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Traffic jams during the 1974 CIE Bus Strikes,  Croagh Patrick Pilgrimages (1958), and jubilant Heffo’s army supporters are among 43,000 historic photographs and documents  which are being made freely available online by Dublin City Council today.  These formerly unseen images date as early as 1757 and include photographs, postcards, letters, maps and historical memorabilia.Highlights of the collection, which can be found at digital.libraries.dublincity.ie, include the Fáilte Ireland Photographic Collection with images of people, places and tourist locations all across Ireland from the 1930s, the Irish Theatre Archive Photographic Collection, and Dublin City Council Photographic Collection. Much of the material provides photographic evidence of Dublin's ever-changing streetscapes and buildings, as well as significant social, cultural, sporting, and political events in the City. Events as diverse as the Eucharistic Congress (1932), bonny baby competitions in the North Inner City, and the Dublin Football Team of the 1970s all feature, along with sombre Dublin streets in the aftermath of tragedies such as the 1941 North Strand and the 1974 Bombings.Two collections which are hugely significant in this Decade of Commemoration also are accessible on the Digital Repository. The Birth of the Republic Collection, which comprises material from the period of the foundation of the Irish State and archives of Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association which relate to Irishmen in World War 1. More material relating to 1912-1922 period will be added over the coming months and years, including the unique Jacobs Biscuit Factory Archive.Left: Traffic jam in Fairview during the 1974 Bus Strike. (click image to view original)Margaret Hayes, City Librarian, says:"This new online service will provide people in Dublin and throughout the world with free and easy access to the rich collections  of Dublin City Libraries and Archives. Indeed, we look forward to the public helping us by providing additional information on the people and places featured."Members of the public are invited to #explorehistory and enjoy this new resource free of charge, and the Digital Repository will be invaluable to local history and heritage groups, researchers and schools.Right: Despite defeat, there was a huge turn-out on the streets of Dublin for the defeated 1978 All-Ireland finalists. (click image to view original)The collection is divided into two separate 'communities', the 'Dublin City Archives Community' and the 'Dublin City Libraries Special Collections Community', each in turn which comprises various collections and, in some instances, sub-collections. See below for more on the separate communities.To uncover information on collections not yet digitized, explore www.dublincityarchives.ie and the Dublin and Irish Collections, or visit us in the Reading Room.Dublin City Archives CommunityDublin City Archives was founded in 1981. It holds the records of Dublin City Council and its predecessor bodies dating back to 1171, alongside the records of the Dublin City Archaelogical Archive, Irish Theatre Archive, Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association, Dublin City Sports Archive, and other private paper collections relating to Dublin City. The Digital Repository includes photographs and documents from these collections, which have been digitised and born-digital archives.Top-level Collections:Dublin City Archaelogical Archive - Records arising from archaeological investigations conducted in Dublin CityDublin City Assembly - Records relating to the civic government of Dublin from 1171-1840Dublin City Council (DCC) Collections - Records relating to activities of Dublin City Council from 1840-present dayDublin City Sports Archive - Dublin City Sports Archive collects photographs, documents and other records from local sports clubs, organisations, and sporting individuals which reflect Dublin's rich sporting heritage. Sports featured include hockey, golf, soccer.Dublin Civic Musuem - Photographs of the objects, artefacts and documents contained within the Dublin Civic Museum CollectionIrish Theatre Archive - The Irish Theatre Archive, contains collections deposited by theatres, theatre companies, individual actors, directors, costume and set designers, as well as theatre critics and fans. Collections can include theatre programs, handbills, posters, newspaper.Parliamentary Commissions - Records relating to Parliamentary Commissions established in Dublin.Private Collections - Private collections donated by individuals, organisations, businesses, voluntary groups which relate to Dublin City.Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association Archive - The Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association was established in 1996 to commemorate all Irish men and women who volunteered, served and died in the First World War 1914-1918 and earlier conflicts such as Boer War. The RDFA Archive is managed by Dublin City Archives.Size of the Dublin City Archives Community as of the 24th January 2017:  10,789 objectsDublin City Libraries Special Collections CommunityCollections:Birth of the Republic Collection - This collection is made up of Irish political ephemera and covers the period 1864 – 1942.Dixon Slides Collection - The original slides in this collection were donated to Dublin City Libraries by the photographer, Frederick E. Dixon. The photographs were taken in the 1960s and 1970s, and include book illustrations, postcards, advertisements and older photos of events around Dublin. The main focuses of the collection are Dublin city and its buildings.Dublin City Council Photographic Collection - This collection is an amalgam of photographs taken by City Council employees in the course of their work, including everything from civic events to street-cleaning. The bulk of the material dates from the 1980s and 1990s.Fáilte Ireland Tourism Photographic Collection - This collection contains photographs of places and people from all over Ireland, in particular well-known tourist sites. The photographs in this collection were created by the Irish Tourist authority, and donated to Dublin City Library and Archive. It includes material dating from as far back as the 1930s to almost up to the present day.Postcards and Views - This collection is made up of postcards from Dublin City Libraries' collection. The main emphasis is on postcards of Dublin from the 19th and early 20th century.The Lepracaun Cartoon Collection - Thomas Fitzpatrick's humorous publication The Lepracaun ran from 1905 to 1915. It provides a fascinating insight into the political and social issues of the time.Size of Dublin City Libraries Special Collections as of the 24th January 2017: 32,161 objects Copyright/UsageContent is being made available for the purposes of research and education and as an alternative to directly accessing the analogue originals. Please review our terms & conditions of use.Have a question regarding the Repository?Access http://digital.libraries.dublincity.ie/ 

We have for some time provided online access in our branch libraries to the complete issues of Irish newspapers via our subscription to 'The Irish Times Newspaper Archive' and to the 'Irish Newspaper Archive'. Both subscriptions provide access to full digital copy and a search facility; the Irish Newspaper Archive giving access to most (all?) of the regional papers plus the Irish Independent and the Irish Examiner.Important to bear in mind though that the most recent issues (in both subscriptions) may not be available, i.e. most recent daily will be some 7 to 10 days old, while weekly papers may not include the most recent issue.A handy point of access to these subscriptions is provided on our Netvibes-based portal (note: both subscriptions available on library computers only).ProQuest Newspaper SearchNow too we are providing access via ProQuest to the full-text articles in c.850 newspapers worldwide, including Irish national and regional papers.  The Irish national papers include The Irish Examiner (Jan 2011 - present), The Irish Independent (June 2006 - present), and The Irish Times (Jan 1995 - present).  Good to note that a look at some daily papers, Irish and others, indicates that coverage appears to include most recent issues, today's in some instances. Today's Irish Times, for example, includes some 150 items. The same cannot be said though for the regional papers, a check on a number indicates that the most recent issues included had a November or December date.You should note that ProQuest does not give you access to the digital copy of a newspaper, but rather the full text of articles plus citations and abstracts. Good to note too that the articles of some newspapers that otherwise require a subscription to view (e.g. The Times in the UK) are fully available via the ProQuest database.How do I access this wonderful new resource you might ask? Follow this link to ProQuest and insert your library membership card barcode number. That's it! And you can access it from anywhere!Each issue of every newspaper is indexed thoroughly, so researchers have access to not only top news stories but also detailed information on sports, business, and the arts around the world.ProQuest Title list (incl. period of coverage for each title) (this link will download an Excel spreadsheet).This service is provided for the public library service by ProQuest,  with delivery arranged by Libraries Development, Local Government Management Agency. Visit the Libraries Ireland website.View the full range of online resources available courtesy of your library.

Last Wednesday (26th August) saw the formal launch of a new website hosting a range of databases totalling over 5 million records. The databases are useful for genealogy, local history and social history. Many of the databases were previously available and searchable separately on dublinheritage.ie, but the new site - databases.dublincity.ie - allows for integrated and enhanced searching while also giving access to an even greater number of databases.Speakers at the launch included the noted genealogist John Grenham, who carried out much of the work in the delivery of the site, Dublin City Archivist Dr. Mary Clark, Senior Archivist  Ellen Murphy, Deputy City Librarian Brendan Teeling, the Director of the National Archives John McDonough, and City Councillor Vincent Jackson.View the following photo slideshow of the launch. About databases.dublincity.iedatabases.dublincity.ie brings together a number of databases produced by the Libraries and Archive Service. Most of the original records from which the databases are created are held by Dublin City Library & Archive, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2.The databases featured and included in the combined search are:Community Memory - a database of plaques and public memorials throughout the City.Dublin Directory 1647-1708 - a database of Dubliners compiled from a variety of sources.Ancient freemen of Dublin (1461 to 1491, and 1564 to 1774) - a database of all those on the who were entered into the Freedom of the City by the City Assembly.Dublin City Electoral Lists 1908 to 1915 - a database of all those registered to vote in municipal elections.Dublin City Electoral Lists 1938 to 1964 - a database of all those registered to vote in local elections. The Dublin City Electoral Lists 1937-64 have been taken down from this site.  For more information, please e-mail [email protected] Graveyards Directory - a database with details of all graveyards in the Dublin area.Cemetery Burial Registers (Clontarf, Drimnagh, and Finglas) - a database of those buried in three now closed cemeteries which are under the control of Dublin City Council.Two other databases included on the site - The Monica Roberts Collection and the most recent addition, the Index to Dublin City Council Minutes 1881-1987, are not included in the combined search and need to be searched separately.The Database of Baptisms for Dublin Parishes, the Database of Marriages for Dublin Parishes, and the Database of Burials for Dublin Parishes, compiled by Dublin City Public Libraries and Archive and previously available on dublinheritage.ie, have been incorporated into the Irish Genealogy website and form a significant portion of the total records available on that website.More databases will be added as they are completed.