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On Wednesday, 10th July 2013, the President, Michael D. Higgins, was presented with a copy of the publication, A Capital in Conflict: Dublin City and the 1913 Lockout".Right: President Michael D. Higgins and his wife Sabina Higgins being presented with a copy of the book by Margaret Hayes, Dublin City Librarian  (on left), together with Dr. Máire Kennedy, Divisional Librarian and series editor (2nd from right), and Jane Alger, Director Office of Dublin UNESCO City of Literature (far right). Click image to view larger version.The book was produced by Dublin City Public Libraries and launched on Saturday 13th April by the then Lord Mayor, Naoise Ó Muirí. The book, containing 16 essays written by both established and emerging historians, focuses on various aspects of Dublin in 1913.Left: Book cover. Click image to view larger version.The book is distributed by Four Courts Press, so it is available in all bookshops and directly from Four Courts Press.The book can also be borrowed through the Dublin City branch library system.RTÉ Radio One’s History Show on 14th April devoted the whole programme to the book, and the podcast can be accessed online.2013 marks the centenary of the 1913 Dublin lockout, and many events are taking place commemorating the happening and Dublin at that time.Book DetailsTitle: A Capital in Conflict, Dublin City and the 1913 LockoutEditor: Francis DevineSeries Editors: Dr. Mary Clark and Dr. Máire KennedyISBN: Hbk 978-107002-11-3 Pbk 978-1907002-10-6Pages: xxxi, 405pp.Published by: Dublin City Council, 2013About: A capital in conflict explores aspects of the social, political and cultural life of Dublin at a defining point in Irish history during the 1913 Lockout. Certain personalities loom large such as James Larkin and William Martin Murphy, Delia Larkin and James Connolly, Charles Cameron and Hugh Lane, but it is the ordinary people of the city, the children, women and men, who shine through the pages of this volume.Contributors: Lydia Carroll, Patrick Coughlan, Kate Cowan, John Cunningham, Francis Devine, David Durnin, Karen Hunt, Leeann Lane, Enda Leaney, Ann Matthews, Thomas J. Morrissey, John Newsinger, Séamas Ó Maitiú, Niamh Puirséil, Ciarán Wallace, Colin Whitston. Right: Table of Contents. Click Image to view larger version.Historical BackgroundThe Dublin 1913 Lockout began on 26th August 1913 when all the trams on O’Connell Street stopped with workers seeking pay rises ranging from 1s to 2s a week. William Martin Murphy, the owner of the Dublin Tramway Company locked out members of the IT&GWU who refused to sign the pledge and leave the union and James Larkin, leader of the union called a general strike. In the disputes that followed more than 20,000 workers were either locked out of their jobs by their employers or went on strike. Unrest had begun earlier in the year with the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company dispute in January and the Dublin Silk Weavers strike in March.At the end of August, the city was in a state of unrest. On 30th August there were with riots in Ringsend, Beresford Place and Eden Quay, during which the police baton-charged the crowds. Many protestors were injured and one man died from his injuries. On 31st August, James Larkin appeared in the window of the Imperial Hotel, Sackville Street (now Clerys, O’Connell Street) to address the huge crowd. He was immediately arrested and a riot followed. The police baton charge caused over 300 injuries and the day is known as “Bloody Sunday” The Lockout continued for 6 months with families enduring widespread hardship, poverty and hunger and by early 1914 many of the workers were driven back to work. Housing conditions in Dublin at the time were very bad with the slums considered some of the worst in the UK. The 1911 census shows that 26,000 families in Dublin city lived in tenements, 20,000 of them in single rooms. The mortality rates per 1,000 were 22.3 in Dublin compared to 15.6 in London. On 2nd September, 7 people – including two children died when two tenements, numbers 66 and 67 Church Street collapsed. (Source: Dublin City Council)

From the oldest cave paintings found in Chauvet, France, via Egyptian hieroglyphs to ancient Rome’s 'Acta  Diurna' government announcements carved in metal or stone and hung in public places, to 2nd and 3rd century A.D. Chinese  ‘Tipao’ or 'news sheets' and on  to 8th Century A.D. Chinese ‘Kaiyuan Za Bo' handwritten on silk and read aloud by government officials, until Johannes Gutenberg perfected ‘movable type' printing in the 15th century and instigated the ‘Printing Revolution', the need to document and reflect the world around us has long been an aspiration of all human societies. According to Wikipedia “A newspaper is a periodical publication containing news regarding current events, informative articles, diverse features, editorials, and advertising." As such, newspapers are a rich historical source and a particularly useful aid to getting a feel for the ‘Zeitgeist' (literally ‘the Spirit of the Age‘) and consequently a very worthy addition to any library.Although published from the end of the 17th century it is from the middle of the 18th century that Irish newspapers became more widespread and consequently more useful as historical research tools. The rise of coffee houses with their stocks of newspapers and newsletters containing information from around the world led to much business and debate being conducted there. Advertisements, and Births, Deaths and Marriage notices all began to appear more regularly at least in relation to the upper echelons of Irish society.Amongst the most important Dublin papers of this period are the Dublin Evening Post, Faulkner’s Dublin Journal  and The Freeman’s Journal (merged with The Irish Independent in 1924). In 19th-century Ireland The Freeman’s Journal and The Nation were regularly read aloud by priests and local teachers at house gatherings of the largely illiterate population.Details of Dublin and Irish Collection newspaper holdings in hardcopy, microfilm and online.               

The Gloucester Diamond got its name from the diamond-shaped intersection at Gloucester Place and Sean Macdermott Street. Colloquially, ‘The Diamond’ refers not just to Gloucester Place, but the entire area surrounding it. It is recorded in Thomas Campbell’s map of 1811 which predates the first Ordnance Survey maps of the area (1829-41).The photographs in this gallery were taken between 1968 and 1987 and therefore depict the later redevelopments.

View Strumpet City Image GalleryStrumpet City is one of the great Dublin novels. Focusing on the 1913 Lock-Out, its panoramic scope extends from the docks and slums of inner-city Dublin to the bourgeois domiciles of Kingstown. These images from the Dublin City Council Photographic Collection show the city as it was over fifty years later. Although the harrowing conditions Plunkett wrote about had largely vanished, the ‘glorified kip of a city’ he described remained recognisable throughout the twentieth century.Further ResourcesDublin City Public Libraries has a wide range of sources on the literary history of Dublin, some of which are available online and some through the Dublin City Public Libraries network.The Reading Room, Dublin City Library and Archive, Pearse Street holds a wealth of material on the history of Dublin, including books, pamphlets, journals, street directories, and almanacs.The following online resources can be accessed free of charge at your local library (access links via our NetVibes portal). Ask library staff for information and assistance.Libraries and Archives Digital Repository: Digital records relating to Dublin, including photographs, postcards, letters, maps and ephemeral material. Highlights of the collection include the Fáilte Ireland Photographic Collection, Wide Street Commission Map Collection (1757-1851), the Irish Theatre Archive and the Birth of the Republic Collection, which comprises material from the period of the foundation of the Irish state.Irish Times Digital Archive: This online archive service gives access to contemporary editions of the Irish Times from the mid-nineteenth century until the present.Irish Newspaper Archive: This online archive service gives access to contemporary editions of the Irish Independent and a range of other newspapers.The Ireland-JSTOR Collection: This online archive of academic articles can also be accessed free of charge at your local library.For further reading, consult the Library Catalogue.View Strumpet City Image Gallery

The following is a transcript of the sixteenth Sir John T. Gilbert Commemorative Lecture "Dublin after Dark: Glimpses of Life in an Early Modern City", given by Maighréad Ní Mhurchadha, Local Historian, on Wednesday 23rd January 2013.

"Dublin after Dark: Glimpses of Life in an Early Modern City", by Maighréad Ní Mhurchadha, Local HistorianOn 23 January 2013 sixteenth annual Sir John T. Gilbert Commemorative Lecture was held at Dublin City Library and Archive, Pearse Street.

On 28th January 1813, Jane Austen’s second novel was published. Pride and Prejudice, for which Austen received a single down-payment of £110, was originally called First Impressions, and had been started when the author was only twenty-one. It was to become one of the best-loved books ever published.

In honour of the late Dublin GAA legend Kevin Heffernan, who died on the 25th January, Dublin City Public Libraries have put the exhibition ‘The Jacks Are Back : The Dubs in the 1970s’ on display in the Dublin City Library and Archive, 138-144 Pearse, Dublin 2, until Thursday, 31st January. The exhibition celebrates the Dublin team that contested six All-Ireland Finals in a row between 1974 and 1979.Right: Click image to view larger version.Also worth noting is the accompanying online image gallery consisting of previously unseen photographs of the Dublin team at various Civic Receptions. These images were taken from the Dublin City Council Photographic Collection. Amongst them are a number of images (Image 005; Image 006; Image 024 and more) of Kevin Heffernan. ‘Heffo’s Army’, as the Dublin supporters became known, became famous nationwide for their passionate and vocal support of their team. Read more in the story accompanying the online image gallery and published here on our blog.Freeman of Dublin...In May 2004 Kevin Heffernan was awarded the Freedom of the City by Dublin City Council. To date, he is one of only three sportsmen to have been honoured as Freemen of Dublin. Kevin Heffernan's citation read as follows:"In recognition of his role in encouraging young people to participate in sport and stay on the right path. And for being a guiding light and inspiration to generations of young Dubliners".Kevin Heffernan received the city's highest honour for his services to Dublin GAA as a player (he captained the All-Ireland winning team of 1958 and was named at left corner-forward on the GAA's 'Team of the Century'), manager (1974-76, 1979-1983), and as an influence on thousands of Dubliners who, inspired by the heroics of the Dublin teams in the 1970s and 1980s, made Gaelic Football the predominant field sport of the city. His commitment to the game continued to be reflected through his work with juvenile teams at St. Vincent's GAA Club.May he rest in peace.

Between 1845 and 1850, out of a population of approximately 8.2 million, some one million died and another million were forced to emigrate. By 1881 the population had fallen to 5.2 million and continued to fall for many more years.

Contemporary with the time-period covered by Anne Plumptre’s ‘Narrative of a Residence in Ireland’ (1814-15), available in a three volume set in the Special Collections of the Dublin and Local Studies Collection, was the Congress of Vienna, a Pan-European meeting of nations to try to undo some of the political damage caused by the Napoleonic Era. Ms Plumptre, staunchly pro-Napoleon since the time of her earlier Residence in France (1802-05), declared that she ‘would welcome him if he invaded England, because he would do away with the aristocracy and give the country a better government’.Always confident of her own mind she  published fiction, travel writing, translations, drama and political enquiry whilst active in the ‘Enfield Circle’, a group of literati in her home town of  Norwich and throughout her life.After the ‘tedious voyage’ from Liverpool to Dublin and delay on arrival, the book is a like modern-day visitor’s guide to the city of Dublin as its author warms to the city with references to numerous institutions such as the Royal Irish Academy, the Custom House, Marsh’s Library, Trinity College, the  Dublin Society and the Four Courts.  The edition available in the Reading Room is ‘Grangerized’, a ‘hobby’ of extra-illustration of texts which began in the 18th Century as a form of protest against the lack of illustrations in the book Biographical History of England by James Granger (1769).  The Reading Room, Dublin City Library & Archive, Pearse Street, Dublin 2.