local studies

Dublin in the late 18th century was a consumer paradise. A building boom had resulted in fine streets and squares of classical houses. Interior design flourished with ornate plasterwork ceilings, painted wallpaper, beautiful furniture of polished wood and gilt, paintings and sculptures, print collections, and libraries filled with books in exquisite bindings. A stroll down Dame Street in the 1780s and 1790s would bring you by shops selling jewellery, perfume, lace, hats, silk, linen and wool, fine wines and luxury groceries, lottery tickets, music, prints and books.

Right: The Coat of Arms of the Putland family, the source of the elephant motif used in the spine design of the plain calf bindings belonging to the Putland family and visible in Image 05 below (click image to view larger version).

George Faulkner's Pamphlet Shop, over in Parliament street, could be depended on for the latest bestsellers direct from London, or in better value editions published by himself in Dublin. Here you could go for the latest Voltaire, that ever provoking and controversial writer; you could buy it in French, or in English translation. For your Christmas and new gifts you could buy an almanac for the coming year, or a pocket sized prayer book from Grierson's at the King’s Arms and Two Bibles in Essex Street, then you could get them beautifully bound in McKenzie's so that your friends would have something to treasure. Luke White's in Crampton Court has to be the trendiest bookshop in town, full of the latest imported books from Paris and Switzerland. But if you wanted the latest Madame de Genlis in French you could buy his own Dublin edition, which is just as good and much cheaper.
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'Sir John T. Gilbert (1829-1898): Life, Works and Context' by Brendan Twomey.

On 23 January 2012 the fifteenth annual Sir John T. Gilbert Commemorative Lecture was held at Dublin City Library and Archive, Pearse Street. The lecture was given by Brendan Twomey, who has published many books on the history of Dublin including 'Dublin in 1707: A year in the life of the city' (2009) and 'Smithfield and the Parish of St Paul, Dublin 1698-1750' (2005).

Follow the lecture in its entirety here (duration 51 minutes, also Transcript):

(Available too on dublinheritage.ie, where you can also access previous lectures and other recordings. )

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View The Civil War In Dublin Gallery

On 28 June 1922 the forces of the Provisional Government of the Irish Free State, led by Michael Collins, attacked the Anti-Treaty garrison at the Four Courts. This action is generally believed to mark the beginning of the Irish Civil War. Fighting spread to the centre of the city with Anti-Treaty troops occupying part of O’Connell Street (including the Gresham, Crown, Granville and Hammam Hotels) as  well as outposts on Gardiner Street, Parnell Street, and Aungier Street. The Anti-Treaty forces were defeated after a week of heavy bombardment and street fighting. Over three hundred combatants were killed or wounded with Republican leader Cathal Brugha among the fatalities. Over two hundred civilians were killed during ‘the Battle of Dublin’ that lasted from 28 June to the 5 July 1922. Read more »

Dublin City Public Libraries plans to digitise some of its early books and manuscripts, in order to bring the history of the city before a wider public. Many of the proposed works are hard to find and are very expensive to buy. The Picture of Dublin 1811 is the first in the series and it is being used as a pilot project to assess the value of the project to the public. Methods of digitisation, optical character recognition (ocr), accessibility and cost are being assessed before launching the full project. Read more »

Why not pop along this Saturday (18 June) at 2.00 pm and view a screening of a new documentary on the North Strand Bombing at Charleville Mall Library? Entry is free and all are welcome.

About the North Strand Bombing

The bombing of Dublin's North Strand was the most serious atrocity inflicted on neutral Eire during the Second World War. Four high-explosive bombs were dropped by German aircraft on the North Strand area of Dublin City on 31 May 1941. The casualties were many: 28 dead and 90 injured, with 300 houses damaged or destroyed. Read more »

View the Memory Lane Image Gallery.

The Digital Projects Section of Dublin City Public Libraries presented a series of events at public libraries during May 2011 as part of the Bealtaine Festival. Members of the public were invited to share their memories of the City through a selection of images from the Dublin City Council Photographic Collection. The images prompted much debate and craic among the participants and are presented here online so that all members of the public can take a ‘stroll down Memory Lane’.
Sincere thanks to all who participated! Read more »