blog

On Wednesday, 27th May 2015, Dublin City Council's Public Library Service took possession of a copy of a rare eye-witness account of the outbreak of the 1916 Easter Rising. The account was in the form of a letter written by Elsie McDermid (seen on the right), a popular opera singer of the era, to her mother in England on the occasion of Elsie's visit to Dublin. She was in Dublin to perform in Gilbert and Sullivan shows at Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. However, the performances were cancelled as a result of the dramatic outbreak of the Easter Rising on Monday 24th April 1916.

On this day (6th January) in 1931 the death took place of Dublin-born stained glass artist and illustrator Harry Clarke, aged 41.  While considered one of Ireland’s greatest stained glass artists, he also illustrated a number of books for both children and adults in his characteristic, highly stylized manner. Indeed a fine collection of books illustrated by him is held in the Dublin City Libraries' Special Collections. ! Above (left): Death Notice, Irish Independent, Friday, 9th January, 1931. (right): Extract, Irish Independent, 8th January 1931 (click to view larger version)In 1886 his father, Joshua Clarke,  founded the J. Clarke and Sons Glass Studios and a church furnishing business. The Glass Studios were based at 33 North Frederick Street. After his death in 1921, the businesses were taken over by Harry and his brother Walter. After Walter's death, the studio became the Harry Clarke Glass Studios, and continued to operate even after Harry's death, producing an estimated 1000 windows and finally closing in 1973. Right: J. Clarke and Sons, Glass Studios, Advertisement. Source: The Belvederian, 1922, Periodical Collection, Dublin City Library and Archive (click to view larger image)Harry Clarke was born on 17th March, 1889, and lived at 48 North Circular Road with his wife (Margaret Crilley) and three children. He went to school in Belvedere College, and studied stained-glass at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art. He is buried in Chur (or Coire) in Switzerland where he died.Left: Perrault, Charles. The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault. Illustrated by Harry Clarke. London, G. Harrap and Company, 1922 (click to view larger image)The collection of Perrault’s Fairy Tales is of particular interest because of its fine illustrations by Harry Clarke. In the Introduction to this volume, Thomas Bodkin commends the illustrations for the way they complement the spirit of the text and their "grace, delicacy, urbanity, tenderness and humour."A book, 'Harry Clarke’s War: Illustrations for Ireland's Memorial Records, 1914-1918' by Marguerite Helmers (Rosebush Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh) was published by the Irish Academic Press in September 2015.Did you know...?An original stained glass artwork by Harry Clarke, which outraged the Irish Government in 1930, went on public display on the 11th March 2015 at Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane. The work, seen on the left (click to view larger image), depicts a scene from Liam O’Flaherty's controversial novel 'Mr Gilhooley' and was created by Harry Clarke as a section of his Panel No. 6 for the Geneva Window. It was commissioned by the Irish Government for the League of Nations building in Geneva , the UN's forerunner, in the late 1920's. Clarke chose scenes of novels by contemporary Irish writers as his themes for the window.The Geneva Window was never displayed at its intended home in the Labour Court in Geneva as it was deemed to be unsuitable by the Government of the day.  Instead it was installed in Government Buildings, Merrion Square. Read more about the Geneva Window...The original 'Mr Gilhooley' section is on permanent display at the Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane. View the Harry Clarke online collection, also courtesy of the Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane.Did you also know...?Harry and his brother Walter were both born on St Patrick's Day (17th March) - Walter in 1887 and Harry in 1889. Walter died on the 20th July, 1930, of pneumonia, and is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.

This image gallery shows a selection from the photographs and slides of the amateur photographer, William Stafford.  He took most of these pictures during the 1950s, 60s and 70s. The collection contains a great variety of images, from the imposing form of Queen Victoria in the days after she was moved from her plinth outside Leinster House, to the derelict courts and alleys of the mid-20th century city. There are images here of Nelson’s Pillar just after the explosion of March 1966, the old Queen's Theatre, of flower sellers and fishmongers and street urchins. Many of the places he photographed,  such as Hospital Lane in Islandbridge, have now disappeared or  have changed beyond recognition. There are also images of the family business; the Stafford brothers started out importing  coal and salt to their works on Ormond Quay, eventually concentrating on salt importation and packaging.The Stafford Collection material  was retrieved by Jeremy Wales of the City Architects Division, and Charles Duggan, Heritage Officer, Dublin City Council, during clearance works to facilitate the development of the ‘Dublin House’ project at 29-30 Fishamble Street, the former home of  William Stafford.  Now held in Dublin City Library and Archive, it includes postcards, business and family papers and a large collection of religious ephemera.  The siblings Angela and William appear to have been very religious, and one of their sisters, Cissie, became a Carmelite nun. One of the most interesting parts of the collection is the photographic element.  On retrieval, the slides and prints had been left for years in unsuitable conditions, and were in very poor condition.  Apart from a little work on the colour slides, we have not done any restoration work on the images as yet, so the viewer will get a real sense of the years that this material lay neglected in the dark and damp house in Fishamble Street.The main reason for publishing this gallery is to bring the images captured by William Stafford back into the light. We also hope that it will be seen by members of the extended Stafford family and that they will get back to us with more information on the fortunes of the family and especially on William, our photographer. Finally we are anxious to establish whether anyone has a claim to the material, and whether it can be made freely available to the people of Dublin, as we feel William Stafford would have liked.View the Stafford Image Gallery. 

Dr Edward Worth (1676-1733), a native of Dublin, was a son of John Worth (1648-1688), Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. Dr Worth studied at Merton College Oxford before travelling to the University of Leiden to study medicine. Graduating at the University of Utrecht, his doctoral dissertation was on the Aphorisms of Hippocrates, a popular text for dissertations at both Leiden and Utrecht. Hippocrates, the most celebrated physician of ancient Greece, is perhaps most famous for giving his name to the ethical doctrine of the medical profession known as the Hippocratic Oath. The early modern period had witnessed a rediscovery of Hippocrates and Worth’s choice of topic was not unusual. He completed his degree, and his medical thesis was published in Latin at Utrecht in 1701.On returning to Dublin in 1702, Worth set up his medical practice at Werburgh Street and was, on two occasions, elected as President of the Royal College of Physicians – an honour he subsequently declined. A friend of the Steevens family, he was asked by Grizelda Steevens to become a Trustee of Dr Steevens’ Hospital, a charitable hospital which arose from a benefaction of her brother Richard Steevens (d.1710). Worth was evidently a keen supporter of the new hospital and decided in 1729 to leave his extensive library to the new institution, where it remains today in its purpose-built room.Given Worth’s professional interests the collection is particularly strong on early modern medical texts but Worth was equally interested in all things scientific. Elected in 1699 as a Fellow of the Royal Society, he avidly collected publications of the Society and was particularly interested in the writings of Sir Isaac Newton and his many commentators. A connoisseur collector, Worth was equally fascinated by the book as material object and collected rare printings and fine bindings, which today are in an incredible state of preservation.Access information about the Worth Library and visiting the Worth. The current online exhibition of the Worth Library celebrates his wonderful collection of Aldines.The thesis is bound with other pamphlets and forms part of the Newenham Pamphlet Collection in the Gilbert Library at Dublin City Library & Archive, Pearse Street, Dublin 2.His dissertation has been translated into English and is now available in digitised form.Acknowledgement: Dr Elizabethanne Boran, Librarian, The Edward Worth Library (1733), Dr Steevens' Hospital, Dublin 8. 

Although provision had been made for the establishment of free public libraries in Ireland since 1855 it was not until 1883 that Dublin Corporation formed a Public Libraries Committee. In April, 1883, the committee recommended "that two libraries be established at an annual cost of 1,000 pounds; from the Borough Funds and that a Committee be appointed to establish and manage the libraries".

The Rathmines Township was created on the 22nd July, 1847, by Act of Parliament. In 1862 the townlands of Rathgar and Sallymount (the latter comprising present-day Ranelagh) were added to the renamed Rathmines and Rathgar Township. The Township was further extended in 1866 to include townlands in Uppercross, while Milltown was added in 1880.Originally the Township was governed by Commissioners, who felt they needed a place where they could meet and conduct their business. Their first house was at 71 Rathmines Road, so it really became the first town hall.Archives of the Rathmines and Rathgar Township, 1847-1930 (PDF, 529kb) (A detailed descriptive list by Dr Mary Clark, Dublin City Archivist). Visit The Reading Room, Dublin City Library & Archive, Pearse Street.The original Township was created as a sanitary area, but new functions were added with subsequent Acts, including responsibility for public lighting and water supply as well as drainage, which was provided jointly with the Pembroke Township.Under the Local Government (Ireland) Act of 1898 the Rathmines and Rathgar Urban District Council (UDC) was established as the elected governing body. After 1898 the UDC built a number of small housing schemes under legislation for housing of the working classes.Right: Rathmines, Postcard. Click to view larger version..The UDC met in the magnificent Town Hall on Rathmines Road, the first meeting being held in January 1899.  Work on the Town Hall began in 1895 on the site of the previous town hall. The commissioners asked one of the best-known and respected architects of Ireland, Sir Thomas Drew, to design this building. He put up a fine building of red sandstone and brick with a bay window on the first floor. But the most famous feature was the high clock tower, which could be seen from afar. The clock on the tower was made by a local firm called Chancellor and Son. They claimed they could beat any English and Scottish company so they got the job. The clock has four faces, one for each side of the tower. Before the clock could be run with electricity, the four sides would often show different times so the clock was called 'four-faced liar'.Left: Rathmines Town Hall, 1908. Click to view larger version.The town hall had a boardroom where the town commissioners would hold their meetings. There was also a gymnasium, a kitchen and a supper room (other people could hire this room out). There was an assembly hall for meetings which could fit 2,000 people. It had a stage and a room for an orchestra. Apart from being used for council meetings, the  Town Hall also became a centre for social life in the area with concerts, dances and other events. Percy French, who wrote many well-known songs about counties in Ireland and who had his own theatrical company, gave many performances in the town hall and one of the first moving films made by a man called Edison was shown here in 1902. The Rathmines and Rathgar Musical Society also performed there (see below).The first public library in Rathmines was opened in June 1887 at 53 Rathmines Road. In 1899 it moved to 67 Rathmines Road, where it stayed for 14 years. Rathmines Fire Brigade later used this building. The library was then moved to its present location at 157 Lower Rathmines Road, where it opened on 24th October 1913. The present library was built with the aid of a £8,500 Carnegie grant. Andrew Carnegie was an American industrialist who gave money to build libraries and museums across the world. The architects of this fine building were Batchelor & Hicks.Left: Rathmines Library.The Baroque style façade of Rathmines Library is composed of Arklow brick walls with terracotta dressings, and was designed to fit in with the style of the Town Hall located across the road. It was also intended to be an ‘ornament to the township’. The library and technical school next door were part of the same building but each had a separate entrance. The library entrance is flanked by two-storey high Ionic columns. A large, stained glass window depicting an allegory of literature is located above the entrance. The window was designed by William Morris, a famous English artist and designer of the time. A ventilating cupola is located on the centre of the roof. Large Venetian windows provide light to the ground floor. The interior retains a fine staircase to the first floor which divides into two parallel flights.In the beginning there was no children’s library. Mary Kettle, a councillor in Rathmines, and other women councillors were very interested in making poor children’s lives better. They voted to provide school meals to make sure that children were not hungry. They also supported the opening of a children’s library in Rathmines, and this happened in 1923.Right: Rathmines and Rathgar Musical Society Programme, 1913. Click to view larger version.The Rathmines and Rathgar Musical Society was founded in 1913.  Still in existence today, its first performance was the Gilbert and Sullivan Operetta, The Mikado.  Based in the prosperous and expanding townships of Rathmines and Rathgar, the members of the society tended to come from the members of the middle classes who were not attracted to the music or song of the Celtic revival. Under the Local Government (Dublin) Act of 1930, the district of Rathmines and Rathgar became part of the City of Dublin, under the administration of Dublin Corporation. The UDC held its last meeting in the Town Hall in 1930 and today the building is the Rathmines College of Further Education.See also in our catalogue:Rathmines township 1847-1930, by Seamus O Maitiu. The Rathmines township : a chronology and guide to sources of information, by Angeal O'Connell.

[Update, 24 Nov 2015: Due to data protection reasons, information from Jacob's Biscuit Factory employee records which are less than 100 years old, will  be made available to direct family members only.  All requests regarding individual employees should be sent to [email protected] in the first instance. The cataloguing project will be completed by the end of December 2015 and we will start processing the email requests in January 2016.]As part of its varied programme of activities for the Decade of Commemorations, Dublin City Library and Archive is currently in the process of cataloguing the records of Jacob’s Biscuit Factory which was acquired by Dublin City Archives in 2012.  Here is a sneak preview of some of the records which have thus far been identified which relate to the Easter Rising of 1916 and the occupation of the factory:SEE IMAGE: Advertisement showing Bishop Street Factory,  Undated ©Valeo Foods, DCLA/JAC/09/241DCLA/JAC/04/1275 Commemorative Jubilee BookletOn the 50th Anniversary of the Rising in 1966, Jacob’s Factory issued Commemorative Jubilee Booklet which recalled the role of the factory in the Rising:Jacob's factory gained for itself a unique and historical place in the recorded history of Ireland in being selected by the leaders of the 1916 insurrection as a strong point in the line of active rebellion throughout the city of Dublin. The massive, fortress like factory, with its soaring towers was virtually impregnable. What discussions and decisions among the rebellion leaders led to the seizing of the factory may now never be known, but the quick of fate which led to it has stamped forever the names of Jacob in the pattern of Irish history(Image ©Valeo Foods. Click to view larger version.)The booklet was part of an effort by the Company to enhance their public image and to make a contribution to the 1916 Celebration:"As one of the industries most closely linked with the rising I feel, we will be very obvious if we let the occasion go past without making some sort of effort" (1916 Jubilee- A Report DCLA/JAC/08/08)DCLA/JAC/04/1290:Witness Statement of Henry FitzgeraldHenry Fitzgerald and Thomas Orr were the watchman and caretaker respectively who were on duty on the morning of Easter Monday, 24th April 1916. A statement within the collection from Fitzgerald provides a valuable insight into what happened during the nine days in which the factory was occupied. Fitzgerald records on 24th April 1916 he "found volunteers and fitters breaking open the door. The officer in charge , whose name I afterwards found to be Lieut. Colbert, placed his hand on my shoulder and stated, as I was watchman, I was the very person he wanted, and I was to consider myself a prisoner".On Tuesday, April 25th, Fitzgerald noted that he "was asked to allow myself to be sworn in as a member of the Sinn Féin Volunteer. I stated that I was never a member of any organisation, political or otherwise, and that all I wanted was to be released and allowed to go home to my wife".On Wednesday, April 26th, a fire alarm bell started ringing at 11pm on Wednesday 26th April, and concerned with the amount of flour in the factory that may be destroyed, Fitzgerald made a request to cut the water off and effect repairs. He notes that he was escorted by Lieut. Sean Colbert to No. 5 sprinkler installation, where he turned the water off.On the final day of occupation Sunday April 30th, Fitzgerald notes "Lieut. Colbert came and shook hands with Mr. Orr and myself and told us peace was proclaimed. I then asked him where I was to go and he answered by telling me “I might go to hell".When the whole ordeal had ended Fitzgerald notes that he:"left the factory, having put over the most anxious week I ever spent of my life. I did not change my clothes once during the week. I scarcely touched any food; on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday there seemed to be plenty of everything, but I felt too sick at heart to take much of anything".DCLA/JAC/01/015 Company Minute Book (1913-1918)The company minute book recorded the impact of the Rising on business and how order was restored post Easter Week.As the general day to day running of the factory was interrupted by the occupation of the factory, the Directors:"decided to pay wages for Monday and Tuesday , May 1st & 2nd, to those employees who were unable to resume work on those days or nights. In part compensation for the loss of wages during the rebellion. This does not apply to any who did not conduct themselves satisfactorily". (11 May 1916)(Image ©Valeo Foods. Click to view larger version.)In a document later collated by Charles E. Jacob (c. 1937) on events in the history of W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd. he notes that the rebels"did no damage to machinery fittings but made holes in the walls for strategic purposes and a quantity of rifles and ammunition etc. had to be recovered by the military after the surrender. The populace did some looting on the Saturday afternoon but some of our workers took charge and helped restore order". DCLA/JAC/08/13:JAC/ Employee RecordsFactory employees both participated and were effected by the 1916 Rising and there is evidence of this within individual employee files held in the collection. Tragically Margaret Nolan, employee no. 7 was "shot in the head at door of Berkeley Street Chapel, and died in Mater hospital almost immediately on 25th April 1916 during SF Rebellion." A note on Winifred E. Jarmain’s file states that the family was "removed to England after the shock of the SF rebellion" [1916] and Robert Cooper, employee no. 705 "did not return after Easter 1916". Margaret O’Connor, employee no. 158 was "brought under Mr. Dawson's notice for wearing the SF button before the rebellion, suspended for one week pending enquiry."(15 May 1916)(Image ©Valeo Foods. Click to view larger version.) The cataloguing project is due for completion by the end of 2015. The full collection list will then be available online and researchers will be able to access the original records in our Reading Room.Further recommended reading is Séamus Ó Maitiú ‘s excellent book W&R Jacob - Celebrating 150 Years of Irish Biscuit Making (Dublin, 2001).About our Guest BloggerThis article was prepared by Lisa McCarthy, Eneclann, Project Contract Archivist. 

24 June 1879 – A marble statue, by Thomas Farrell, of the late Sir John Gray, M.P. (1815-1875), was unveiled in Sackville Street, Dublin, with the inscription 'Erected by public subscription to Sir John Gray Knt. MD JP, Proprietor of The Freeman’s Journal; MP for Kilkenny City, Chairman of the Dublin Corporation Water Works Committee 1863 to 1875 During which period pre-eminently through his exertions the Vartry water supply was introduced to city and suburbs Born July 13 1815 Died April 9 1875’.Sir John GraySir John Gray died in 1875 and little time was spared in establishing a committee to erect a statue to the man who, as chairman of the Dublin Corporation waterworks committee from 1863 until his death, played a key role in the introduction of a water supply to Dublin from the Vartry Works in County Wicklow in 1868.A site for the monument was granted by the Corporation in 1877 on Sackville Street (now O'Connell Street) close to the Abbey Street offices of the Freeman's Journal of which he was owner.Thomas Farrell was approached by the monument committee to create a memorial. He represented Gray 'in the guise of a Victorian gentleman, complete with open coat, confident stance and a serious yet kindly expression'. The monument did not turn out as originally planned. Initially, it had been designed with a representation of Ireland, complete with harp, on the right hand side of the pedestal and incorporated broken fetters to represent the legislative and social wrongs from which the country had been rescued. There was also to have been a figure of patriotism. The necessity of erecting the monument without delay, however, resulted in the statue featuring the figure of Gray alone.The granite pedestal was laid on 1 May 1879 and the statue was unveiled by Archbishop McHale on 24 June 1879.-----------------------------Taken from 'History of Monuments O’Connell Street Area' (pdf), a report commissioned by the Archaeology and Heritage Office of Dublin City Council, in November 2003, as part of the overall conservation plan for the O’Connell Street Area. The report acknowledges the contribution of staff at Dublin City Archives.This report and others can be accessed at Heritage (Dublin City Heritage Office). 

William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), poet and dramatist, senator of the Irish Free State, Nobel Prize laureate, founder of the Abbey Theatre and guiding light of the Irish literary revival, died at Rocquebrune, in the hills above Monaco, in the South of France on 28 January 1939. Yeats was a delicate child, and as an adult he suffered from a series of complaints; on medical advice his spent many of his winters in Italy and the South of France from 1927 onwards. In the winter of 1938 he left Ireland for the Riviera as his health was failing, and his death occurred the following January. His funeral and burial took place at Rocquebrune.Click images below to see larger versions. . After the Second World War it was decided to repatriate Yeats's remains and in September 1948 a government corvette, Macha, was sent to return his body to Ireland. On 17 September the casket containing the body of W.B. Yeats was landed at Galway and driven in procession to Sligo. People lined the roadways to bid a last farewell to the poet. Yeats was given a state funeral and he is buried in Sligo, in the churchyard of Drumcliffe, where his great-grandfather was rector, and where he spent his childhood summers with his grandparents, 'under bare Ben Bulben's head'. His gravestone is inscribed with his own words:Cast a cold eyeOn life, on death.Horseman, pass by!The newspaper coverage paints a vivid pen picture of the funeral procession through the countryside from Galway to Sligo. The photograph shows the lying-in-state in the hearse outside Sligo County Hallwith a military guard of honour and the Mayor of Sligo officiating at the ceremony. William's brother, Jack B. Yeats, can be seen on the steps carrying a wreath of flowers. .  Read the newspaper accounts in the Reading Room at Dublin City Library & Archive.

In this the 150th anniversary of the birth of William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) people from around the world will be reassessing the contribution to world cultural heritage made by William Yeats and by other members of his family.