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On the 24th October 1913, Rathmines Library opened its doors to the public for the first time in its current location, 157 Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin 6.Right: Rathmines Library is all its splendour. (click to view larger image)To mark the 100th anniversary of this landmark library, Dublin City Public Libraries (DCPL) have great pleasure in presenting a programme of lectures, exhibitions and children’s events during the month of October.HistoryThe first library in Rathmines was opened in 1887, in rented premises at 53 Rathmines Road. In 1902 Rathmines and Rathgar Urban District Council applied for a grant to Andrew Carnegie (links to Britannica Library Ed., DCPL borrower number required to view from home), who was at that time dispensing large sums of money for the building of libraries the world over. The application was successful and in 1903 a sum of £7,500, later increased to £8,500 was granted. It took the Council some time to find a suitable site for the library, but they did eventually and in 1912 building work began. The Library and Technical Institute were opened on October 24th, 1913. The general design of the library presented a fine example of neo Georgian style architecture, while the interior of the building had been purpose built and included on the ground floor, a Newspaper Reading Room, an open access Lending Library, a strong room and a room for the librarian. A fine double staircase in teak (see left, click to view larger image) led up to the landing, where a handsome stained glass window depicting "Literature" was placed overlooking the stairwell. On the first floor there was a well equipped Reference Room, with an inner room for periodicals and a Lecture Hall (now Exhibition Room).In its early days Rathmines had been a pioneering library, introducing Open Access Lending and a self-contained Children’s Library with its own dedicated librarian. By means of the Popular Free Lectures on topics ranging from "Prehistoric Man" by F.E. Stephens to "My Own Poetry" by Senator W.B. Yeats, the library presented not only the written word, but also the writers and thinkers of the day to the general public. It was a true literary workshop catering for the student and general reader in an atmosphere of peace and learning. The library had a central role, then as now, in making information,education and the enjoyment of reading available and accessible to all.Rathmines Library with its classical façade, complete with William Morris stained glass window (see right, click to view larger image) has, since its opening in 1913, been as recognisable a feature of the local streetscape as the Town Hall opposite. RefurbishmentIn October 2011, we celebrated the re-opening of the library after extensive refurbishment works which removed barriers to the library service for people with disabilities and created an open, accessible and welcoming environment for staff and clients alike. Key improvements delivered include a passenger lift, automatic doors, accessible signage, universally accessible toilets and improved furniture and shelving. Significant conservation works were also undertaken to restore the building to its former glory.Some of the features restored would have been familiar to customers, such as reading desks and the original floors throughout the building: the oak parquet on the ground floor, the solid pine on the first floor and the teak staircase. We have also taken the opportunity to strengthen the literary associations of Rathmines and environs, referencing local writers of the past and the present, re-enforcing Dublin’s designation as a UNESCO City of literature....and todayToday the refurbished library (see left, click to view larger image) offers access to a collection of 35,000 items in a diverse range of formats. These include books, audio books, large print, DVDs and reference material. There is a vibrant children’s library, reflecting the fact that almost 35% of active borrowers are children. Library users can avail of free WIFI broadband, use of computers to access the Internet, a space for study and research, together with advice and guidance from trained and professional staff. View more photos of Rathmines Library on our flickr page.

Parnell Square is the oldest of the Georgian Squares of Dublin, and the only one on the north side of the city to escape the tenementisation of the later 19th and early 20th century. Built as the homes of the great and the good of the late eighteenth century, including the Gardiner and Charlemont families, during the 19th century its buildings became more commercial in nature, with large numbers of solicitors, doctors and auctioneers locating their offices there.

Monday, 26th August, marked the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the strike in Dublin of 700 tramway-men belonging to James Larkin’s Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union (IT&GWU), a strike that developed into a general lockout of union members.

Where has the romance gone? There was a time when it was a great adventure to fly, it was very glamorous, you dressed the part, and your luggage did not cause major grief. The role of air hostess was a top job for attractive young women. The Flying Boat Museum at Foynes, Co. Limerick, the excitement of the early days of passenger flight. Right: Dublin Airport (view larger image)Aer Lingus, the Irish national airline, started life in a very small way back in 1936, with one small biplane, flying out of the military air base at Baldonnel, Co. Dublin (see images below). The following year construction work began on a new purpose built airport at Collinstown, north of the city. The new Dublin airport opened in January 1940, with a modern terminal building and runways. This postcard gives a sense of the exclusiveness of the flying experience.During World War II Aer Lingus operated just one route, Dublin to Liverpool. In November 1945 the direct service to London was reopened. Aer Lingus recruited the first three air hostesses in December 1945. By August 1951 the airline had carried its one millionth passenger.The Dublin and Irish Collections at Dublin City Library & Archives holds a collection of ephemera, which can be viewed in the Reading Room. This Aer Lingus timetable for the summer of 1951 is very evocative. We can see that a new night service, called ‘Starflights’, was inaugurated between Dublin and London. The fares were expensive, costing £5 one way, or £10 return: a large investment in 1951.Read all about the history of aviation in Ireland and about Dublin, Shannon and Cork airports.Below: Report in the Irish Independent, 28th May 1936. (click to view larger image)Below: Five seater de Havilland Dragon DH84 about to depart Baldonnel Airport. (click to view larger image)The above screenshots are of the Irish Independent newspaper, 28 May 1936. You can access the Irish Independent and many more newspapers online and free of charge at Dublin City branch libraries courtesy of our subscription to the Irish Newspaper Archives. This subscription allows you to search, retrieve and view newspapers from 1700s to the present. More about our online subscriptions.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times … it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way …Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two CitiesThis Gallery contains a selection of images of Dublin from the period around the Lock-Out of 1913.

View the Art of Architecture GalleryBefore photography was widely available or popular, printmaking preserved the landmarks of the Irish landscape. The usual method of printing for many of the images in this gallery is through engraving, a process by which marks are made into a plate, and the recessed areas are filled with ink to produce the print. An artist would be hired to make a drawing, and then an engraver would engrave the drawing onto a plate. The prints could be sold cheaply and were, essentially, the precursors to postcards. Artists chose locations much the same way photographers today choose locations for postcards, choosing a locally famous landmark or something that was meant to represent Ireland and Irishness. Medieval castles were an extremely popular choice among print artists because they satisfied both criteria.Ireland is heavily associated with the many castles that dot its landscape. Irish castles date from anywhere from medieval Anglo-Norman castles constructed in the 12th century to grand estates of largely Protestant gentry in the 19th century, and even the oldest castles have been reconstructed or additions have been made throughout the centuries. These castles represent some fantasy to the families that purchased them or modelled their homes on them, but to the Irish, they represent English power and are symbols of oppression and tyranny. Hence, castles were featured in many prints of 18th and 19th centuries including the ones featured in this image gallery, but during the Irish War for Independence (1919-1921), a significant number were burned or knocked down and are no longer standing or lie in ruins. A few castles have been converted into hotels or are maintained as national monuments because, since there are so many in Ireland, they continue to capture the imagination and have been incorporated into the image Ireland projects to the world.The castles in this image gallery are all medieval castles or began as such, but three in castles in particular are perhaps more widely known than the others, Blarney Castle in County Cork, Kilkenny Castle in County Kilkenny, and Malahide Castle in County Dublin.Blarney Castle is arguably the most famous castle in Ireland, thanks largely to the legend of the Blarney Stone, which attracts numerous visitors every year. Blarney Castle was constructed in stone on the site of earlier wooden fortifications in the 13th century, but its current keep was built in the mid-15th century by an Irish chieftain named Cormac MacCarthy.  The castle briefly was captured by Parliamentary forces during the Wars of Three Kingdoms, but was restored to the MacCarthy family after the Restoration of the English monarchy. After the Williamite Wars in the late 17th century, the castle was confiscated from Donough McCarthy, 4th Earl of Clancarty, who had supported King James II of England and lost, and eventually sold to Sir James St. John Jefferyes. The Jefferyes, married into the Colthurst family in the 19th century, built a mansion in 1874 on the grounds, replacing an earlier one destroyed by fire, which they still own and continue to live in.Kilkenny Castle was built by William Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke around the turn of the 13th century.  Marshal was distantly connected to Richard de Clare, otherwise known as Strongbow, who had led the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in 1170. James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond, purchased the estate near the close of the 14th century and the Butler family continued to own the castle for nearly 600 years until James Arthur Norman Butler, 6th Marquess of Ormonde, gave the castle to the people of Kilkenny for a payment of £50 in 1967. The grounds are now maintained by the Office of Public Works and the castle is open to the public.Malahide Castle was originally constructed in the 12th century by Richard Talbot, a knight serving Henry I in Ireland. The Talbot family proceeded to own and reside in the castle until 1976, when, after the death of Milo John Reginald Talbot, 4th Baron Talbot de Malahide, his sister Rose sold the castle and grounds to Dublin County Council, with a short exception in the 17th century during the Cromwellian Conquest of Ireland during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The estate survived through the bloody Battle of the Boyne in the late 17th century and the Penal Laws directed against Catholics, which the Talbot family remained until the late 18th century. The castle is maintained and operated cooperatively between Fingal County Council and Dublin Tourism. Since 2007, Malahide also has concert venue, which has hosted the likes of the Arctic Monkeys, Pink, Radiohead, and Prince.This gallery has been created by Francesca La Brecque, Undergraduate at University of California - Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Class of 2015, majoring in History and German. Francesca came to Ireland under the European Study Abroad (EUSA) Program.These and many other Topographical Engravings can be seen at the Reading Room in DCLA.See MoreLibraries and Archives Digital Repository: Digital records relating to Dublin, including photographs, postcards, letters, maps and ephemeral material. Highlights of the collection include the Fáilte Ireland Photographic Collection, Wide Street Commission Map Collection (1757-1851), the Irish Theatre Archive and the Birth of the Republic Collection, which comprises material from the period of the foundation of the Irish state.

On Wednesday, 10th July 2013, the President, Michael D. Higgins, was presented with a copy of the publication, A Capital in Conflict: Dublin City and the 1913 Lockout".Right: President Michael D. Higgins and his wife Sabina Higgins being presented with a copy of the book by Margaret Hayes, Dublin City Librarian  (on left), together with Dr. Máire Kennedy, Divisional Librarian and series editor (2nd from right), and Jane Alger, Director Office of Dublin UNESCO City of Literature (far right). Click image to view larger version.The book was produced by Dublin City Public Libraries and launched on Saturday 13th April by the then Lord Mayor, Naoise Ó Muirí. The book, containing 16 essays written by both established and emerging historians, focuses on various aspects of Dublin in 1913.Left: Book cover. Click image to view larger version.The book is distributed by Four Courts Press, so it is available in all bookshops and directly from Four Courts Press.The book can also be borrowed through the Dublin City branch library system.RTÉ Radio One’s History Show on 14th April devoted the whole programme to the book, and the podcast can be accessed online.2013 marks the centenary of the 1913 Dublin lockout, and many events are taking place commemorating the happening and Dublin at that time.Book DetailsTitle: A Capital in Conflict, Dublin City and the 1913 LockoutEditor: Francis DevineSeries Editors: Dr. Mary Clark and Dr. Máire KennedyISBN: Hbk 978-107002-11-3 Pbk 978-1907002-10-6Pages: xxxi, 405pp.Published by: Dublin City Council, 2013About: A capital in conflict explores aspects of the social, political and cultural life of Dublin at a defining point in Irish history during the 1913 Lockout. Certain personalities loom large such as James Larkin and William Martin Murphy, Delia Larkin and James Connolly, Charles Cameron and Hugh Lane, but it is the ordinary people of the city, the children, women and men, who shine through the pages of this volume.Contributors: Lydia Carroll, Patrick Coughlan, Kate Cowan, John Cunningham, Francis Devine, David Durnin, Karen Hunt, Leeann Lane, Enda Leaney, Ann Matthews, Thomas J. Morrissey, John Newsinger, Séamas Ó Maitiú, Niamh Puirséil, Ciarán Wallace, Colin Whitston. Right: Table of Contents. Click Image to view larger version.Historical BackgroundThe Dublin 1913 Lockout began on 26th August 1913 when all the trams on O’Connell Street stopped with workers seeking pay rises ranging from 1s to 2s a week. William Martin Murphy, the owner of the Dublin Tramway Company locked out members of the IT&GWU who refused to sign the pledge and leave the union and James Larkin, leader of the union called a general strike. In the disputes that followed more than 20,000 workers were either locked out of their jobs by their employers or went on strike. Unrest had begun earlier in the year with the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company dispute in January and the Dublin Silk Weavers strike in March.At the end of August, the city was in a state of unrest. On 30th August there were with riots in Ringsend, Beresford Place and Eden Quay, during which the police baton-charged the crowds. Many protestors were injured and one man died from his injuries. On 31st August, James Larkin appeared in the window of the Imperial Hotel, Sackville Street (now Clerys, O’Connell Street) to address the huge crowd. He was immediately arrested and a riot followed. The police baton charge caused over 300 injuries and the day is known as “Bloody Sunday” The Lockout continued for 6 months with families enduring widespread hardship, poverty and hunger and by early 1914 many of the workers were driven back to work. Housing conditions in Dublin at the time were very bad with the slums considered some of the worst in the UK. The 1911 census shows that 26,000 families in Dublin city lived in tenements, 20,000 of them in single rooms. The mortality rates per 1,000 were 22.3 in Dublin compared to 15.6 in London. On 2nd September, 7 people – including two children died when two tenements, numbers 66 and 67 Church Street collapsed. (Source: Dublin City Council)

From the oldest cave paintings found in Chauvet, France, via Egyptian hieroglyphs to ancient Rome’s 'Acta  Diurna' government announcements carved in metal or stone and hung in public places, to 2nd and 3rd century A.D. Chinese  ‘Tipao’ or 'news sheets' and on  to 8th Century A.D. Chinese ‘Kaiyuan Za Bo' handwritten on silk and read aloud by government officials, until Johannes Gutenberg perfected ‘movable type' printing in the 15th century and instigated the ‘Printing Revolution', the need to document and reflect the world around us has long been an aspiration of all human societies. According to Wikipedia “A newspaper is a periodical publication containing news regarding current events, informative articles, diverse features, editorials, and advertising." As such, newspapers are a rich historical source and a particularly useful aid to getting a feel for the ‘Zeitgeist' (literally ‘the Spirit of the Age‘) and consequently a very worthy addition to any library.Although published from the end of the 17th century it is from the middle of the 18th century that Irish newspapers became more widespread and consequently more useful as historical research tools. The rise of coffee houses with their stocks of newspapers and newsletters containing information from around the world led to much business and debate being conducted there. Advertisements, and Births, Deaths and Marriage notices all began to appear more regularly at least in relation to the upper echelons of Irish society.Amongst the most important Dublin papers of this period are the Dublin Evening Post, Faulkner’s Dublin Journal  and The Freeman’s Journal (merged with The Irish Independent in 1924). In 19th-century Ireland The Freeman’s Journal and The Nation were regularly read aloud by priests and local teachers at house gatherings of the largely illiterate population.Details of Dublin and Irish Collection newspaper holdings in hardcopy, microfilm and online.               

The Gloucester Diamond got its name from the diamond-shaped intersection at Gloucester Place and Sean Macdermott Street. Colloquially, ‘The Diamond’ refers not just to Gloucester Place, but the entire area surrounding it. It is recorded in Thomas Campbell’s map of 1811 which predates the first Ordnance Survey maps of the area (1829-41).The photographs in this gallery were taken between 1968 and 1987 and therefore depict the later redevelopments.

View Strumpet City Image GalleryStrumpet City is one of the great Dublin novels. Focusing on the 1913 Lock-Out, its panoramic scope extends from the docks and slums of inner-city Dublin to the bourgeois domiciles of Kingstown. These images from the Dublin City Council Photographic Collection show the city as it was over fifty years later. Although the harrowing conditions Plunkett wrote about had largely vanished, the ‘glorified kip of a city’ he described remained recognisable throughout the twentieth century.Further ResourcesDublin City Public Libraries has a wide range of sources on the literary history of Dublin, some of which are available online and some through the Dublin City Public Libraries network.The Reading Room, Dublin City Library and Archive, Pearse Street holds a wealth of material on the history of Dublin, including books, pamphlets, journals, street directories, and almanacs.The following online resources can be accessed free of charge at your local library (access links via our NetVibes portal). Ask library staff for information and assistance.Libraries and Archives Digital Repository: Digital records relating to Dublin, including photographs, postcards, letters, maps and ephemeral material. Highlights of the collection include the Fáilte Ireland Photographic Collection, Wide Street Commission Map Collection (1757-1851), the Irish Theatre Archive and the Birth of the Republic Collection, which comprises material from the period of the foundation of the Irish state.Irish Times Digital Archive: This online archive service gives access to contemporary editions of the Irish Times from the mid-nineteenth century until the present.Irish Newspaper Archive: This online archive service gives access to contemporary editions of the Irish Independent and a range of other newspapers.The Ireland-JSTOR Collection: This online archive of academic articles can also be accessed free of charge at your local library.For further reading, consult the Library Catalogue.View Strumpet City Image Gallery