Dublin City Libraries & Archives

Marking the centenary of Rathmines Library, architect and former lecturer Brendan Grimes details the architectural history of the Library and outlines the history of Irish Carnegie Libraries.

Recorded in front of a live audience in Rathmines Library on 16 October 2013.

In this, the 17th Annual Sir John T. Gilbert Lecture - "Alleys, annals and anecdotes: a new look at Gilbert's History of Dublin", Séamas Ó Maitiú re-examines John Gilbert’s three volume History of Dublin and looks at the 19th century Dublin that inspired Gilbert.

Dr. Séamas Ó Maitiú holds an MA in local History and was awarded a PhD by the National University of Ireland for his thesis on the development of Dublin suburbs in the 19th century. He is the author of several books including Dublin's Suburban Towns, 1834-1930 and W. & R. Jacob: celebrating 150 years of Irish biscuit making.

Recorded in front of a live audience at Dublin City Library and Archive, Pearse Street, Dublin 1, on 23 January, 2014.

For a taste of what to expect for the Dublin Chinese New Year Festival 2014, listen to storyteller Aideen McBride telling the tale of General Five Tiger, from Chinese Fairy Tales and Folk Tales. Translated from the German by Desmond Parsons, 1937.

Author Kevin McCarthy reads from his crime novel 'Irregulars'. Recorded in front of a live audience in the Central Library on 31 October 2013 as part of its 'Crime in the City: Crime and History' series.

Irregulars is set in Dublin in 1922 during the Civil War. Through his main characters Sean O'Keefe, a demobbed RIC man and Nora Flynn who works for the ruthless CID, Kevin explores this traumatic epoch of Irish history. Kevin also discusses the process of researching and writing historical novels. While researching the book he discovers CID files were burnt by order of the Minister of Home Affairs in the aftermath of the Civil War in an attempt to sanitise the records of vicious acts and move on with the founding of the Free State.

Kevin is author of the historical crime novels Peeler and Irregulars. Irregulars was shortlisted for the Ireland AM Crime Fiction Book of the Year in the Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards 2013.

Author Michael Russell reads from his two novels, 'The City of Shadows' and 'The City of Strangers'. Recorded in front of a live audience in the Central Library on 17 October 2013 as part of its 'Crime in the City: Crime and History' series.

These books form part of a series that take protagonist Garda Detective Stefan Gillespie through the early 1930s to the Second World War, 'the Emergency'. Along the way Gillespie encounters many real life historical figures as he visits locations such as Danzig, New York, London and Berlin.

Donal Fallon seeks to separate fact from folklore regarding the notorious 'Animal gangs' of the 1930s and 1940s in Dublin. Recorded in front of a live audience in the Central Library on 10 October, 2013, as part of its 'Crime in the City: Crime and History' series.

Donal Fallon is co-author of 'Come Here To Me: Dublin's Other History' and a regular contributor to www.comeheretome.com. He also lectures with the UCD Adult Education Department.

author Joe Joyce reads from his thriller 'Echoland'. Recorded in front of a live audience in the Central Library on 3 October, 2013 as part of its 'Crime in the City: Crime and History' series.

Echoland is set in Dublin in June 1940. Young lieutenant Paul Duggan, part of G2, the army's intelligence division is ordered to investigate a suspected German spy. His politician uncle is also making demands of Paul. His daughter Nuala has gone missing and he is desperate to keep the fact from the papers and the Blueshirts.

Joe also spoke of how the rich history of Dublin during 'the Emergency' - the period of the Second World War - a time full of uncertainty and turbulence inspired the writing of this great new read.

Joe Joyce is author of 'The Boss', 'The Trigger Man', 'The Guinnesses: the untold story of Ireland's most successful family' and 'The Tower'. His most recent book is 'Echoland' was published in August 2013.

Francis Devine and Fergus Russell perform ballads and songs of the 1913 Lockout. Devine's accompanying historical commentary gives the background of the Lockout and the songs featured. Recorded by Dublin Community Television on 2 April 2013 as part of the City Hall Springtime Lecture series.

The Lockout 1913 inspired many poems, ballads, songs and rhymes. Many of which were published in The Irish Worker. These poems and ballads provide a vivid portrait of the conditions faced by Dubliners during the Lockout, the battle between the Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union and the Dublin Employers’ Federation and the key personalities of the time.

Vincent Lavery talks about the politics and society of the United States of America from the 1950s to the 1970s. Recorded in front of a live audience at Dublin City Library & Archive, Pearse Street, on 2 October 2013.

Vincent Lavery is a retired secondary school teacher who taught U.S. Government and Economics in the States. He is an active member of the United States of America Democratic Party. He worked with Senator Robert F Kennedy's campaign for president in 1968. He was a County Chairman in Central California and a delegate to the 1968 Convention in Chicago. He worked for Senator Kennedy for sixteen months. He promoted concerts in California during the 1960s and he turned down the opportunity to manage The Doors and Jim Morrison. He has coedited four books on soccer and football and coached soccer at several levels ranging from under 16 to adult.

In this, the 16th Annual Sir John T. Gilbert Lecture, 'Dublin after Dark’, Maighréad Ní Mhurchadha offers us glimpses of life in an early modern city following sun down.

Maighréad Ní Mhurchadha has published many books on the history of Dublin including Early Modern Dubliners (2008) and Fingal, 1603-60, contending neighbours in North Dublin (2005).

The lecture, was recorded in front of a live audience at Dublin City Library and Archive on 23 January, 2013.