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.

From the outset of the Dublin City Council Historians in Residence programme, the historians wanted to write local history stories and share them with people.

'History on your Doorstep' is back with a second volume of six short essays with the Historians in Residence bringing their research and stories to the page for your reading pleasure. Did you know that Lemon Street in Dublin city centre is named after Graham Lemon, the famous Dublin sweet-maker who set-up Lemon’s Sweets in 1842? Or that the Dublin Cattle market in Stoneybatter was once the busiest in Europe?From the ground breaking St. Ultan’s hospital for children, to the life-story of the gifted traditional musician Séamus Ennis, social housing on Dublin’s southside 100 years ago or the city and the War of Independence, there is something to show the history of Dublin, wherever you are in the city.'History on your Doorstep' is brought to you by Dublin City Council’s Historian in Residence programme. A team of six Historians in Residence work across Dublin city to talk to people about history and promote its sources, especially documents, photos, and books in Dublin City Libraries and Archives. The project is an initiative of Dublin City Council under the Decade of Commemorations (1919-22) and strives to break down barriers to history.History on your Doorstep Volume 2 is available in all Dublin City Libraries now in hardcopy only.In case you missed a copy of History on your Doorstep Volume 1, check out our online version of the booklet. (PDF). Or reserve it on our catalogue.    

The 20th annual Sir John T. Gilbert Commemorative Lecture,  'Gentlemen’s Daughters in Dublin Cloisters: The social world of nuns in early eighteenth century Dublin', is now available for purchase in book form.

On Tuesday, 3rd October, 2017 in the Mansion House, Dawson Street, an tArdmhéara Míchéal Mac Donncha, launched a new Guide ‘Knowing Dublin – Know Your City Council’; an introduction to the work of Dublin City Council and the role of our elected representatives in the life of the city. Download a copy of Knowing Dublin - available in English and Irish.Knowing Dublin – Know Your City Council is a simple introduction to the work of Dublin City Council and the role of the elected representatives in the life of the city. It is a nuts and bolts piece, told in plain language, designed to inform those with little or no knowledge of the many services that the Council provides. As such, it is relevant for young adults, new citizens, immigrants, and anyone who wants to know more about how Dublin City functions.  It is also a useful tool for teachers as a basis for class lessons.Listen back to Sheela Keane discussing 'Knowing Dublin - Know Your City Council' on NearFM's Northside Today programme: http://nearfm.ie/podcast/?p=23766Many thanks to NearFM for permission to reproduce this recording.“Local democracy is strengthened by the active participation of citizens working towards a shared future. The active engagement of citizens can lead to an improvement in the quality of services delivered and the quality of democratic debate and dialogue surrounding decisions about the future of the city. Tá an daonlathas aitiúl mar bunú d’ár daonlathas náisiúnta” said Ardmhéara Míchéal Mac Donncha.The guide describes in detail the work of the local government elected representatives. There is a strong emphasis on voting: how to vote and why it is so important that citizens use their vote.“One of the main aims of Dublin City Public Library Service is to inform, educate, and enhance the lives of the people it serves. This guide is designed to give citizens an understanding of the way local government functions; by doing so, it facilitates greater participation in the democratic process and strengthens our shared  citizenship” commented Margaret Hayes, Dublin City Librarian.Download Knowing Dublin in English (PDF, 3.2MB) Cannot access PDF?Download Knowing Dublin in Irish (PDF, 3.15MB) Cannot access PDF? The Guide forms part of Dublin City Council’s calendar of events supporting Social Inclusion.

The 19th annual Sir John T. Gilbert Commemorative Lecture,  'Rioters, Looters, Lady Patrols & Mutineers: Some reflections on lesser visited aspects of the Irish Revolution in Dublin', is now available.

On Tuesday 14 June, at 7.00pm, 'The Dublin Civic Portrait Collection: patronage, politics and patriotism, 1603–2013' by Dublin City Archivist Dr. Mary Clark will be launched in the Oak Room of Dublin's Mansion House. Lord Mayor of Dublin Críona Ní Dhálaigh will officially launch the book and Professor Christine Casey, Department of the History of Art & Architecture, Trinity College Dublin will be a guest speaker.Please join us to celebrate the publication of this unique and momentous book. Booking required in order to attend, please email [email protected] details / how to purchase. | In the Catalogue |  View large image of book cover.About the BookBeginning in the early 17th century and continuing to the present day, the city of Dublin has built up a portrait collection that is unique on the island of Ireland in terms of range and diversity, and is brilliantly expressive of the political aspirations and realities that have informed its creation. The collection contains sixty-six works in oil-on-canvas and eight statues in bronze and marble. These can be placed in three principal categories: royal personages; lord lieutenants of Ireland; and lord mayors and aldermen of Dublin. It includes works by Irish artists Thomas Hickey, Hugh Douglas Hamilton, Martin Cregan, Stephen Catterson Smith, Dermod O’Brien, Robert Ballagh and Carey Clarke and by leading English portraitists including Sir Joshua Reynolds, George Romney, Sir William Beechey and Sir Thomas Lawrence.This book contains a catalogue of the entire collection with an introduction placing it within the broader context of civic imagery and regalia, giving due regard to ceremony, heraldry, dress and accoutrements of office. The Dublin collection is placed within its historical context to show how developments in Dublin and in Ireland as a whole influenced its formation. This lavishly illustrated book illuminates the complex relationship between politics, pageantry, art and history in the Irish capital over a sustained period of 400 years.It is published by Four Courts Press and supported by Dublin City Council.

Dublin City Council had a strong connection to the 1916 Rising through the involvement of elected members and Dublin Corporation employees, while the City Hall was a garrison building, held by the Irish Citizen Army. A new book, Dublin City Council and the 1916 Rising, published on 9 May, is the first detailed study of the impact of Dublin City Council on the 1916 Rising and in turn its effect on the council. The thirteen essays in this book, researched and written by experts in their field, explore the events and strategies leading into and following the Rising as it concerned the City Council.The book features biographies of 151 persons who were involved in the Rising and were either employed by the Council at the time, or subsequently. This wide-ranging book is essential for a complete understanding of the Rising.A number of elected members of Dublin City Council fought in 1916, including Councillor Richard O’Carroll, who fought with the Irish Volunteers at an outpost of Jacob’s Factory. Two of the men executed after the Rising – Eamonn Ceannt and John MacBride – were council employees. Ceannt, also known as Edmund T. Kent, was a valued employee in the Rates Department, while Major MacBride was the city’s Water-Bailiff. City Hall, the Corporation’s premier building, was garrisoned on Easter Monday by the Irish Citizen Army under Captain Sean Connolly, who in civilian life was an official in the Motor Registration Department; his brother Joseph Connolly, a member of Dublin Fire Brigade, fought with Michael Mallin and Countess Markiewicz at the College of Surgeons. Ever concerned with delivering information services, staff of Dublin Public Libraries also played an active role in communications during the Rising.The contributors are Sheila Carden, Shay Cody, Evelyn Conway, Donal Fallon, Las Fallon, David Flood, John Gibney, Anthony Jordan, Conor McNamara, Martin Maguire, Thomas J. Morrissey SJ, Seamus Ó Maitiú, Lawrence White, Padraig Yeates.The book is edited by John Gibney, a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin and the author of several books on Irish history. He has been a research fellow at the University of Notre Dame and NUI Galway. In 2012 he produced the acclaimed RTÉ Radio 1 documentary The Animal Gangs (broadcast July 2012) on the folklore of inner city Dublin. He has worked in heritage tourism in Dublin since 2001.The book is available from Four Courts Press and other bookshops.

Seeing the year that's in it, Dublin City Council and its Library Service are delighted to be publishing three new titles in the Decade of Commemorations series.

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Críona Ní Dhálaigh, launched the book 'Richmond Barracks 1916: We were there, 77 women of the Easter Rising' to a packed audience at the Chapel, Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin 8, on International Women's Day, Tuesday, 8 March 2016.