Dublin City Libraries will be closed from Saturday 3 to Monday 5 May 2025 (inclusive). Our online services will continue as usual. We will reopen on Tuesday, 6 May.
A collection of eight Ordnance Survey maps, donated to Dublin City Library and Archive, constitute a wonderful addition to local and family history for the Terenure Crumlin area in the late 19th century. The maps are folded and bound into one volume, bound in half leather with gilt lettering on the top cover.
1 July 2016 marks the centenary of the beginning of the Battle of the Somme which lasted until November 1916. Over a million soldiers from both sides were killed during the carnage, which included over 3,500 Irish soldiers fighting for the Allies in World War 1.Image: Detail from DCLA/RDFA1.09.047A, photo of soldiers marching across war-torn area of the trenches & battlefield. Caption: "War 1914-15-16... in the Somme French Offensive Relieving the trenches at Dompierre" (see larger image).The Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association Archive held at Dublin City Library and Archive, includes the personal papers of various Irish soldiers who experienced the Battle of the Somme and all of its horrors. An exhibition based on these resources will be launched in our Dublin Room exhibition space in October 2016. Here's a sample of some of the remarkable stories that can be researched at Dublin City Library and Archive:Frank Gunning survived the Gallipoli Campaign 1915, despite being hospitalised for dysentery. He then transferred to the 6th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers where he was second lieutenant. In June 1916, Frank was sent to France, and wrote home to say:“Well, here I am in the thick of it – and talk about Suvla Bay – why this is a thousand times worse. The noise would put you astray in the head. Pray for us all dear, really it is an awful spot”He was killed during the Battle of the Somme and his body was never recovered.J. P. Flanagan fought on the 1st day of the Battle of the Somme. He was badly wounded and his left arm subsequently had to be amputated. Unable to return to active service, Flanagan was discharged and awarded a Silver badge to be worn on his civilian clothes to highlight that he had been wounded in service.Edward Brierley served with the 8th Battalion of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers and survived the entire Somme campaign. He received three awards than three certificates for bravery in the field, as well as the Military Medal, bestowed by the British Army for acts of gallantry and devotion to duty under fire.Photo: RDFA/09/27 Edward Brierley seated, in uniformThe RDFA/ Monica Roberts Collection includes letters to Monica Roberts from Irish soldiers, depicting their first hand experiences of life in the trenches on the Western Front. Because of censorship, the soldiers do not always refer directly to the Somme. However our collection stored on Digital Repository Ireland, which contains digital images and transcription of letters, has both “keyword” and “browse by date” search functionality. By comparing the database with a soldier's World War I service records available from the Ancestery.com Database in our Reading Room, it is possible to identify soldiers which are serving along the Somme battle lines.George Soper is one such individual. His letter from 28 October 1916 vividly describes the battle landscape from ‘the hottest spot in France’‘we captured the German position But my God we had some fighting to do we used nothing else only bombs and bayonets. It was proper hand to hand fighting but thank God we came out alright. I never saw this country in such a state. The ground is absolutely ploughed up you could not walk for more than 3 yards without falling into a shell hole and it is next door to impossible to get up there in the night time. We are up at present in one of the hottest spots in France. The guns are about 1 foot apart from each other. I never saw such a number of guns in all my life’ [RDFA.01.04.11] Images from the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association Archive relating to the Battle of the SommeView images on flickr.
First steps in genealogyStep 1Where do you start?Start at home with your own family. Check the correct names, dates of birth, marriage and death of your parents and grandparents, and make out a record card for each one. List also the brothers and sisters of each parent or grandparent, as far as you can. This information can be obtained by asking your family members - parents, aunt, uncles, grandparents etc. Your record of these two generations should also include information on places - where they were born, lived, married, worked, died and were buried.Step 2Go to your local Public Library.Check on the origin of your family’s surnames and read some of the recommended basic guides to tracing family history prior to visiting major reference libraries or archival repositories. Check the library catalogue for relevant material in Dublin City Public Libraries.Step 3Verify the information in Step 1 from official sources and family records.Check details on headstones in graveyards, particularly for dates of birth and deaths, but also for any other relevant information. Go to the Dublin City Library and Archive to check civil registration indexes. Go to the General Register Office with the verified details of names, places and dates and get copies of any birth, marriage or death certificates.Step 4Check all information obtained so far.Look especially for details about members of the family not listed in your initial list of parents and grandparents and their generations.List great-grandparents and other relatives as revealed in these documents, noting especially any information on dates and places. This might also be a good time to make use of the many websites that deal with genealogy.Step 5Check Dublin Street Directories and Griffith's Valuation in the Dublin City Library and Archive. The Census Records for 1901 and 1911 in Dublin and the Tithe Applotment Books can also be consulted here. For countrywide records visit The National Archives to verify facts about places and dates discovered so far. If you are outside Dublin, contact your local public library for relevant directories and other information.Make copies of relevant documents or copy down the information as it relates to each person in each place.Step 6Having obtained records from the General Register Office check parish registers, which record baptisms, marriages and funerals. Roman Catholic Parish registers can be consulted on microfilm in the National Library of Ireland.Step 7Check other sources.Check with the Registry of Deeds for wills, property transfers, marriage licences etc.Check newspapers for announcements of births, marriages and deaths, funerals or obituaries.Check school, military and professional records.Step 8Remember that your ancestors may have been born, married or may have died outside of Ireland. Seek the advice of your local librarian if you don't know where to go to next.
