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.
No longer faceless or nameless – write the story of your First World War soldier
A long, long alphabetical list of 174,000 Allied soldiers who died on Belgian soil in the First World War; this is the new and emotive exhibit on display in Dublin City Library and Archive on Pearse Street until the end of March 2017.
The garden suburb of Marino was the first in Ireland and one of the earliest in Europe. It is located on the north side of Dublin City. This small garden village is unusual insofar as it was requested by the people themselves, at a public meeting held in Clontarf Town Hall in 1910. The historic village of Fairview was being redeveloped and the reclamation of land at the nearby Strand was underway in order to provide a public park.
(Podcast) 'Gentlemen’s Daughters in Dublin Cloisters: The social world of nuns in early 18th century Dublin', the 20th Annual Sir John T. Gilbert Lecture, was given by Dr Bernadette Cunningham, Royal Irish Academy at the Dublin City Library and Archive on Wednesday, 25 January 2017.
The 20th Annual Sir John T. Gilbert Lecture - Transcript
The following is a transcript of the twentieth Annual Sir John T. Gilbert 20th commemorative lecture, 'Gentlemen’s daughters in Dublin cloisters: The social world of nuns in early 18th-century Dublin', given by Bernadette Cunningham at Dublin City Library & Archive on 25 January 2017.
Jonathan Swift purchased his garden in 1722 and named it ‘Naboth’s Vineyard’; the name taken from the Bible (1 Kings 21). This garden was situated south of the Deanery of St Patrick’s and originally consisted of a large open field on the south side of Long Lane. In the summer of 1724 Swift spent £600 enclosing the field with a wall to protect his horses; a considerable sum which he afterwards claimed ‘will ruin both my health and fortune, as well as humor.’
Jonathan Swift was one of the most renowned authors of his day, well known in literary circles in Great Britain and Ireland, and an encourager of fledgling writers.
At the end of the 1720s Jonathan Swift was at the height of his literary powers, he had published the best-selling Travels into several remote nations of the world by Lemuel Gulliver (Gulliver’s travels) in 1726, which had run to many editions by the end of the decade, he had written extensively on Irish affairs and was a household name in Dublin and London. Swift was well connected in the literary and social world, he was a friend and correspondent of poet Alexander Pope, and dramatists John Gay and William Congreve.Image right: Engraved portrait of SwiftHe kept up to date with literary trends and purchased books by contemporary authors. In 1728 a young French author living in London published a new version of his historical poem in French, called La Henriade, written in praise of King Henri IV of France. François Marie Arouet de Voltaire (1694-1778) published his poem by subscription and the subscription list reveals his important patrons and supporters. Swift was a friend and correspondent of Voltaire’s, they were probably introduced by their mutual friend Alexander Pope. When Swift intended to visit France in June 1727 Voltaire wrote letters of introduction to the Comte de Morville, secretary of state, and Monsieur de Maisons, ‘both desirous and worthy of yr acquaintance’. Voltaire was an admirer of Swift’s work and in 1728 he wrote ‘the more I read your works, the more I am ashamed of mine’. (The correspondence of Jonathan Swift edited by Harold Williams)La Henriade title page (click to enlarge)In December 1727 Voltaire had written to Swift requesting him to encourage Irish readers to subscribe to the forthcoming publication, ‘can I make bold to intreat you to make some use of yr interest in Ireland about some subscriptions for the henriade, which is almost ready and does not come out yet for want of little help the subscriptions will be but one guinea in hand’. This was an expensive purchase, but many Irish subscriptions were gathered by Swift. By March 1728 La Henriade was published, Swift is listed as a subscriber to the book as is George Berkeley, William Congreve, Lord Carteret, the Lord Lieutenant, and many of the nobility and gentry of Great Britain and Ireland. Swift was well able to read French and some of his correspondence is in French. He spoke in French with the Huguenot clergy who ministered from the Lady Chapel in St Patrick’s Cathedral.List of subscribers to La Henriade including Rev. Dean Swift (click to enlarge)When Swift’s library was sold after his death in 1745 La Henriade is among his collection, as well as Voltaire’s An essay upon the civil wars of France, translated into English and published in Dublin in 1728, and The history of Charles XII, King of Sweden, published in London in 1732.An Essay upon the Civil Wars of France by Voltaire (click to enlarge) The Swift and Dublin exhibition will run in the Dublin Room at Dublin City Library and Archive, Pearse Street until 25 February 2017.See Also:Jonathan's Swift's gardenJonathan Swift's LibraryJonathan Swift: freeman of DublinThe Swift and Dublin exhibition will run in the Dublin Room at Dublin City Library and Archive, Pearse Street until 25 February 2017.
It’s never too early to introduce your child to a love of books. Dublin City Libraries holds a vast array of books suitable for all ages, even newborns!
It’s never too early to introduce your child to a love of books. Dublin City Libraries holds a vast array of books suitable for all ages, even newborns!
In the winter of 1729 – 1730 Jonathan Swift, Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, was awarded the freedom of Dublin city by special grace. This was the highest honour the city could bestow on him.
