Blogs

Of all the wonderful shops in the city I love the bookshops best. In the past they congregated in Skinner Row, but now, since the mid 1770s, they have more visible presences on Dame Street and in the little courts off it. I love the way they display their new publications outside the front door or pinned to the door post. You can smell the fresh ink and feel the lovely texture of the new paper. I love the leisurely atmosphere as readers slowly work their way around the shop examining all the exciting new books and pamphlets.  Crampton Court is the ideal place to browse, hidden away from the bustle of Dame Street, you have the peace and quiet to peruse all the latest books. Luke White’s bookshop at Number 6 is the best. He stocks all the fashionable books and magazines. He imports his books from France and Switzerland so you can be sure of having the most up-to-date reading matter; my favourites are Jean-Jacques Rousseau (link to the catalogue for Rousseau) and Madame de Genlis (link to the catalogue for Madame de Genlis). It’s great when his new catalogue of French and Italian literature comes out, you can browse it from the comfort of your home, and then go to the shop and touch and feel the exotic object that has made its way across the sea from Paris or Venice. In case you find these too expensive he prints a Dublin edition of the best sellers, which are much better value, even if they lack the cachet of the imported editions. (Check the catalogue for Luke White's publications) You can have a little flutter here as well because he sells lottery tickets. He has just moved out to Dame Street to a more high profile location and John Archer has moved into White’s old bookshop in the court at Number 18.  This is another of my favourites. Archer’s has a great range of stock too and it’s quite different from Luke White’s because he imports his books and pamphlets from different places. He has all the best sellers of course, but he’s good on London publications, as well as imports from Paris, Venice and the Netherlands. (Check the catalogue for John Archer's publications) In a room upstairs some of the intellectuals meet to read the newspapers and discuss literature, science and politics. Richard Kirwan, the chemist, is talking about forming a library society so that they can have a shared library for members. Archer issues catalogues also, they’re always crammed with the most exciting new publications, but using the catalogue does not compare with the joy of visiting the shop in person.   

I feel at home in the 18th century. I’ve no desire to live here permanently, without 21st-century comforts and modern medicine, but to come as a visitor to a beloved destination. I am acquainted with many of Dublin’s citizens through their writings and through newspaper reports of their actions and concerns. I feel I know them well, I know their wives or husbands, and their children, and I know what they enjoyed to read, which gives me an insight into their minds and hearts. The layout of the city is also familiar to me and I can make my way around without getting lost, or feeling like an alien.Crossing the Liffey from the north side you come over Essex Bridge. Rebuilt in 1755, it’s now a good wide roadway, which allows two coaches to pass safely and ample footpaths that allow street traders to sell their wares. They have got rid of the equestrian statue of George 1 in the centre of the bridge as it was causing an obstruction in the river. (View the Rocque Map in our online catalogue)Click thumbnails to view larger images.I love to stand on the bridge and watch the ships tied up at the Custom House unloading their cargoes. The crane is working steadily lifting the heavy loads. Tea, spices, wine, sugar, paper and books are all unloaded here and sent off around the city in trundling carts. The city’s merchants bustle around all day looking important with clipboards and anxious frowns. Their new Royal Exchange building, just opened last year, is looking very fine at the top of Parliament Street. I believe there is a new coffee room running the length of the north front of the building upstairs where they can carry on business in comfort. I still like the old exchange in Crampton Court and I know lots of the merchants say that the new building is an expense that they cannot afford, although we all know that most of the money was raised through lottery schemes. (See Views of Dublin from 1780).Parliament Street is our newest street, forged through the old tangle of lanes and streets on the recommendation of the Wide Streets Commissioners. The street is wide and airy, its proportions taken from width of Essex Bridge. Its purpose was to give a grand view of Dublin Castle from the river, but now the view focuses on the classical façade of the Exchange.Into Skinner Row you can stop for coffee and a look at the day’s newspapers in Dick’s Coffee House. Upstairs to the drawing room, or first floor, of Carbery House, with its lovely wainscoting and large windows letting in plenty of light, you can sit by the fire, sip your coffee, glance at the papers, and listen to the conversations all around you. I have heard that this fine old timber-framed building is due for demolition. What a loss that will be!

The Irish Texts Society was founded in London in 1898. The initiative to establish the Irish Texts Society came from another Irish organisation based in London, the Irish Literary Society (ILS), founded in 1892. According to the 1895-6 annual report of the ILS “preliminary steps have been taken to form an Irish Texts Society for the publication of modern Irish works”. As a result a provisional sub-committee was appointed to investigate the project.

The book "101 things you thought you knew about the Titanic.... but didn't" is a fascinating study of some of the myths and half-truths that have arisen since that fateful morning of April 15th 1912. (Growing up in Cobh, I reckon I've heard 99 of them!) Author Tim Matlin dispels many of these popular legends using primary sources such as the US Inquiry and the British Inquiry, both of 1912. He also shows that many of these stories are indeed true. The myths are neatly separated into categories such as: The Ship, Omens, Passengers, Collision, S.O.S etc.Below are a few examples to whet your appetite:Titanic was genuinely believed to be unsinkable. This is true as she was designed to stay afloat with any of her two watertight compartments flooded. The glancing blow Titanic received from the iceberg was not foreseen, as it had never happened before according to maritime records.Titanic was filled to capacity on her maiden voyage. False; she was about half full carrying 1,308 passengers out of a total capacity of 2,603.If Titanic had struck the iceberg head-on, she would not have sunk. This is true according to evidence given by Edward Wilding, one of Titanic's designers. He cited the case of the Arizona, which 34 years previously hit an iceberg head-on and survived. Titanic's bows would have been crushed in for 80 or 100 feet but she would have remained afloat according to Wilding. Titanic broke in half as she sank. Yes. This was not discovered until 1985 when her wreck was found on the seabed. Her bow section lay 650 metres North of her stern section.More women were saved from the Titanic than men. False. 338 men were saved and 316 women. This is because only about 25% of the people (passengers and crew) were women.You can find more books on the Titanic in our catalogue.

Labre Park was the first site built specifically for Travellers by a Local Authority in Ireland. It was opened in September 1967 at a cost of £50,000 and consisted of 39 concrete 'tigíns' in a row off Kylemore Road. Each 'tigín' was composed of a living room with a stove, a lavatory, and a place to wash. Residents of Labre Park slept in their caravans which were parked beside or behind each 'tigín'. Rents at Labre Park ranged from ten to thirty shillings per week.

Dublin in the late 18th century was a consumer paradise. A building boom had resulted in fine streets and squares of classical houses. Interior design flourished with ornate plasterwork ceilings, painted wallpaper, beautiful furniture of polished wood and gilt, paintings and sculptures, print collections, and libraries filled with books in exquisite bindings.

'Sir John T. Gilbert (1829-1898): Life, Works and Context' by Brendan Twomey.Brendan Twomey spoke about John T. Gilbert at the 15th Annual Sir John T Gilbert commemorative lecture at Dublin City Library and Archive on 23 January 2012.

(Reproduced with the permission of Dublin: One City One Book.)Today, Thursday, 2nd February, is the 130th anniversary of the birth of James Joyce!Arguably Ireland’s greatest literary genius and a leading proponent of modernism in fiction, James Joyce was born at 41 Brighton Square to John Stanislaus Joyce and Mary Jane Murray, and spent his earliest years there and in Castlewood Avenue. He was educated at Clongowes Wood College and at Belvedere College before going on to University College Dublin (on St Stephen’s Green), where he studied modern languages.Right: James Joyce. Image of Joyce reproduced from the original glass negative held in UCD Library Special Collections by kind permission of Helen Solterer. (click image to enlarge)Joyce left Ireland with Nora Barnacle in 1904, and was to spend the rest of his life in Italy and France, paying his last visit to Ireland in 1912. Joyce died in Zurich on the 13th January, 1941, and is buried in Zurich's Fluntern Cemetery.Joyce's collection of short stories, Dubliners, and the choice for Dublin: One City, One Book 2012, was first published in 1914 by Grant Richards Ltd., London.

On 28 June 1922 the forces of the Provisional Government of the Irish Free State, led by Michael Collins, attacked the Anti-Treaty garrison at the Four Courts. This action is generally believed to mark the beginning of the Irish Civil War. The images in this gallery are taken from a special supplement to the Irish Life newspaper that was published on 14 July 1922 entitled 'Ireland's Tragic Week'. Each photograph was accompanied by a short text.

In September of 2011 we held our first series of ‘Crime and the City’ where over the course of five weeks we had talks from five different authors of fiction, non-fiction and social research - all on the broad topics of crime and drugs.The idea was to bring a cross section of people together to deliver a series of talks that would be relevant as well as entertaining.