As of 2023 this course will be offered free of charge. Commencing in October 2023, classes will be held on Tuesday evenings at Dublin City Library & Archive, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2.
As of 2023 this course will be offered free of charge. Commencing in October 2023, classes will be held on Monday evenings at Dublin City Library and Archive, 139-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2, and will include two visits to archive services.
This week I have had the great pleasure of visiting Massachusetts and presenting a paper at the annual national meeting of the American Conference for Irish Studies held in Boston. It was my second time attending such a gathering, having also presented a paper on Dublin poet Maeve Cavanagh MacDowell two years ago, when ACIS met in Kansas City, Missouri. This time around I spoke about the life of Dora Maguire, another woman who happened to be profiled in R. M. Fox’s 1935 book of essays Rebel Irishwomen.Whereas the likes of Maud Gonne and Countess Markievicz became legends in their own lifetimes, Dora Maguire (1889-1931) was perhaps the most obscure of Fox’s dozen ‘Rebel Irishwomen’. A friend of the author, she died aged forty-one in February 1931 after years of ill-health. During my paper I spoke about Maguire’s upbringing in England and the north of Ireland, time spent in Blackburn and London during the First World War (when she worked as a nurse and developed suppressed diphtheria and tuberculosis), decision to move to Ireland around the time of the War of Independence, and employment at St. Ultan’s Children’s Hospital in Ranelagh during the 1920s.I then focused at length on her arrest in 1925 over an incident at the Princess Cinema in Rathmines. Evolving into an ardent republican during her adulthood, Maguire was indignant at the time about the screening across Dublin of short films concerning the Prince of Wales’ recent dominion tour of South Africa. Entering the “Prinner” – as the Princess Cinema was known to locals – on 6th August 1925 with an inkpot hidden on her person, Maguire stood up and hurled her makeshift missile over the heads of the theatre orchestra as soon as the offending picture was shown, causing considerable damage to the screen and generating newspaper headlines.Surviving foyer plaque from the Princess Cinema, the scene of Dora Maguire's arrest in August 1925. Known locally as "The Prinner", the cinema closed its doors in 1960 and was demolished in 1982 (Photograph courtesy of Carol Dunne, Dublin City Libraries).This incident is the focus of The Spirit of Dora Maguire, an historical comic strip by Dublin artist Aidan J Collins. Some artwork from this creation, which came about in 2018 following a talk I gave in Dublin on Maguire’s life the previous year, can be seen below:Blueprint still from an animated video by Aidan J Collins. This is based on one of the panels from his 2018 historical comic strip The Spirit of Dora Maguire (Courtesy of Aidan J Collins).On Monday 20th May 2019 I will be teaming up with Maeve Casserly (Historian in Residence, South East Area) for a joint talk about Dora Maguire and St. Ultan’s Children’s Hospital at Rathmines Public Library. The event starts at 6:30pm and all are welcome to attend.Dr. James Curry, Historian in Residence, North West Area.Dublin City Council Historians in Residence are available to meet groups and schools, give talks, walks etc, run history book clubs and advise on historical research.
Dublin supported James II at the Battle of the Boyne, but following his defeat by William III, a protestant ascendancy resumed control of the city and began to forge links with the new and successful monarchy. This process intensified after the death of Mary II in 1695 left William III as sole monarch. Dublin Corporation added William’s arms to the City Sword; in 1697 and in the following year, the king presented a chain of office to the Lord Mayor of Dublin, carrying the monarch’s bust on a medallion, which is in use to this day.
Two complementary exhibitions were launched yesterday in the Dublin City Library and Archive. These are the 'Çanakkale: Road to Peace out of War' and the 'Fragments: Stories from Gallipoli 1915' displays which will appear in the Dublin City Public Library and Archive from Wednesday, 22 April, 2015 until Friday, 29 May, 2015.The 'Fragments: Stories from Gallipoli 1915' exhibition, curated by Dublin City Archives, draws mainly on sources from the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association Archive which is held at Dublin City Library and Archive. It gives an overview of the failed 1915 Campaign by the Allies and highlights the personal experiences of a number of Irish-born World War I soldiers who fought in Gallipoli by utilising diaries, photographs and correspondences. The second exhibition, 'Çanakkale: Road to Peace out of War,' is about the Gallipoli Campaign, known as "Çanakkale Savaşı" (Battle of Çanakkale), in Turkey. This photographic exhibition has been funded by the Turkish Embassy in Ireland in remembrance of the gallantry and friendship that flourished on Turkish land. It reflects not only the military aspect this battle, but also the humane relationship between the soldiers on both warring fronts.Dublin City Library and Archive is the perfect place to learn more about the Gallipoli Campaign, with access to viewing these two exhibitions currently on display, as well as a very special collection of volumes recording the Irish lives lost at Gallipoli. The impact of the Gallipoli campaign on Ireland during World War I was commemorated and recognised on Wednesday, 22 April, 2015 in Islandbridge, Dublin at the War Memorial Gardens. There is an Irish Times article that was published on this event as well. Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW), Simon Harris, formally received a recently restored set of volumes that contains the names of the Irish that took part in the campaign. The Irish people suffered devastating losses during this initiative, amounting to an estimated 3,400 lives, and the restoration recognises these soldiers.Only 100 sets were published of these volumes. They record the names of the Irish people who lost their lives for the allied armies from 1914 to 1918.Illustrations by Harry Clarke depict a combination of select Celtic and Art Deco motifs, war panoramas, medals and badges, in addition to religious and mythical scenes. They are a valuable addition to any library or collection. A recently restored set of these volumes can be found in the Reading Room, in the Dublin City Public Library and Archive. The Reading Room is open to all readers holding a current Research Card, issued by Dublin City Public Libraries and available on application to all parties who wish to consult the Dublin City Library & Archive collections.These records can also be found in the Reading Room on CD-ROM versions, which you can see in the library catalogue. If you don't have the ability to visit the library, the records can also be accessed online as well. Select the photos below to view larger sizes.
The conferring ceremony for graduates of the Lord Mayor’s Certificate in Oral History, and the Lord Mayor’s Certificate in Local Studies, 2013-2014, took place in the Dublin City Library & Archive on Wednesday, 10th December, 2014. Above: Photo from the conferring ceremony. Click to view larger version.The Lord Mayor's Certificate in Oral History, and the Lord Mayor's Certificate in Local Studies, are two courses run by Dublin City Archives and offered to the public as part of Dublin City Council's commitment to life long learning.The courses are designed to appeal to anyone with an active interest in history and who wants to learn how to engage with a variety of different research methods and sources.The 2014-15 courses commenced in the Dublin City Library & Archive in September 2014 and continues until April 2015..Ann- Louise Mullhall, one of the participants on the Lord Mayor’s Certificate in Oral History in 2013-2014 has kindly provided us with a review of the course:"I attended this programme because I heard Ellen Murphy, Senior Archivist, Dublin City Library & Archive talk about an oral history project she had been involved with on the North Strand Bombings. I am presently researching a book on the history of the Coombe Hospital and thought oral history could be a useful research method in my search for evidence.The 28 week course was divided up into 4 sections: In the first section An Introduction to Oral History, we learnt that oral history was not a new branch of history but a new technique a means of bringing into play new sources of evidence to be evaluated alongside written sources and materials. We were introduced to the key concepts, theories and methodologies in oral history. One of the objectives of the course was to equip us students with the essential skills in interviewing techniques and encouraging engagement with ethical research issues. We had some interesting discussions in the class around the ethical issues. Each class was illustrated with references to core texts, helpful Irish and International websites of interest and suggested readings. We were sent copies of the PowerPoint presentations from each class which was useful. We had presentations from researchers who were involved in the oral history projects done in East Wall, Dublin and of family memories of the 1913 Dublin Lock Out. They gave us tips on avoiding pitfalls and great encouragement with their enthusiasm for this method.The second section Irish History Sources and Methods, introduced us to documentary and other sources for the study of Irish History. We also looked at developing our oral history research proposal and putting our learning into action by preparing to do our own oral history piece. One of the strengths of this course is the assistance and encouragement you get from the course tutors Dr. Catherine O’Connor and Dr. Mary McCarthy, as well as from fellow course participants. We got the necessary guidance in academic writing.The third section was Oral Heritage and Memory: Private and Public. It was very interesting to learn about the Irish Folklore project. We were given samples of the evidence that had been collected about life in Ireland in the 1930’s. When we were exploring issues relating to public history and commemoration course, participants gave presentations on commemorations they were involved with. We also learnt about the ‘ Decade of commemorations’ and looked at websites that illustrate each historical event. We went on a most interesting and informative field trip to Glasnevin Cemetery and Museum where we did the Military history tour with Conor our guide. It was fascinating to visit the graves of soldiers who fought in wars and risings, of chaplains who ministered to them, of women who fought alongside their men, of politicians who tried to negotiate the peace. We then visited the Museum to view the Irish Volunteers exhibition and finished off the visit with a meal and discussion on what we had seen and learnt.The final section was the Seminar Module which provided assistance in the design and development of our own oral history research project. Both tutors gave us plenty of guidance with our projects. This also provided us with opportunity to learn from our fellow students. We all got assistance from the staff in Dublin City Library and Archive Reading Room with information retrieval for background information for our projects.A most interesting programme!"Further information available from [email protected].
JSTOR is a comprehensive online resource that spans a variety of topics. Access to The Ireland Collection – JSTOR can be accessed at Dublin City Public Libraries free of charge. The Ireland Collection is an interdisciplinary collection of journals and other materials. The Collection contains titles and resources across the arts, humanities, and sciences in disciplines such as music, art, history, literature, archaeology, mathematics, and biology. Materials span from the 1780s to the present.Find out more about this and other research materials available at Dublin City Public Libraries. Whether you want to satisfy your curiosities, increase your content knowledge or for personal research the information is at your fingertips. For example you can find a copy of every Dublin Historical Record article ever written since 1834. Students can access further information to assist their studies. Researchers who may not have access to journal databases will find a wealth of information available."JSTOR (short for Journal Storage) is an online system for archiving academic journals, founded in 1995. It provides its member institutions full-text searches of digitised back issues of several hundred well-known journals, dating back to 1665. Membership in JSTOR is held by 7,000 institutions in 159 countries. JSTOR was originally funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, but is now an independent, self-sustaining not-for-profit organization with offices in New York City and Ann Arbor, Michigan. In January 2009, it was announced that JSTOR would merge with Ithaka, a non-profit organization founded in 2003 and "dedicated to helping the academic community take full advantage of rapidly advancing information and networking technologies." (Wikipedia)JSTOR is an example of information storage and access that is required to protect the masses of information available. It was a solution for libraries to deal with the growing level of print journals that were in circulation. In the 2003 copy of JSTOR News (Issue 2 No. 7) Michael P. Spinella of JSTOR writes “Though there is not yet a complete tally at the time of this writing, it is believed that many thousands of artefacts, works of art, ancient manuscripts, and historic letters housed by the Iraqi National Museum and National Library have been destroyed or stolen. These works encompass some 2000 years of history and culture. We should take a moment to contemplate the enormity of these losses. Beyond this, we must act to guard against such tragedies in the future. The situation underscores the urgency of preserving history in as many places and forms as possible. Digitization cannot replicate the experience of an original work; nevertheless, digital copies are preferable to the calamity of total loss. In my first few months at JSTOR, I have encountered many people who share an awareness of the need to protect intellectual and cultural histories. JSTOR staff members demonstrate this commitment through their work to ensure the continued accessibility of the literature entrusted to us.”
