Blogs

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.

Sarah Cecilia Harrison (1863-1941) was one of Dublin’s finest portrait painters but she also immersed herself in the political and social fabric of Dublin life, becoming the first female elected as a Dublin City Councillor in 1912.

At the outbreak of the First World War, Monica Roberts was a young upper-class woman who lived at Kelston, Stillorgan, Co. Dublin. Together with her friends, she set up a 'Band of Helpers to the Soldiers' to provide gifts and comforts to men at the Western Front, who were members of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers or the Royal Flying Corps. The group sent cigarettes and tobacco, socks and vaseline for tired feet, handkerchiefs, boot-laces, chocolate, peppermint, oxo and dried fruit. Monica Roberts included a letter with her gifts and the recipients replied to her, setting up a correspondence. The letters from the soldiers give a vivid picture of conditions at the Front, and also include comments on contemporary politics. Of particular interest are remarks from soldiers regarding the 1916 Rising. Included in the collection and available here online is Monica Roberts' contemporary diary from Easter Week 1916, which includes her eye-witness account of the Rising.The collection contains 453 letters from 56 soldiers, who are mainly from the lower ranks; there is only one letter from Monica Roberts. These letters were kept for many years by Monica's daughter Mary Shackleton, who gave them to Tom Burke M.B.E., Chairman of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association. Since 2005, the collection has been housed in Dublin City Library and Archive, as part of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association Archive. We would be particularly interested in hearing from descendants of those soldiers featured in the collection, or indeed from anyone holding letters from Monica Roberts to the soldiers. Please e-mail [email protected] online publication of the Monica Roberts Collection is a Dublin City Council project, under the direction of Margaret Hayes, Dublin City Librarian, Brendan Teeling, Deputy City Librarian and Dr. Mary Clark, Dublin City Archivist. Project management is by Ellen Murphy, Senior Archivist, Dublin City Archives. Initial arrangement and cataloguing of the collection was by the late Andrew O'Brien, while scanning of the collection is by Christian Keegan, both of Dublin City Archives. Each letter was carefully transcribed by Finola Frawley of Dublin City Archives, who also translated letters written in French. A guide to the collection was prepared by Lisa Murphy, Dublin City Archives Intern (2012). Preparation of the collection for online publication is by genealogist John Grenham, who provided full text searching, and linked the original documents to the transcripts.Dublin City Council is publishing these letters online as part of its programme for the Decade of Commemorations, 1913-1923.Access A Guide to the Monica Roberts Collection (pdf, 1.77mb)Also Monica Roberts: List of Letters (pdf, 389kb)

We are pleased to announce that the City Surveyor’s Maps Collection 1695 – 1827 is now available to the public as part of our presence on the Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI).

On the 80th Anniversary, we remember The North Strand Bombing on the night of 30/31 May 1941, when four bombs were dropped over the North Strand area by German aircraft.

Dublin City Libraries are marking the anniversary of the bombing with:

Dublin City Libraries will soon be looking for people to get involved in an exciting crowdsourcing project which will bring to life thousands of historical handwritten documents which tell the story of the City in the 19th century.

Interested in local history and heritage? Looking for an evening course you can take even in the current pandemic? The Lord Mayor’s Certificate in Local Studies will be offered by Dublin City Library and Archive, on Tuesday evenings from September 2020 until April 2021. Because of restrictions around COVID-19, the course will be taught online until Christmas using Zoom. If the situation permits, the course will be taught to the class in person at DCLA from January-April 2021.The Lord Mayor’s Certificate in Local Studies is for those of us who want to learn more about researching local history and who would like to prepare a dissertation. The Course Tutor will be Dr. Seamas Ó Maitiú. Seamas holds an MA in Local History and has a Ph.D. for his thesis on the development of the Dublin suburbs in the 19th century.The course consists of 70 hours part time and will equip participants with skills in researching local history and in the preparation of a dissertation. The closing date for course applications is 5.00 p.m. on Friday September 4th, 2020.Dublin City Council offers two Bursaries for candidates taking the Lord Mayor’s Certificate in Local Studies, and closing date for bursary applications is 5.00 p.m. on Friday 21 August 2020. The Lord Mayor’s Certificate in Local History Bursary Information (PDF, please download and print). Full brochure here (PDF)Contact us at [email protected] if you require any further information.

The Lord Mayor’s Certificate in Oral History will be offered by Dublin City Council, on Monday evenings from September 2020 until April 2021. The course consists of 70 hours part time and will equip participants with skills in the preparation and conduct of oral history projects, including best practice in the collection and archiving of oral history interviews.Please note that the course will be delivered online until Christmas 2020 and if the situation with COVID-19 has improved, it will then be delivered on a face-to-face basis at Dublin City Library & Archive, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2 (see brochure).The closing date for course applications is 5.00 p.m. on Friday 4 September 2020. Dublin City Council offers two Bursaries for candidates taking the Lord Mayor’s Certificate in Oral History, and closing date for bursary applications is 5.00 p.m. on Friday 28 August 2020 (see Bursary application form).Contact us at [email protected] if you require any further information.

The Covid-19 pandemic, and the lockdown which has come with it, is an historic moment in the life of our city. As a result, Dublin City Library and Archive are eager to collect material that documents the experience of our city and those that reside within it.We know our city is made up of many people, having many different experiences at this time, and everyone’s experience is valid, so if you’re happy to share it, please do!In gathering material relating to a cross section of Dublin society at this time, we can ensure that our archive represents a true picture of how our city and its people fared during the pandemic.