Tennessee Williams' The Rose Tattoo in 1957. The production achieved unexpected notoriety when the cast were falsely accused of using a condom, then illegal in Ireland, on stage.Rarely at rest, during her 60-year career Anna play at theatres throughout Ireland, Europe, the USA and Australia. She received a Tony Award nomination in 1969 for her role in the Broadway production of Brian's Friel's Lovers. Returning to Broadway 30 years later, she won the 1998 Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama for her portrayal of doomed mother "Mag" in Martin McDonagh’s The Beauty Queen of Leenane.Playwright John B. Keane wrote the play Big Maggie specifically for her and in her last stage role in 2005, she starred in Sisters, written for her by Declan Hassett. Her roles in television included The Riordans, as Mrs. Kenefick in Me Mammy, the lead in Leave it to Mrs O'Brien and as Mrs. Cadogan in The Irish R.M., and Ursula on Fair City. She also appeared  in such films as Ulysses, The Viking Queen and Clash of the Titans.Among the honours Anna Manahan received during her lifetime was the Gold Medal of the Éire Society of Boston in 1984, the Freedom of Waterford City in 2002, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Limerick in 2003.She became the first Patron of Active Retirement Ireland, in 2008, after she spoke out strongly against government proposals to remove universal entitlement to medical cards for the over-70s. She died on 8 March 2009.Visit the Dublin City Library & Archive, Pearse Street, Dublin 2.

[Update, 24 Nov 2015: Due to data protection reasons, information from Jacob's Biscuit Factory employee records which are less than 100 years old, will  be made available to direct family members only.  All requests regarding individual employees should be sent to [email protected] in the first instance. The cataloguing project will be completed by the end of December 2015 and we will start processing the email requests in January 2016.]As part of its varied programme of activities for the Decade of Commemorations, Dublin City Library and Archive is currently in the process of cataloguing the records of Jacob’s Biscuit Factory which was acquired by Dublin City Archives in 2012.  Here is a sneak preview of some of the records which have thus far been identified which relate to the Easter Rising of 1916 and the occupation of the factory:SEE IMAGE: Advertisement showing Bishop Street Factory,  Undated ©Valeo Foods, DCLA/JAC/09/241DCLA/JAC/04/1275 Commemorative Jubilee BookletOn the 50th Anniversary of the Rising in 1966, Jacob’s Factory issued Commemorative Jubilee Booklet which recalled the role of the factory in the Rising:Jacob's factory gained for itself a unique and historical place in the recorded history of Ireland in being selected by the leaders of the 1916 insurrection as a strong point in the line of active rebellion throughout the city of Dublin. The massive, fortress like factory, with its soaring towers was virtually impregnable. What discussions and decisions among the rebellion leaders led to the seizing of the factory may now never be known, but the quick of fate which led to it has stamped forever the names of Jacob in the pattern of Irish history(Image ©Valeo Foods. Click to view larger version.)The booklet was part of an effort by the Company to enhance their public image and to make a contribution to the 1916 Celebration:"As one of the industries most closely linked with the rising I feel, we will be very obvious if we let the occasion go past without making some sort of effort" (1916 Jubilee- A Report DCLA/JAC/08/08)DCLA/JAC/04/1290:Witness Statement of Henry FitzgeraldHenry Fitzgerald and Thomas Orr were the watchman and caretaker respectively who were on duty on the morning of Easter Monday, 24th April 1916. A statement within the collection from Fitzgerald provides a valuable insight into what happened during the nine days in which the factory was occupied. Fitzgerald records on 24th April 1916 he "found volunteers and fitters breaking open the door. The officer in charge , whose name I afterwards found to be Lieut. Colbert, placed his hand on my shoulder and stated, as I was watchman, I was the very person he wanted, and I was to consider myself a prisoner".On Tuesday, April 25th, Fitzgerald noted that he "was asked to allow myself to be sworn in as a member of the Sinn Féin Volunteer. I stated that I was never a member of any organisation, political or otherwise, and that all I wanted was to be released and allowed to go home to my wife".On Wednesday, April 26th, a fire alarm bell started ringing at 11pm on Wednesday 26th April, and concerned with the amount of flour in the factory that may be destroyed, Fitzgerald made a request to cut the water off and effect repairs. He notes that he was escorted by Lieut. Sean Colbert to No. 5 sprinkler installation, where he turned the water off.On the final day of occupation Sunday April 30th, Fitzgerald notes "Lieut. Colbert came and shook hands with Mr. Orr and myself and told us peace was proclaimed. I then asked him where I was to go and he answered by telling me “I might go to hell".When the whole ordeal had ended Fitzgerald notes that he:"left the factory, having put over the most anxious week I ever spent of my life. I did not change my clothes once during the week. I scarcely touched any food; on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday there seemed to be plenty of everything, but I felt too sick at heart to take much of anything".DCLA/JAC/01/015 Company Minute Book (1913-1918)The company minute book recorded the impact of the Rising on business and how order was restored post Easter Week.As the general day to day running of the factory was interrupted by the occupation of the factory, the Directors:"decided to pay wages for Monday and Tuesday , May 1st & 2nd, to those employees who were unable to resume work on those days or nights. In part compensation for the loss of wages during the rebellion. This does not apply to any who did not conduct themselves satisfactorily". (11 May 1916)(Image ©Valeo Foods. Click to view larger version.)In a document later collated by Charles E. Jacob (c. 1937) on events in the history of W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd. he notes that the rebels"did no damage to machinery fittings but made holes in the walls for strategic purposes and a quantity of rifles and ammunition etc. had to be recovered by the military after the surrender. The populace did some looting on the Saturday afternoon but some of our workers took charge and helped restore order". DCLA/JAC/08/13:JAC/ Employee RecordsFactory employees both participated and were effected by the 1916 Rising and there is evidence of this within individual employee files held in the collection. Tragically Margaret Nolan, employee no. 7 was "shot in the head at door of Berkeley Street Chapel, and died in Mater hospital almost immediately on 25th April 1916 during SF Rebellion." A note on Winifred E. Jarmain’s file states that the family was "removed to England after the shock of the SF rebellion" [1916] and Robert Cooper, employee no. 705 "did not return after Easter 1916". Margaret O’Connor, employee no. 158 was "brought under Mr. Dawson's notice for wearing the SF button before the rebellion, suspended for one week pending enquiry."(15 May 1916)(Image ©Valeo Foods. Click to view larger version.) The cataloguing project is due for completion by the end of 2015. The full collection list will then be available online and researchers will be able to access the original records in our Reading Room.Further recommended reading is Séamus Ó Maitiú ‘s excellent book W&R Jacob - Celebrating 150 Years of Irish Biscuit Making (Dublin, 2001).About our Guest BloggerThis article was prepared by Lisa McCarthy, Eneclann, Project Contract Archivist. 

The Decade of Centenaries Award was established by Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) in order to engage with custodians and assist in the long term digital preservation of valuable digital material relating to the 1912-1922 period in Irish History.On Thursday 25 June 2015, it was announced that the Dublin City Electoral Lists for the period 1915, recently digitised by Dublin City Library and Archive, was one of three award winning collections.Right: Ellen Murphy (Dublin City Library and Archive) and  Dr. Eucharia Meehan (Irish Research Council)The original Dublin City Electoral Lists (1898-1915) are in printed format and are held at Dublin City Library & Archive, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2. The Electoral Lists were maintained by Dublin City Council (then Dublin Corporation) on an annual basis in the Town Clerk's Department at City Hall. The two officials who carried out this work during this period were Stephen J. Hand, a general office assistant who was responsible for all matters relating to the franchise list, and James J. Henry, assistant to the Town Clerk, to whom Hand reported. Each Electoral List was printed and bound by Cahill & Co., Great Charles Street, Dublin; the Electoral List was then issued on 31st December and was valid for the following calendar year.View slideshow below:There are approximately 47,000 registered voters each year, which co-relates to almost one-fifth of the population of Dublin at the time and the electoral lists have huge potential to be used for local, social and genealogical research. However as the original classification scheme of the bound volumes was devised to suit the administration of elections, it is impossible to find a particular voter unless their address is known.To address this issue, Dublin City Council has undertaken a project to digitize the electoral lists 1898-1915 as part of the City Council's activities during the Decade of Commemorations. To date, the Dublin City Electoral Lists for 1908-1915 have been digitised and a fully searchable database with over 400,000 records has been made freely available online. The project is directed by Dublin City Archivist Dr. Mary Clark. Scanning of Dublin City Electoral Lists is by Informa Ireland; OCR and production of database by John Grenham.As recipients of the Decade of Centenaries award, Dublin City Library and Archive was provided with best practice guidance and digital preservation services by digital archivists from the DRI.  The 1915 Electoral Rolls & associated database was prepared for ingestion into the DRI and is now displayed at repository.dri.ie alongside the other award winning collections from National Irish Visual Arts Library and the Irish Capuchin Provincial Archives.The Decade of Centenaries award was funded by the Irish Research Council through their New Foundations Programme and the presentation to award winners was made by theDirector of the Irish Research Council, Dr Eucharia Meehan, during the Digital Preservation for the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities  Conference in Croke Park, 25 June 2015.

24 June 1879 – A marble statue, by Thomas Farrell, of the late Sir John Gray, M.P. (1815-1875), was unveiled in Sackville Street, Dublin, with the inscription 'Erected by public subscription to Sir John Gray Knt. MD JP, Proprietor of The Freeman’s Journal; MP for Kilkenny City, Chairman of the Dublin Corporation Water Works Committee 1863 to 1875 During which period pre-eminently through his exertions the Vartry water supply was introduced to city and suburbs Born July 13 1815 Died April 9 1875’.Sir John GraySir John Gray died in 1875 and little time was spared in establishing a committee to erect a statue to the man who, as chairman of the Dublin Corporation waterworks committee from 1863 until his death, played a key role in the introduction of a water supply to Dublin from the Vartry Works in County Wicklow in 1868.A site for the monument was granted by the Corporation in 1877 on Sackville Street (now O'Connell Street) close to the Abbey Street offices of the Freeman's Journal of which he was owner.Thomas Farrell was approached by the monument committee to create a memorial. He represented Gray 'in the guise of a Victorian gentleman, complete with open coat, confident stance and a serious yet kindly expression'. The monument did not turn out as originally planned. Initially, it had been designed with a representation of Ireland, complete with harp, on the right hand side of the pedestal and incorporated broken fetters to represent the legislative and social wrongs from which the country had been rescued. There was also to have been a figure of patriotism. The necessity of erecting the monument without delay, however, resulted in the statue featuring the figure of Gray alone.The granite pedestal was laid on 1 May 1879 and the statue was unveiled by Archbishop McHale on 24 June 1879.-----------------------------Taken from 'History of Monuments O’Connell Street Area' (pdf), a report commissioned by the Archaeology and Heritage Office of Dublin City Council, in November 2003, as part of the overall conservation plan for the O’Connell Street Area. The report acknowledges the contribution of staff at Dublin City Archives.This report and others can be accessed at Heritage (Dublin City Heritage Office). 

Dublin City Library and Archive has recently acquired the Orchestra of St Cecilia Collection, donated by manager/artistic director Lindsay Armstrong after his retirement in 2014. The collection comprises Armstrong’s comprehensive administrative records arranged chronologically with individual folders for each orchestral performance.