Blogs

Crisis in a Colonial Capital: The Black Death in Dublin with Dr Simon Egan

From working in munitions factories, V.A.D. nursing, supporting the war effort through charitable works, and leading the anti-conscription movement, World War 1 led to a multitude of different experiences for Irish women. In this talk Pádraig Allen looks at some women of St John Ambulance who contributed to the war effort during the First World War.

Last October Dublin City Archives marked the centenary of the Russian Revolution of 1917 with a series of lunchtime talks at Dublin City Hall. The talks curated by Francis Devine examined Ireland's political and cultural reaction to the Revolution.  Here you can listen back to two talks from the series. In the first, Donal Fallon examines witness statements from the Bureau of Military History, contemporary newspapers and ephemera to ascertain what the revolution meant to the Irish Left, the Trade Union movement, Sinn Féin and asks who were the Irish Bolsheviks? Then you can listen back to Dr Brian Hanley as he considers how initial support for the Russian Revolution changed to violent opposition to Communism in Ireland.Organised by Dublin City Library & Archive, 138-144 Pearse Street Dublin 2. Courtesy of History.comIreland responds to the Russian Revolution: Backing the Bolsheviks with Donal Fallon, Historian-in-Residence, Dublin City Council. Recorded at Dublin City Hall on 10 October 2017.Donal Fallon runs the Come here to me social history blog and is the author of John MacBride in the 16 Lives series, The Pillar: the life and afterlife of Nelson's Pillar and Come here to me! Dublin's other stories. He presented popular talks and tours as part of the Dublin Remembers 1916 programme and coordinated the My Area in 1916, Mo Cheantar agus 1916 project. Red Scares and Rebels: Ireland and Communism 1917-1937 with Dr Brian Hanley.Recorded at Dublin City Hall on 17 October 2017.Dr Brian Hanley is a historian and author. His publications include The IRA : a documentary history 1916-2005 (2015), The lost revolution : the story of the official IRA and the workers' party (2009) and A Guide to Irish Military Heritage (2004). Thank-you for listening to the Dublin City Public Libraries and Archive Podcast. To hear more, please subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher or SoundCloud. 

(Podcast) 'Live from the Conniving House: Poetry and Music in Eighteenth-Century Dublin' the 21st Annual Sir John T. Gilbert Lecture, was given by Dr Michael Griffin, University of Limerick at the Dublin City Library and Archive on Wednesday, 24 January 2018.

In this podcast ‘William Spence: A Victorian engineer in the right place at the right time’, Cathy Scuffil, Dublin City Council Historian in Residence, looks at the history of William Spence Engineering Works Cork Street. The Cork Street Foundry and Engineering Works of William Spence and Son was established in Dublin in 1856.  It continued trading over two generations of the Spence family, with no small measure of success until 1930.  The company was situated on a large, circa 3 acre industrial site located at 105 -109 Cork Street, Dublin, on a site that, until the early 1850s, had housed the tanning and currier business of a James O’Neill, who also had a residence at 26 Cork Street.It is generally accepted that the Spence operations that evolved over the years, should be ranked among the first and finest concerns of the kind in Ireland, devoted primarily to general engineering and steel foundry. The main achievements of the company were the construction of the Birr telescope and the little trains that served the Guinness brewery, and system that was in existence in living memory.  A number of church bells located in the Liberties are also of Spence origin.Of interest were the houses constructed by William Spence for his employees at Spence’s Terrace, Cork Street and at Marion Villas – which was named for his much loved wife.  Upon his sudden death in 1907, the business passed to his son Arthur.  The company ceased trading in 1930.  ‘Plant Life’ occupies the premises today.  Image of Plant Life above from Google Maps.The Rathmines Township commemorated William Spence in a unique way which Cathy reveals during her talk. Recorded on 24 November 2017 as part of Explore Your Archive (18 - 26 November 2017). ‘Explore Your Archive’ campaign is an initiative of the Archives and Records Association of Ireland and UK which aims to raise awareness of archives, their value to society and the impact they have on individual lives.Thank-you for listening to the Dublin City Public Libraries and Archive Podcast. To hear more, please subscribe on iTunes or SoundCloud.

Listen back to local Historian and well-known author Bernard Neary from Cabra West as he brings us on an interesting tour of Dublin 7, including the people, places and buildings of interest. Find out where the writer Iris Murdoch was born, where the poet Austin Clarke grew up and where Matt Kiernan made his Uilleann Pipes.

Listen back to a talk by Peter Clarke looking at the 225 year history of the Royal Canal, from its origins in 1789 through all its phases to the present day. The talk traces the planning and construction of the canal and will reference many places, people and events of historical interest along the course of Dublin’s beloved Royal Canal.Image: Foster Aqueduct and Royal Canal House Phibsboro (see larger image)Reserve a copy of Walking the Royal Canal by Peter Clarke from the library catalogue.Recorded at Phibsboro Library on Monday 21 August 2017 as part of Heritage Week 2017.See more at Royal Canal Amenity Group (RCAG).

What happened in Ireland after the 1916 Rising? How did the political, economic and social landscape change and what brought about independence in 1922? Listen back to a three-part lecture series delivered by Maeve Casserly Dublin City Council’s Historians-in-Residence for the South East Area.  The lecture topics are:Lecture 1 - Ireland in 1917Lecture 2 - What was the War of Independence?Lecture 3 - What was the Civil War?Recorded at Rathmines Library on 12 and 26 June and Terenure Library on 20 Septemeber 2017.Lecture 1Lecture 2Lecture 3See images from this turbulent time in Irish history in the Birth of the Republic Collection available to search online at Dublin City Libraries and Archive Digital Repository.The Historians-in-residence have compiled a comprehensive booklist to accompany the Irish Revolution series of lectures:The Irish Revolution, 1917-1923: Further Reading (PDF, 363KB)This lecture series is part of Dublin City Council's Decade of Commemorations programme of events. 

Dublin City Hall was the venue for our third Heritage Week event, our seminar ‘Living in Victorian Dublin’. This is the second in our annual series, the first was ‘Living in Georgian Dublin’ in 2016 and the next will be ‘Living in Restoration Dublin’ in 2018. Our five speakers each spoke on a different topic, in order to cover all aspects of the Victorian city. Michael Barry was our first speaker. Author of Victorian Dublin Revealed he gave an overview of the entire city, demonstrating how many buildings, both public and domestic, have remained from that era and introducing them through his own splendid photography. Our next two speakers, Dr. Susan Galavan and Dr Jacinta Prunty, formed exact opposites. Susan’s talk was based on her new book Dublin’s Bourgeois Homes: building the Victorian suburbs 1850-1901.

What happened in Ireland after the 1916 Rising? How did the political, economic and social landscape change and what brought about independence in 1922? Listen back to a three-part lecture series delivered by Brian Hanley Dublin City Council’s Historians-in-Residence for Dublin City Library & Archive.