Blogs

Building Healthy Homes, written by Joseph Brady and Ruth McManus, and published by Dublin City Council, is a commemoration and an analysis of the early schemes from the 1880s to the late 1920s.

Book Launch - Thomas Fitzpatrick and The Lepracaun Cartoon Monthly 1905-1915.Dublin City Public Libraries and Archive has announced the publication of a new book which promises to offer the reader an irreverent take on a tumultuous period in Irish History.James Curry and Ciarán Wallace’s new book 'Thomas Fitzpatrick and The Lepracaun Cartoon Monthly 1905-1915' introduces a new generation of readers to the work of Thomas Fitzpatrick owner and chief cartoonist of the ‘Lepracaun’ monthly which was a best seller on Dublin’s news-stands a century ago.View Book Launch Photo slideshow below.Browse and search The Lepracaun Cartoon Collection online.The monthly satirised the leading politicians, publicans, clerics, suffragettes, trade unionists and industrialists of its day for the price of a penny. It also countered the ape-like Irishman and the noble figure of ‘Pat’ that featured in the contemporary London publication Punch.Dublin’s Deputy Lord Mayor Cllr. Larry O’Toole launched the new book at Dublin City Library & Archive, 136-144 Pearse St, Dublin 2 on Thursday 19th February. He said "This new publication reminds us of how courageously the ‘Lepracaun’ took aim at the vested interests of its day. At a time when some would seek to question the value of satire in society I congratulate the book's authors and Dublin City Council’s library service for publishing this book."View the The Lepracaun Cartoon Monthly and the 1913-14 Dublin lockout Image Gallery.Author James Curry said, "in a decade when separatists, suffragettes, home rulers and unionists were battling for Ireland’s future – the ‘Lepracaun’s’ cartoonists were spoilt for choice."His co-author Ciarán Wallace said "The ‘Lepracaun’ lampooned it all: the arrival of the motor-car, Dublin’s slums and hilarious fashions in hats appear alongside votes for women, workers’ rights and the Ulster Crisis."See below photo slideshow from the launch :Check for the Publication in the Library Catalogue.Watch this fabulous interactive video, courtesy of RTÉ  (view on RTÉ website)

The Rosie Hackett Bridge - the newest bridge to span the Liffey opens this month. If you are curious to learn more about Rosie and how the bridge came to be named in her honour, Dublin City Council have published a booklet which was launched this morning, 9 May, by Lord Mayor of Dublin Oisín Quinn.The booklet contains an original essay on Rosie Hackett written by James Curry based on research carried out for his Ph.D. thesis. It also includes short biographies of the four other names shortlisted - Kay Mills, Willie Bermingham, Bram Stoker and Frank Duff, as well as the full list of suggested names. Visit your local library for more information on the names featured on the longlist. Note: The booklet had a limited print run and unfortunately there are few hard copies now left, and they too will likely soon run out. Distribution is through the library branch network, so check with your branch re. availability. Rest assured though you can always access the digital version, see link below. (3 June 2014)Rosie Hackett Bridge booklet (PDF 1.65MB)Shortlist pictured left-right: Willie Bermingham, Kay Mills, Rosie Hackett, Bram Stoker and Frank DuffThis is the first time in which the citizens of Dublin have been consulted in an extensive way to name a new piece of infrastructure in the city. The commemorative naming committee voted for a shortlist of five names. The full City Council then made the final decision using a  system known as a Borda Count.  The final results of the were:Rosie Hackett, 192 pointsKay Mills, 176 pointsWillie Bermingham, 167 pointsBram Stoker, 92 pointsFrank Duff, 80 points"Rosie Hackett is a popular choice: a trade union activist, who was involved in the 1913 Lockout, and later in the 1916 Rising. Yet, like many other women who helped lay the foundations of the state, she lived a quiet life, unappreciated by history until now. Within sight of Liberty Hall, and Eden Quay where Rosie ran the ITGWU newspaper shop, the Rosie Hackett Bridge can now bear witness to the sacrifices made by those who wanted to make Ireland a better place to live."(Councillor Dermot Lacey, Chairman Commemorative Naming Committee)The Rosie Hackett Bridge will be officially named by Lord Mayor of Dublin Oisín Quinn on 20 May and will open to buses, pedestrians and cyclists on 21 May.