Blogs

King George V ascended to the British throne on the 6th of May 1911, following the death of his father, Edward VII. After being crowned in Westminster Abbey, George and Queen Mary embarked on a tour beginning in Ireland and ending in India.

Welcome to the third entry in our blog series 'Lost in the Stacks' - recommendations by Dublin City Libraries staff exploring overlooked gems and helping you find your next read!Our entry today comes from one of our wonderful librarians, Jessica, and looks at some of the best essay collections in our libraries!Essay CollectionsIs there a greater joy than settling comfortably with a beverage of your choice and reading a well-crafted essay?There is a particular form of literary alchemy that takes place in the best essays - the fusion of the personal with social commentary combined with a stylistic elegance. Often offering a unique perspective on a cultural moment or a brief window into another world, a good essay has a habit of staying with you long after the pages have turned and the book is closed.Here is a selection of the very best essay collections for you to enjoy. If you'd like to borrow any of the books discussed below, simply click on the book cover or title to be taken to the reserves page, where you'll need your library card and PIN to request the book.1. Pulphead: dispatches from the other side of America by John Jeremiah SullivanPulphead is a fascinating collection of essays exploring pop culture and subcultures of American life fused with memoir and aspects from the writer’s own life. Written with a gentle wit and probing intelligence, it is hard to resist reading the entire collection in one go.2. Changing my mind: occasional essays by Zadie SmithThis is a fabulous collection of Zadie Smith’s book reviews, film reviews and non-fiction prose. Witty, honest and refreshing, it is a pleasure to dip in and out of.3. Naked by David SedarisDavid Sedaris has cornered the market in humorous memoir based essays. The stories here are sardonic, wry and darkly hilarious with a touch of pathos and just the right amount of hindsight and self-knowledge to balance the comic absurdity.4. Men explain things to me by Rebecca SolnitThe title essay of this book has gained iconic status since it was published but each of the essays in this book are powerful reminders of why we need feminism. Essential reading.5. This is the story of a happy marriage by Ann PatchettAnn Patchett is best known as a novelist but this book collects her earlier non-fiction articles. This is a fabulous collection of personal essays and memoir pieces that explore key moments in her life. Her writing is warm, engaging, and shining through with humour and kindness.

It is impossible to say with any degree of certainty how many Irish took part in Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June, 1944. A precise figure for Irish enlistments in the British forces for the war as a whole is not available and estimates vary between 70–120,000 men and women.

In 1921, the Leinster Football Association separated from the parent body, the Irish Football Association (IFA), and subsequently formed the Football Association of Ireland (FAI). Soccer had been governed on an all-Ireland basis for 40 years beforehand. The split that happened in 1921 remains to this day, unlike most sports in Ireland that are still governed on a 32-county basis. Although football was divided the same year that Ireland was divided politically by the partition of the country, the primary reason for the split was an internal power struggle between Belfast and Dublin. The IFA, headquartered in Belfast, was believed by the football community in the south to be biased towards northern based teams. Most players selected for the Irish international team were from Ulster-based teams.Of the 48 international matches held in Ireland before the split, only six were held in Dublin, all the rest were hosted in Belfast. Most members of the IFA Council and its sub-committees were from the north also, and the allocation of funding favoured Ulster clubs over others.Left, an image of the Shelbourne team from 1914. The catalyst that led to the split involved one of Dublin’s oldest clubs, Shelbourne. After Shelbourne had drawn against Lurgan-club Glenavon in an Irish Cup semi-final tie in Belfast in 1921, it was almost universally believed that the replay would be held in Dublin.The IFA Protests and Appeals Committee ruled it was too unsafe for matches to be played in Dublin due to the prevailing conditions caused by the War of Independence, and Shelbourne was ordered back to Belfast for the replay.The club refused to do so and was removed from the competition.The action was roundly condemned by the Leinster Football Association and all associated with the game in Dublin. It was the spark that led to the division months later. Many attempts were made from 1921 to 1932 to re-unify the game in Dublin, all failing, leaving soccer in Ireland today divided, as it is politically, north and south.Blog post by: Cormac Moore, Historian in Residence, North Central Area.

The Dublin City Library and Archive holds a beautiful image of the old Weaver’s Hall on The Coombe Dublin, a  building still fondly remembered by older citizens in the area. The image shows a dignified guild hall, with a statue of King George II by Van Nost holding shuttles and other implements used in the weaving process set in an alcove above the main entrance. Although the Weaver’s Hall is long gone, there is still a lot of evidence of this once major industry that existed in this area over a 1,000 year timespan. The most obvious are various placenames. Weaver’s Square off Cork Street, and the adjacent Ormond Street commemorated both the Huguenot weavers who settled here in great numbers from the late 1600’s and the man who invited them over, the Duke of Ormond. Nearby Newmarket was constructed in the 1670’s by the Earl of Meath in response to this rapidly growing industry, to facilitate trade in wool, hides and flax and also the finished products. The Earl also included space for his own market, and this added to the unique shape and layout of Newmarket, still with us today.Above: Illustration showing statue of George II in niche on first floor facade.Earlier evidence of weaving has also been found in recent archaeological excavations prior to new developments in The Liberties. Items from the Hiberno-Norse era, such as whorls, spindles, weights and bone needles have been found, together with evidence of a thriving cap and scarf/shawl industry in both wool and dyed, watered silk  - an indication of ‘high status’ - being found.Above: Framed painting of Weaver's House in the Liberties by Rose Barton.The imposition of tariffs and taxes on the Dublin weavers eventually caused the slow decline of this tradition, but not before it re-invented itself into other related industries.  The manufacture of poplin gave way to a significant upholstery industry, providing seating, padding and also lace for carriages, the mode of transport at the time.  Later, with the coming of the motor-car, a thriving industry arose specialising in ladies and gents motor scarfs and mufflers. Frys of Cork Street also announced that it was possible to get the latest in bow-ties to finish the ensemble!Above: Horse-drawn Omnibus, Westmoreland Street, Dublin (circa 1865). Courtesy: National Library of Ireland (Original)Today, there is a renewed interest in this oldest of trades, with the Botany Weavers – the one remaining company near Dolphin’s Barn who operate from premises that once housed the City Woollen Mills and who are key suppliers to Aer Lingus and City Jet, recently announcing an expansion to its business, thus continuing a tradition of 1000 years of weaving in this area.Blog post by: Cathy Scuffil, Historian in Residence,Dublin South Central.

Last May, I was delighted to attend the Dublin launch of a book entitled 'Essays by an Irish Rebel: revolution, politics and culture' by Liam Ó Briain.  A very enjoyable read, the book features twenty-five essays by the Dublin academic and revolutionary Liam Ó Briain (1888-1974), all of which were published in Irish from 1934 to 1968, as well as three appreciations of the author.All have now been edited and translated into English by Eoin Ó Dochartaigh, a retired doctor from Galway who graduated from University College Galway (now NUI Galway) and knew Ó Briain as a family friend.Above: Eoin Ó Dochartaigh speaking at the launch of his edited book 'Essays by an Irish Rebel: revolution, politics and culture', at the Mansion House in May 2019.The launch inspired me to read 'Insurrection Memories 1916', a complimentary volume described by historian Owen Dudley-Edwards as ‘a rich memory of a great man’. This personal account of the Easter Rising was first published in Irish in 1951 as 'Cuimhní Cinn'. In 2014 Fran O’Brien, the author’s grand-niece, translated the work into English and published it as a bilingual volume. Two years later, to mark the centenary of the Easter Rising, Ó Dochartaigh then brought out a new translation. Like 'Essays by an Irish Rebel', this was published by Ardcrú Books in Galway.Above: Undated postcard showing the entrance to St. Stephen's Green Park. Courtesy of Dublin City Library & Archive. [PCV04-90] Access over 40,000 images and postcards in the  Dublin City Libraries and Archive Digital Repositary .'Insurrection Memories 1916' is an intimate account of what Liam Ó Briain observed while participating in the Easter Rising. The book begins in 1914, with Ó Briain returning to Ireland after spending three years studying on the continent (mostly Germany). Joining the Irish Volunteers, Ó Briain also became a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood the following year and went on to take part in the Easter Rising. As a member of F. Company of the First Battalion of the Volunteers, Ó Briain had been scheduled to join the Four Courts garrison under the command of Ned Daly. However, after getting waylaid carrying out messages for Eoin MacNeill on the morning of Easter Monday, he found himself instead spontaneously joining the Stephen’s Green garrison with his friend Harry Nicholls.During the Rising Ó Briain impressed Captain Bob de Couer of the Irish Citizen Army enough to be promoted to the rank of Corporal. Afterwards he was among those imprisoned in Wandsworth Common prison in London until late June, and Frongoch Camp in North Wales until Christmas 1916 (which he later described as ‘the best university’ he ever attended). Ó Briain stood as a Sinn Fein candidate in Armagh during the 1918 General Election and was imprisoned in Galway during the War of Independence. A native of Dublin, he would go on to serve as Professor of Romance Languages at University College Galway from 1918 to 1959.Above: Photograph of the College of Surgeons taken after the Easter Rising to show 'where Countess Markievicz surrendered'. Courtesy of Dublin City Library & Archive. [BOR F34-18]Blog Post by: Dr. James Curry, Historian in Residence, North West Area.

I was delighted to get such a great response from one of our Tweets about this fab marker on Terenure Road East, which I took en route to Terenure Library History Book Club. It lets you know just how far it is to the General Post Office – or the GPO as it’s most often referred to. We put out a call to see if anyone else had spotted these in their local area, and we were delighted to get such a great response!We heard from lots of different spots in Dublin, where people have recognised these markers.They come from a time, long before Google Maps (if you can imagine a time!), to point people towards major landmarks. In Dublin many of them were positioned on roads leading out of the county. Some were former turnpike roads or main thoroughfares that once were tolled.They can be found all over the country.The markers were usually cut from local stone and the slabs come in all different shapes and sizes. Some standing as structures in their own right, while others are set into a wall. Some were cast iron, while others were made of a combination of stone and metal.Vehicles travelling on these roads were horse-drawn and drivers relied on the milestones to help them stay on track.Under the management of Thomas Telford, a famous engineer of this day, early milestones were placed along Ireland’s national road to enable greater communication between Dublin and London. Today we often rely on our phones to direct us from A to B, these were the equivalent of their day, costing about £20,000 in total.The markers were used until the early 20th century. Once the roads and signage improved their importance faded.Old maps of Dublin show how widespread they used to be. You can see many of these online or in the Dublin City Library and Archives, Pearse Street.  In total, there are 33 milestones recorded around Dublin on the list of protected structures. If you find an old milestone in your driveway, the council will recommend an architect who specialises in traditional building to ensure that no accidental damage is done to it.If you spot anymore in your local area, comment here or send us a pic on Twitter - @DubHistorians – we’d love to hear from you! Many thanks to those who commented and posted their pics; @irlpol @atAlanBell @sandracaustin @OOH99 and @ScuffilCMaeve Casserly, Historian-in-Residence, Dublin South-East, Dublin City Council. 

The black and white photograph chosen for the cover of this year’s Dublin Festival of History programme was taken in 1964 and depicts a busy O’Connell Street teeming with pedestrians and traffic. It is one of almost 10,000 images contained in the Fáilte Ireland Tourism Photographic Collection, created by the Irish tourist authority and later donated to the Dublin City Library and Archive.Dating from the 1930s to almost the present day, the photographs in this collection capture people and places from all over Ireland, in particular well-known tourist sites.

In June 1963, the collapse of tenements at Bolton Street and Fenian Street led to the deaths of four people. On Sunday, 2nd June 1963, the collapse of 20 Bolton Street led to the death of Leo and Mary Maples, an elderly couple who were residents of the building.This was followed by the collapse of tenements at 2a, 3, and 4 Fenian Street on the 12th June 1963 which resulted in the deaths of Linda Byrne and Marion Vardy, both of whom were young girls who lived locally and happened to be passing the building at the time the collapse took place. These tragedies led to a Local Inquiry in Dublin City Hall. The Law Department of Dublin City Council transferred their records from the inquiry to Dublin City Archives for preservation and storage. A copy of the report into the Local Inquiry is available in the Minutes of the Muncipal Council of the City of Dublin in the Reading Room upstairs in the reading room in Pearse Street Library. Dublin City Archives are currently digitising photos pertaining to the collapses of tenements at Bolton Street and Fenian Street for publication. Of our two featured photos, the first one is of Bolton Street and the second is of Fenian Street.

We’ve previously looked at the instantly downloadable comics on the libraries’ RBdigital app so now let’s turn an eye to those hard copies. Dublin City Libraries has a large collection of trade paperbacks on the shelves of their many branches. As well as the American heavyweight publishers like Marvel and DC, there are extensive collections from Image, Dark Horse, IDW, Boom!, Titan, and Rebellion. Of course, it’s not just British and American comics, there are shelves of Japanese manga and those hard-to-find translations from the massive French comic market. But as long as we’re talking about publishing behemoths, here are some of my personal highlights.I’m not big into superheroes. They were a gateway to adult comics for me, following on from the likes of The Beano and Oink! in my primary school days.  Back in the day (when all this was nought but fields) comics were a niche interest. The local newsagent could get issues in on special order but a monthly trip to Forbidden Planet on Dawson Street was the only way to get a proper X-Men fix.But enough misty nostalgia. With Natalie Portman confirmed to play Thor in an upcoming movie, Jason Aaron’s excellent run on The Mighty Thor is a must-read. It looks like the film will follow Aaron’s chronicle of Jane Foster’s tenure as the God of Thunder. I’m not fond of the Thor comic books but this stands out because of the quality of Aaron’s plotting and characterisation. The grim realities of Foster’s life have a visceral effect on the reader.The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is an out-and-out comedy with superhero tropes and social media memes lampooned throughout. 14-year-old Doreen Green is Squirrel Girl. When she moves to a new school, Doreen must hide her tail, along with her secret identity, to find new friends and clean up New Jersey. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is a reboot of a minor Avengers side character from the early ‘90s and she’s been given a new lease of life by Canadian author Ryan North. Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is the funniest, cutest, and punching-est hero in the Marvel Universe.Warren Ellis’ Nextwave: Agents Of Hate is a wild and satirical romp with minor Marvel characters. The author describes it as “an absolute distillation of the superhero genre. No plot lines, characters, emotions, nothing whatsoever. It's people posing in the street for no good reason. It is people getting kicked, and then exploding.” With titles like “I Kick Your Face”, Nextwave is the Ronseal of comic books.That’s all for now, I’ll be back soon with more recommendations from Dublin City Libraries catalogue. Don’t forget you can request any of these to be sent to your local branch. Get in touch in person, by phone, or through this very site to get your copy today.