Alan MacSimóin Collection in Dublin City Library and Archive
Published on 8th April 2025
The Alan MacSimóin Collection is a wonderful collection for researchers interested in left wing activism in Dublin over the past few decades.
Alan Mac Simóin (1957-2018) was a political activist, trade unionist and a key figure in the development of the left in Dublin. Alan helped form the Dublin Anarchist Group (1978) later Anarchist Workers Alliance, and was a founding member of the Workers Solidarity Movement (1984). Alan’s personal collection of political ephemera was donated to Dublin City Library and Archive by his widow, Mary Muldowney, in 2019.
The Alan Mac Simóin Collection consists of a broad compilation of printed items including magazines and newsletters such as Hard Times, Workers Solidarity and The National Crumb. There is also an excellent collection of leaflets, letters, flyers and posters relating to campaigns such as the one supporting the Dunnes Stores strikers in Dublin in the 1980s when they refused to handle goods from South Africa. Many of the ephemeral items are not easy to find elsewhere and provide a unique insight into activism on the ground in Dublin and Ireland in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.
The Alan MacSimóin Collection can be accessed by appointment in the Dublin City Library and Archive Reading Room on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 4:30pm.
Please email [email protected] or [email protected] to request material and to make an appointment. Find out more about the collections available at the Reading Room.
See also other collections of similar interest in Dublin City Library and Archive:
- Communist Party of Ireland (CPI) Collection
- Radical Newspaper Archive – available online via The Irish Newspaper Archive
Image Title and Reference
Photograph of Alan Mac Simóin - Courtesy of Mary Muldowney
Support The People's March For Decent Jobs (Poster, 1980s) - [Alan MacSimóin Collection, 01/01/11] Courtesy of Dublin City Library and Archive
Dunnes Stores Strikers (Stickers, 1984) - [Alan MacSimóin Collection, 01/02/01] Courtesy of Dublin City Library and Archive
March Against Apartheid (Flyer, 1980s) - [Alan MacSimóin Collection, 01/02/05] Courtesy of Dublin City Library and Archive
Dunnes Strike March (Poster, 1985) - [Alan MacSimóin Collection, 01/02/09] Courtesy of Dublin City Library and Archive
Hard Times: Dublin Unemployed Action Group (Newsletter, 1981) -[Alan MacSimóin Collection, 01/05/05] Courtesy of Dublin City Library and Archive
Unemployment: Join the Liberties Unemployed Action Group (Flyer, 1980s) - [Alan MacSimóin Collection, 01/05/39] Courtesy of Dublin City Library and Archive
