Dublin City Libraries will be closed from Saturday 4 May to Monday 6 May 2024 (inclusive). Our online services will continue as usual. We will reopen on Tuesday, 7 May.
Dublin City Archivist Lorraine McLoughlin will showcase some of the unique collections of Dublin City Archives, highlighting the heritage and history of the city of Dublin.
In the wake of the Norman Invasion of Ireland, Dublin was seized in 1170 by Richard de Clare, better known as Strongbow. Watch a recording of a seminar organised by Friends of Medieval Dublin and Dublin City Libraries to mark the 850th anniversary of Henry II’s grant of Dublin to Bristol, 1171–72.
John McGahern’s Dublin: the 23rd Annual Sir John T. Gilbert Commemorative Lecture will take place on Thursday 23rd January 2020 at 6pm.The lecture will be presented by Professor Frank Shovlin, University of Liverpool, at Dublin City Library & Archive, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2,John McGahern is often thought of as Ireland's quintessential chronicler of rural life, a writer who, through his Leitrim and Roscommon roots, helped to represent the delicate facets of the countryside more accurately than any writer since Patrick Kavanagh.From Howth of The Leavetaking, to Drumcondra and Contarf of The Pornographer or the city centre pubs of High Ground, he lovingly recreated the city he knew, first as a student teacher and in later years as a mature writer. The lecture will examine moments from the published fiction as well as considering an extensive unpublished correspondence that allows us access to McGahern's social networks and his motivations and preoccupations as he develops into one of the greatest writers of fiction in the post-war era.Reception to follow. No Booking Required. Come early to ensure a place. Further information: 01 674 4999 or [email protected] or [email protected]
Doing their bit: Irish women and the First World War
Doing their bit: Irish women and the First World War is a new exhibition in Dublin City Library and Archive in Pearse Street. The exhibition centres on the impact that the First World War had on the lives of Irish women and the new opportunities that opened up for them.
The 50th anniversary of the destruction of Nelson's Pillar occurred on Tuesday, 8th March 2016, and to mark the occasion Dublin City Archives held a commemorative event entailing a talk by historian Donal Fallon, poetry read by Alastair Smeaton, and ballads by Luke Cheevers and Tony Fitzpatrick.View the photo slideshow of the event below. View the photos on flickr.The full programme was as follows:Extract from Evening Correspondent (Dated 16 February 1808). Read by Alastair SmeatonLord Nelson (Tommy Makem). Ballad sung by Tony FitzpatrickThe Pillar: the Life and Afterlife of the Nelson Pillar. Talk given by Donal FallonAdmiral Nelson (Luke Cheevers). Ballad sung by Luke CheeversDublin (Louis MacNeice). Poem read by Alastair SmeatonNelson’s Farewell (Joe Dolan from Galway). Ballad sung by Tony Fitzpatrick
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