Blogs

The following is a transcript of a lecture Timothy Young (Yale University) delivered at Dublin City Library & Archive on 28th September, 2015, titled 'Happy Deaths and Urban Dangers: The Darker Side of Children's Literature'.

An Taoiseach Enda Kenny today launched the 1916 Rising commemorative programmes of 31 local authorities, including Dublin City Council’s comprehensive programme to remember this pivotal event in Dublin’s and Ireland’s history.An Taoiseach said: "I know that these 31 County Plans for Ireland 2016 represent the outcome of many hundreds of hours of reflection, consultation and discussion involving thousands of people all over Ireland".View the “Remembering 1916” video for an overview of the programme for 2016. Dublin Remembers 1916 from Dublin City Public Libraries on Vimeo.See Also:DCC Press Release.Government Press Release.DCC Decade of Commemorations.Libraries & Archive Commemorative Projects.

The life of 19th century mathematician and poet, William Rowan Hamilton, was told through a sequence of sonnets by poet Iggy McGovern and friends Paula Murphy and Noel Duffy at Pearse Street Library 26 February 2015.William Rown Hamilton (1805-65) was the foremost mathematician of the mid nineteenth century.  Iggy McGovern's 'A mystic dream of 4' is a sonnet sequence based on the life and time of this remarkable Irishman.The event featured as part of the Mind Yourself Programme.You can listen to the event here (playing time: 49:48 mins):

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 Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association (RDFA) was established in 1996 to commemorate all Irish men and women who volunteered, served and died in the First World War. In 2005, the RDFA decided to place its archive with Dublin City Library & Archive, where it is available for public consultation in the Reading Room. The RDFA Archive is managed by Dublin City Archives.Right: Lieutenant Herbert Justin LemassJust added to the Collection areItems relating to two brothers, Edwin and Herbert Lemass, who both served in the British Army during the First World War. Second Lieutenant Herbert Justin Lemass and Lieutenant Edwin Stephen Lemass were second cousins of Sean Lemass, one of the most prominent Irish politicians of the 20th century. At the time that Herbert, age 19, and Edwin Lemass, age 21, were in the trenches on the Western Front, their second cousin, Sean Lemass, age 17, was fighting the British in the General Post Office during the 1916 Easter Rising. Herbert dies at the Battle of the Somme on 23rd October, 1916, while Edwin, a barrister-at-law, went on to become one of Egypt's leading judges after the war.Volume 9 of the Monica Roberts Letters. The items contained were donated by Mrs Mary Shackleton, daughter of Monica Roberts, to the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association at Dublin City Library and Archive on 28 July 2014. The letters give vivid pen-pictures of conditions at the Western Front and reveal the courage of troops in the face of appalling circumstances.The Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association Archive Collection currently housed in the Dublin City Library & Archive now includes:The Monica Roberts Collection.The Corporal Henry Kavanagh Collection of letters and photographs.The: Moriarty Collection, which  relates to 19th century India and consists mainly of correspondence from Jeremiah Moriarty of Cork, a travelling magistrate who worked in India during the 1850s and 1860s.The Keogh Collection Postcards, covering the period 1897-1922.The Gunning Brothers Collection, containing the records of two Enniskillen brothers, George Cecil and Frank Douglas Gunning, who fought at the battle of Gallipoli during the First World War.The Irish National War Memorial Committee Archive. Founded in the summer of 1919, the committee contracted Sir Edward Lutyens to design the War MemorialGardens at Longmeadows, Islandbridge.The Lemass Collection.Visit the Reading Room, Dublin City Library & Archive, 138-144 Pearse Strett, Dublin 1.

Dublin City Library and Archives were given a boost, when An tArdmhéara Críona Ní Dhálaigh was formally presented with the family papers and genealogy materials of the O’Connor/O’Neill families going back to the 1750’s.  The presentation was made by Sean O’Connor, head of the O’Connor family at a ceremony today in Dublin’s Mansion House attended by members of the O’Connor and O’Neill families.Right: Sean O’Connor  at his school, Francis street CBS, 1951The O’Connor/ O’Neill family papers were assembled by Sean O’Connor with the help of archivist Ellen Murphy and City Archivist Mary Clark.  After much painstaking research, the family papers have now been presented to the city which was home to the two families. The donation helps to strengthen the Dublin City archives as a valuable record of social history including accounts of happy times and challenging experiences in the Dublin Liberties. An tArdmhéara Críona Ní Dhálaigh commented "Dublin City Archives hold a host of interesting material and I’m certain this addition to the archives will be much sought after and referenced in years to come. To trace a family back to the 1700s living here in Dublin City must qualify you as a true blue Dub. I want to thank Sean O’Connor for donating this material to the Archives and to wish him well with his book ‘Growing up so high – a Liberties boyhood’. Given the amount of research done it is a riveting read. Is mór an t-éacht atá déanta aige agus molaim é."Speaking at the event, Sean’s son Joseph O’Connor, McCourt Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Limerick commented: "There is much in the O’Connor O’Neill archive that is concerned with the everyday, and it builds into a composite mosaic of a life that no longer exists in the Liberties or anywhere else. But if we want to know where we came from, or how we got here, or who we once were, and how we became what we are, the story is now there to be experienced again.  They feature instances of great courage, humour and there are examples of what I would call the Liberties spirit - a sense of independent-mindedness and a quiet resolve not always to do what you’re told."Examples include family journal entries of 1850, recording neighbourhood events at the tenement home where they lived over a shop in 52 James’s Street:May 1879 - Today I had the chimney swept and my top coat dyed. I had to pull the tail feathers out of my sick canary. Miss King left 52 James’s Street for America. She sails from Londonderry in the ship Devonia in a few days.September 1879 - Kate went to see Mrs Ward in Mercers Hospital and saw a medical student sitting in a nurse’s lap. Very improper.October 1879 - Some person unknown left a foundling baby in the open hallway of 52 James’s Street and went away.Mary Clark, City Archivist added, "Family papers are always welcome in public archives as they tell a personal story from a fresh perspective. We are delighted to have the O'Connor/O’Neill family archives for Dublin City Archives as these go all the way back to the 17th century which is very rare."The catalogue can be viewed at online and the O’Connor/O’Neill Family Papers 1750-2013 are available to view at Dublin City Library and Archive’s Reading Room, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2. It is open to all readers holding a current Research Card, issued by Dublin City Public Libraries and available on application to all parties who wish to consult the Dublin City Library & Archive collections.

For over 180 years, Dublin zoo has been known to house a vast array of wildlife. In its early years, the zoo was home to 46 mammals and 72 birds all donated by the London Zoo. Dublin Zoo has been transformed over the years to what it is today: Ireland’s largest family attraction. The images from the Fáilte Ireland Photographic Collection show these treasured animals thriving and coexisting with each other between the spring of 1960 and the summer of 1961.

This 18th century manuscript is the meticulous record by an early Dublin meteorologist, who documented the weather in the city on a daily basis during the period 1716 to 1734. The manuscript is part of the Gilbert Collection and is held in the Special Collections of Dublin City 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.