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.
Dublin Burning: the Easter Rising and its consequences
As part of Dublin Remembers 1916, Dr Brian Hanley presented a lecture series which examined in detail the lead up to the Rising, what really happened over those momentous days and its impact on future generations. Part of the Dublin City Council 1916/2016 Centenary Programme.
The bombing of Dublin's North Strand by Nazi aircraft on 31st May 1941 was an assault on Ireland's neutrality. The casualties were many: 28 dead and 90 injured, with 300 houses damaged or destroyed. The North Strand Bombing and the Emergency in Ireland seminar featured talks about various aspects of the bombing including censorship, compensation, and the role of the emergency services. This full day seminar to commemorate the tragedy was held at Dublin City Library & Archive on Saturday 29th May 2010.
Portrait of Dublin's First Female Lord Mayor unveiled by City Council
Kathleen Clarke served as Lord Mayor for two terms, standing down as a councillor in 1941 on the grounds of ill health. Continuing to live an active public life until her death on 29th September 1972, she received a State funeral, the third of only three women to be so honoured.
In the wake of the Norman Invasion of Ireland, Dublin was seized in 1170 by Richard de Clare, better known as Strongbow. Watch a recording of a seminar organised by Friends of Medieval Dublin and Dublin City Libraries to mark the 850th anniversary of Henry II’s grant of Dublin to Bristol, 1171–72.
The Truce was widely covered by reporting and analysis Irish, English and American newspapers, in the days following the announcement of the cessation of conflict in July 1921.
Dublin City Council Historian in Residence Dr. Mary Muldowney and historian Catherine Holmes tell the story of the bombing of North Strand on the night of 30/31 May 1941. This special event to mark the 80th anniversary of the bombing was hosted by Charleville Mall Library on 31 May 2021.