Blogs

In December 1981, Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald travelled to Paris for a crunch meeting with President Francois Mitterrand concerning EEC agricultural matters. Prior to the formal meeting in the Elysee Palace, Fitzgerald asked Mitterand, in perfect French, about the mysterious gap in the Catholic intellectual tradition in 19th century France.

The time alone and the silence of her days do help her revalue her life. She is met with kindness along the way. At times, I was willing her on, as when the going got tough. At other times, I was cheering her on, as when she faced a difficult situation.

Welcome to week seven in the second series of researching your family history during lockdown. Last week we looked at James Callan’s will and saw that he had left all his possessions to his mother, Katherine Callan who lived at Marlborough Street, Dublin.

Whether we like it or not, technology has become an essential part of our lives. We need it for work, school, keeping in contact and online shopping. This course slowly and patiently opens up the world of modern technology and teaches us the basics of computer use.

While lockdown endures I find my self-resolve and drive is going in the opposite direction. Because of the lack of social contact (except for my dog and cat who can be better company than most) and the lack of cultural events and stimulus I’m finding my daily routines becoming more of a drudge than ever.

Dublin was one of the most depressed cities in Europe at the turn of the century. Declining industry, overcrowding, unemployment, and poor housing created a cauldron of poverty for many Dubliners. The connection between poverty and disease had been formally recognised in the nineteenth century. These rarely seen images from Dublin Corporation’s Reports Upon The State Of Public Health In The City Of Dublin show some of the measures taken by Dublin’s civic authority to curb the spread of infectious diseases. We hope that it may be of interest to anyone researching the social history of Dublin in the early twentieth century.

On Sunday, 29th November 2015, a Dublin City Council commemorative plaque honouring the Irish poet and literary critic Edward Dowden (1843-1913) was unveiled in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.

Over the last two years, the artist Silvia Loeffler whose practice concerns itself with mapping interactions was inspired by the creative possibilities of the Central Library, the busiest public library in Dublin city.

When I began this piece a few days ago, we hadn’t seen the sunshine in days and the cold air was gripping beneath the grey skies. Can’t meet my friends, go to a gig or go to the cinema, never mind a disco! So I decided I had to start moving for warmth and pretending I was on holiday to lift myself out of the gloom of the winter days.

There is a quote from the play the Mourning Bride by William Congreve that "Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast". In our Naxos Music Library e- resource there is music that can soothe fans of any conceivable type of music.