The Ballybough and North Strand area of Dublin is a vibrant community rich in history. We are showcasing a small series of free events for all in the community. Sean Deegan of In The Shadow of Croker Walking Tour and Tenement Museum will do a series of talks on the history of Jones Road Whiskey...
Step into the enchanting world of verse and rhythm at Poetry Reading Nights in The Irish Writers Room, nestled within The National Wax Museum Plus. Immerse yourself in the timeless...
ONLINE TALK Is caint í seo ina dtugtar aghaidh ar chuid de na míthuiscintí agus ráflaí is mó faoi shaol agus faoi shaothar Bhriain Uí Nualláin. Cérbh é? Cárbh as...
A talk on early policing in Ireland, by John F Sheehan, covering the Irish Constabulary to the Royal Irish Constabulary and their role in the first world war and its...
As a result of the bilateral agreement between Turkey and West Germany in 1961, Turks are now Germany's largest minority and Berlin has one of the largest Turkish populations of...
*Unfortunately this event is now cancelled* Patrick O'Byrne will be giving a talk on the fascinating life of his maternal grandfather Padraig O Caoimh aka Paudeen (1881 - 1973) in...
**Apologies, registration full** This talk is by Dennis McIntyre and will be delivered in two parts. The first part of this discourse gives an account of the life of Bram...
Join Author, Albert Perris, for a visit to the "White Quakers of Newlands House". Newlands House, once home to Lord Kilwarden, was later occupied for a number of years in...
**Apologies, registration full** Historian Fergus Whelan will reflect on the life and influence of Tomás Mac Giolla, former Lord Mayor of Dublin, marking the centenary year of his birth. A...
From Edward Bransfield of County Cork, credited with the discovery of the Antarctic continent in 1820, to Ernest Shackleton, born in 1874 in County Kildare, Irish seafarers hold a special...
**Apologies, registration full** Dublin City Historian in Residence, Elizabeth Kehoe will be giving a talk about O’Connell Street based on people's memories and historical records so this will be an...
**Apologies, registration full** Aideen O’Connor and Ria Mooney had different backgrounds, ambitions and creative visions. They came of age in an Ireland desperate to control and restrict women: their sexuality; their careers; their independent lives. They were united by one thing: a devotion to theatre and to Ireland’s National Theatre in particular. Aideen O’Connor joined...
In the late twenties, as Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky held their final debates before Trotsky’s exile, one of the Kremlin Palace translation teams was led by a middle-aged woman raised in the Wexford coastal village of Ballinesker. In this talk, historian Maurice J. Casey explores the forgotten life of Irish translator and journalist May...
Red Umbrella Film Festival will screen two short documentaries: All Work and No Pay, featuring the work of the Wages for Housework campaign, and Dancing Not Washing Dishes which follows Toni, a mother in Ballyfermot, as she works as an exotic dancer in her local pub in 1986. A panel discussion will follow, focusing on...
*Unfortunately this event is now cancelled* Workplaces are crucial elements of human communities. The presence of paid employment can determine the future of a region, influencing not only economic prosperity but also physical development, environmental impact, and the identity of both communities and their residents. Conversely, the loss of paid employment sources can have adverse...
**Apologies, registration full** How did a rough tackle on a 15 acres football pitch result in the death of 23 year old Sam O'Brien and three young men being charged with murder? But who was Sam O'Brien, who were his family, what happened to them? And what happened to those held responsible for his death?...
**Apologies, registration full** The river Poddle is key to understanding the foundations of Dublin. This river flowing mostly underground has borne witness to all the key events of our shared history. It creates boundaries, illustrates how skilled our ancestors were at hydro-engineering, it protected our city from invasion and most importantly provided water for thirsty...
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Libraries presents an exhibition of the Charles Hamilton Oswald Collection of glass plate slides from the dlr Local Studies collection, digitised especially by staff. Oswald, from Dún...
This talk will be presented by Dr David Sorensen who is a Balbriggan local historian. His presentation will look at the history, development and changes to the street names of...
Urban development has led to the decline of historic sacred spaces in Dublin's Liberties since the eighteenth century. Archbishop William King once noted that a church without a tower is...
What does it mean to be a hero in the 20th century? Epic Annette: A Heroine’s Tale recounts the extraordinary true story of Annette Beaumanoir, whose involvement with the French Resistance and the Algerian FLN cemented her name in history. The Goethe-Institut and the Embassy of France in Ireland will present a conversation with German-French...
ONLINE TALK Writer and historian Kieran Connell sheds new light on the experiences of the hundreds of thousands of Irish immigrants who made lives for themselves in Britain over the second half of the twentieth century. Drawing on his new book, Multicultural Britain: A People’s History, Connell explores the discrimination the Irish experienced and how...
Drawing on the National Library of Ireland's collections, including recruiting posters, newspapers and photographs, and on the Library’s online exhibition, World War Ireland, this online talk will discuss the First...
This October the National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology is holding a series of events to mark to the 50th anniversary of the commencement of the last Museum excavations Wood...
In 1600, Dublin was a walled, medieval town. Housing was basic, of wattle and daub, with cage-work on the main streets. Anglo-Norman Catholics ran the city. By 1700, the gates were gone and the walls crumbling. Government posts were for Protestants only. Fine houses of brick and stone proliferated. In this illustrated talk, we will...
This talk by Dr Livia Hurley charts the rise of porter and how its production influenced the world of the brewery and its immediate context in the city, from the Liberties to the Royal Canal. It explores the collaborative roles of the brewer, the architect and engineer, and how their ambitions for innovation and modernity...
To celebrate 100 years of the establishment of its headquarters at Ballsbridge, the RDS Library & Archives will host an illustrated talk on the history of the RDS in Dublin and its move from Leinster House to Ballsbridge in 1924. The talk will be followed by a short tour of some of the RDS buildings....
The Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) is delighted to host a talk by Professor John Turpin HRHA. The RHA in the early 20th century saw itself as modern. This outlook was...
**Apologies, registration full** This river of many names, mostly flowing underground, out of sight and often forgotten, has borne witness to all the key events of our shared history. It creates estate and parish boundaries, illustrates how skilled our Medieval ancestors were at hydro-engineering, it protected our city and citizens from invasion and most importantly...
**Apologies, registration full** The website on the history of the Poddle River was developed by the Crumlin & Walkinstown History Group to raise awareness of the River and its historic past. The new website will be introduced and demonstrated at the event. This will be followed by Cathy Scuffil's talk. Note: Limited spaces, email walkinstownlibrary@dubllincity.ie...
Writer Nicola Pierce will give an illustrated talk based on her book 'O'Connell Street: The History and Life of Dublin's Iconic Street'. In discussing her research, she will include some...
The story of James Connolly is dominated by two locations: Liberty Hall and the GPO. This talk will explore the other aspects of this time in Dublin, in particular the...
Lafcadio Hearn enjoys great acclaim as a literary genius who brought the folklore of Japan to Westerners. Yet behind the novelist lived Hearn the teacher. As a translator, he saw learning as the source of intercultural understanding. As a mediator, Hearn advocated a cosmopolitan outlook on Japan. Caring about cultural and social tensions, he sought...
In Shakespeare's drama ageing is variably described as, 'when age is in, the wit is out' (Much Ado About Nothing) and 'silver hairs/will purchase us good opinion' (Julius Caesar). This talk confronts the complexities and contradictions associated with growing old in Shakespeare's time. As our population continues to age and incidences of ageism increase, the...
David Lloyd George boasted that he had 'murder by the throat' in a speech in London in 1920 having swamped Ireland with troops, Black and Tans, Auxilliaries, assassins, touts and...
Sheila O'Flanagan, Jennifer Ryan and Nicola Cassidy will discuss their novels on a theme of War in Fiction, with Hazel Gaynor. The world wars, the Irish civil war and the...
An illustrated talk on the history of tourism in Dublin with Dublin City Historian in Residence, Katie Blackwood. Tourism is an industry that packages and sells culture and national identity and this talk will explore these issues while tracing Dublin's own meandering journey as a place to visit. Note: Limited spaces, booking essential.
Driven by a determined hope or the gritty practicalities of lived experiences the resilience of Irish women has been both situational and generational. This panel discussion will showcase original research questioning what drove these women to rebound from adversity and to adapt and withstand daunting societal and personal provocations. Note: Booking essential.
Despite initially warm relations between the Bolsheviks and the underground Dáil administration in 1920, it would be another 54 years before formal diplomatic relations were established, when a Soviet embassy opened on Dublin’s Orwell Road, and Irish diplomat, Jim Sharkey, turned the key in the door of an Irish embassy in Moscow. In conversation with...
Join Author, Albert Perris, for a history of Tallaght House, one of the finest 19th century residences in Tallaght village. Built in the 1820s by Major James Palmer, Tallaght House then passed to John Lentaigne, before being sold to the Dominican Order in 1855. Albert Perris will explore the milestones, characters and tragedies, beyond the...
Meg Connery was a leading figure in the Irish militant suffragette movement of the early twentieth century, and was prominent in driving the campaign for voting rights for Irish women....
The Dublin launch of James Durney’s new book, ‘Jailbreak, Great Irish Republican Escapes’ will take place in the historical surrounding s of the East Wing of Kilmainham Gaol. James will give a brief presentation about the famous escape from Kilmainham on 14 January 1921 as part of the event.
To understand the past of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown is to understand that of all Ireland. Its remarkable diversity of landscapes, occupations, socio-economic status, politico-cultural affiliations, and views create a place that has often been both a microcosm of all Ireland and at the vanguard of change. Following extensive oral history research by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown...
ONLINE TALK Following the return of his Antarctic expedition (1907-1909) aboard SY 'Nimrod', Ernest Shackleton toured Europe delivering lectures to the peoples and learned societies of the great cities. He...
Historical novelist Kate Mosse will discuss Map of Bones the 4th and final novel in her Joubert Family Chronicles. Olifantshoek, Southern Africa, 1688. When the violent Cape wind blows from the south-east, they say the voices of the unquiet dead can be heard whispering through the deserted valley. Suzanne Joubert, a Huguenot refugee from war-torn...
Join us for this talk ‘Tracking Change and Turmoil: the Paintings of William Orpen (1878-1931)’ with Dr Anne Cormican. The talk explores William Orpen’s work as a continuum which documents...
Discover the vibrant history of Dublin Port with Grainne Shaffrey as she explores the groundbreaking Dublin Port Heritage Conservation Strategy. Shaffrey will delve into her meticulous mapping spanning over three centuries of development, highlighting Dublin's rich maritime heritage and its profound impact on the city's urban landscape. This marks the first comprehensive mapping of Dublin...
This talk by Eunan McKinney, Project Director of The Yeats Sisters Commemoration Project, will explore the neglected creative and entrepreneurial reputations of Susan and Elizabeth Yeats. For almost 50 years...
Dr Elaine Leong (University College London) will give a lecture on ‘Book Cultures and Surgical Training in Early Modern London’. This is the Davis Coakley Memorial Lecture in Medical History. Note: Limited spaces. To book, email info@edwardworthlibrary.ie
Instead of studying the book as an individual author's work, book historians pay attention to its architecture, and processes of book production. They focus on publication contexts that might impact the meaning contained in the book. Dr Lucy Collins, Professor Porscha Fermanis, Eoin McCarney, and Dr Tapasya Narang will reflect on the importance of holding,...
The long life enjoyed by Dr. T.K. Whitaker parallels the history of the modern Irish state in whose economic, financial, social, constitutional, educational, political and cultural evolution he played a...
The secrets the river Poddle holds are key to understanding the basic foundations of the City of Dublin. This river of many names, mostly flowing underground, out of sight and...
In 1923 the anti-Treaty IRA, in response to the ongoing execution of their prisoners, declared a ban on public entertainments including sports, theatre and cinema during a period of 'national mourning'. This resulted in a concerted campaign which involved stopping sports and burning theatres and cinemas, only ended by the close of the Civil War....
Cornelius Ryan died in November 1974, aged 54. Once a world famous best-selling author, he is today virtually forgotten. Born in Heytesbury Street, educated in Synge Street, altar boy in...
**Apologies, registration full** In this illustrated talk, Ruth McManus will take us on a journey charting the evolution of Drumcondra through time. Drawing on historic maps and images we will...
A talk looking back, 50 years on, on the worst day for fatalities of the Troubles, 17 May 1974, when three bombs exploded in Dublin City Centre and one in Monaghan town, resulting in the deaths of 34 with hundreds more wounded. Presented by Dublin City Historian in Residence, Cormac Moore. No booking required.
**Apologies, this event has been CANCELLED** Dublin City Historian in Residence, Mary Muldowney will talk about the outdoor Cabra Baths that was opened by the City Council in the 1940s...
For the first time, a lecture on the role of Dublin 4 in the history of Irish radio broadcasting. Radio historian and chairperson of the Ringsend and District Historical Society,...
The Library in the Community will host a talk by Bohemian FC's club historian and independent sports historian Gerard Farrell. Initially emerging as a minority pursuit in the city's elite schools and universities in the 1880s, football in Dublin enjoyed spectacular growth as both a game to be played and one to be watched and...
The Library in the Community section will host a talk by James Scannell, current President of the Old Dublin Society. On July 6th 1925, the Dublin United Tramways Company launched...
Join David Dickson (Trinity College Dublin Fellow Emeritus) for an enlightening lecture on the Port of Dublin during the famines of 1740-41 and 1846-48. Explore how maritime trade and port infrastructure shaped the city's response to famine, emigration, and social upheaval. Discover the dual role of the port in both providing relief and exacerbating the...
In 1784, a small group of Irish surgeons broke ranks with the Guild of Barber-Surgeons to form the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Ever since, RCSI has been at...
The 25th Medieval Dublin symposium, organised by the Friends of Medieval Dublin with support from the Department of History of Trinity College Dublin, will showcase new research in the history...
Former Taoiseach Bertie Aherne will launch Professor Stephen Kelly's book, Gerald Boland: A Life. Professor Stephen Kelly will present his paper, 'Poacher turned gamekeeper: Gerald Boland, the IRA and Nazi spies, 1939-1946'. Extraordinary Women during Extraordinary Times: An Interpretation of the Military History Testimony of Kathleen Boland, narrated by her daughter, Eileen Barrington. Donnacha DeLong,...
Research on local government records in Fingal for the period 1870-1910 repeatedly highlighted issues with the water supply in Malahide. This ongoing issue is a case study of how nationalists...
**Apologies, registration full** Our experienced guide Paul, will delve into the life of Lord Charlemont after his return from the Grand Tour, including his involvement with Arts and Culture, Politics,...
Although (AE) George Russell was born in Lurgan, he spent most of his life in Dublin. Of all the major figures, including Joyce, Yeats and Shaw who spent their lives abroad at that time, the one constant to remain in Dublin was AE. Indeed, AE was the very fabric of Dublin. One of his most...
Justine Murphy created a physical and digital timeline of Dublin’s Richmond Barracks and this has offered an opportunity to illustrate it’s long footprint using drawings, newspapers, prints, photographs, audio and maps. This talk explores the challenge of telling that story in visual form while at the same time bringing you through the history of the...
The Irish Manuscripts Commission (IMC) was founded in 1928 after the catastrophic fire at the Four Courts in 1922 which destroyed 700 years of Ireland’s documentary heritage. IMC marked the 100th anniversary of that event with a special issue of its journal Analecta Hibernica — ‘The Fire of 1922’. It includes the first published listing...
The historical narrative around the Irish country house has long recognised its place as the epicentre of a community; economically, socially, and culturally. Particularly in Ireland where Industry was less...
Marking fifty years of the founding of an LGBTQ rights movement in Ireland, Reeling in the Queers explores the lesser-known stories of the fight for LGBTQ rights since 1974, beyond...
This talk is about the rise and fall of Kenure House and its estate and the trials and tribulations of the families who lived there. In the mid-17th century the...
A winner at the 2023 An Post: Irish Book Awards, Black & Irish was a landmark publication in Irish history and a celebration of Black Irish identity. Beginning life as...
Howth Castle in North County Dublin was the home of the St. Lawrence family from 1230s until 1909. William St. Lawrence, 4th Earl of Howth died without issue in 1909...
This talk is part of the Marino 100 series of talks, celebrating the centenary of the development of the Marino estate, the first estate built in the Free State after...
**Apologies, registration full** Join Warren Farrell, Donal Fallon and the Kavanagh family for a talk exploring the history of Glasnevin Cemetery and its relationship with its neighbour ‘The Gravediggers’ pub over the past 191 years. Discover some of the forgotten tales in Glasnevin, including the lives of the many publicans buried there: Kavanaghs, Conways, Hedigans,...
*Apologies, registration full* A talk on the history and fate of ten eighteenth-century pictures once installed in the ceiling of the Long Gallery at Rathfarnham Castle. Note: Booking essential.
The Irish Polish Society presents a talk by distinguished historian, Gabriel Doherty, University College Cork, on a refugee crisis in Ireland,1949-51. On 30 September 1949, the Victory, a WWII ship, stopped for repairs at Cobh. The ship held 400 refugees fleeing Communist rule in eastern Europe. The plan was to sail to Canada but it...
ONLINE TALK To illustrate Ireland and India’s connection, this talk by Jawhar Sircar will focus on the contributions of two Irish women – Margaret Elizabeth Noble who later adopted the name Sister Nivedita, and Annie Besant – during the years of India’s struggle for independence from British rule. Jawhar Sircar is a former member of...
Join Adrian Le Harivel, former Curator at the National Gallery of Ireland, for this talk. He became intrigued about this important aspect of streetscape, while walking the city and researching domestic clocks. There are about 80 public clocks across central Dublin, between the two canals, many easily missed. Dated examples range from 1804 to 2019,...
Join Irish playwright Jimmy Murphy for this talk. After O’Casey’s exile from Ireland and the Abbey, Irish theatre entered a phase of mildly amusing, middle class comedies that endured until the early 1950s, however, the arrival of a radical new play and a daring production signalled a seismic shift, reshaping the Irish theatrical landscape forever....
Spenser’s View has, for centuries, been treated variously as a trove of prejudiced antiquarian lore useful for disparaging Irish people at moments of crisis, and as a store house of...
Juliana Adelman is a historian interested in science, medicine and the environment, especially in nineteenth-century Ireland. Now, she is the author of The Grateful Water, a novel set in1866. When...
Angela Byrne explores the rich and varied connections between Ireland and Russia in the pre-revolutionary period, focusing on the Irish women who went in search of adventure or employment, for...
ONLINE TALK Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc’s recent study, the first of its kind, uncovers the extent to which ‘forced disappearances’ were part of the violent political conflicts that blighted Ireland...
Emerging from centuries of oppression and a bitter civil war, the government of the Irish Free State faced huge challenges to ensure democracy would succeed and Ireland would take her place on the world stage. Historian Liz Gillis will discuss those difficult first years of the Irish Free State, in this fascinating look at Ireland's...
In 1937 the Dublin United Tramways Company (1896) embarked on a programme of replacing its trams with buses but the onset of the 'Emergency' paused this. By 1948 CIÉ had only five trams services still in operation and on October 31st 1948 terminated the Dartry and Terenure services to the city centre. The speaker James...
The Tailteann Games, a sporting and cultural festival, were re-imagined and modernised from the ancient games of the same name and held for the first time in 1924 as Ireland's...
In August 1951, the Gold Coast National football team came to Ireland, playing matches in Belfast and Dublin. The match in Dublin took place in Dalymount Park on Wednesday, 22nd...
Dublin City Historian in Residence Elizabeth Kehoe will give a talk about O'Connell Street based on people's memories and historical records, so this will be an eclectic mix about the...
Our history often hides in plain sight. We travel roads, pass laneways and street-signs without appreciating the events that may have happened here in the past. A photograph found in...
Join historian, Sean J Murphy, for this talk about Charles Lucas. Dr Charles Lucas (1713-1771) was a Protestant or Anglo-Irish Nationalist whose statue stands in Dublin’s City Hall. He was a predecessor of Grattan and Flood and indeed in some respects a precursor of the republican United Irishmen. Following his election to Dublin Corporation as...
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the passing of one of Dublin’s most beloved artists. Harry Kernoff was a devoted lover of Dublin City and expressed his passion in...
*Apologies, this event has now been CANCELLED due to unforeseen circumstances* Join Vawn Corrigan for a slide show presentation exploring the fascinating history of the Aran Sweater. From its rocky island roots it eventually spanned the globe to become a symbol of Irishness. Feted on the catwalk, worn by celebrities yet always homely, the classic...
Dublin City Historian in Residence, Katie Blackwood, will give an illustrated talk on the history of tourism in Dublin. Tourism is an industry that packages and sells culture and national...
Oral history helps bring the past to life by recording the voices, experiences, stories and memories of people. In this introductory session members of the Oral History Network of Ireland will use audio clips and transcripts to showcase the diverse range of oral history projects across Ireland. Key issues will be discussed, and practical advice...
This lecture by Dr Joan Kavanagh, will highlight the transportation narrative of the Grangegorman Female Penitentiary from 1840 to 1852. Its development, the policies that were put in place for the management of the Female Depot and the movement of the female convicts from their respective county gaols will be explored. It will also focus...
In this illustrated talk, Ruth McManus discusses the development of housing policy in Ireland from 1922 to 1932. This first decade after independence saw the new government tackling a major...
This talk is aimed at those who are considering or have researched some topic of local history and would now like to make their findings available to the public. It will provide pointers on how to research, where best to look for information and how to produce an end product suitable for your intended audience....
ONLINE TALK Sa léacht seo, pléann an Dr Ian Malcolm ról na bProtastúnach i stair na Gaeilge in Éirinn. Amharcfaidh sé orthu siúd a choinnigh coinneal na teanga beo nuair a bhí sí i mbéal a báis, mar aon le daoine amhail William Bedell agus William Daniel a d’aistrigh an Bhíobla go Gaeilge. Múinteoir Gaeilge...
**Apologies, registration full** Nicola Pierce, author of The Spirit of the Titanic and Chasing Ghosts, an Arctic Adventure, discusses her latest novel of historical fiction, In Between Worlds, the Journey of the Famine Girls. The book was inspired by the Earl Grey Scheme: between 1848 and 1850, over four thousand orphaned Irish girls, aged 14...
Díreoidh an chaint seo ar oidhreacht ailtireachta agus luathstair na Leabharlainne Náisiúnta. Bainfidh sé leas as meascán de ghrianghraif stairiúla ón gCartlann Náisiúnta Ghrianghrafadóireachta, léaráidí ailtireachta agus íomhánna níos nua-aimseartha...
Pembroke Library will host a lecture by Dublin City Historian in Residence Cormac Moore, on the life of Pembroke Library's first Librarian, Frank O'Connor (born Michael Francis O' Donovan) who, among other achievements, went on to become an internationally renowned short story writer. Note: Limited spaces. To book, email pembrokelibrary@dublincity.ie
In the context of the current wider debate over public monuments, this lunchtime talk will take a fresh look at the monuments of Christ Church Cathedral, informed by Dr Greg Sullivan’s work on the ‘Pantheons’ project in St Paul’s Cathedral, London. No booking required.
You are invited to join us at the Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again exhibition for an exploration on the influence of the classics on the works of Seamus Heaney. While...
The appointment of the first women on the frontline of Dublin Corporation’s public health service at the turn of the 20th century, when Dublin was widely considered one of Great Britain and Ireland’s unhealthiest cities, was controversial in several ways. This talk will illuminate the story of Dublin’s first women sanitary sub-officers, revealing their significant...
A Bird in the House, God Bless Her was recorded by Michael Fortune of folklore.ie, with the Southside Travellers Action Group (STAG). Telling of rare customs in Ireland, it includes stories of fairies, the banshee, and shape-shifting hares. It won the 2024 Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) Community Archive Scheme and marks the first collection...
Bígí i dteannta Niamh Ní Riain ó Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann le haghaidh na cainte trí Ghaeilge, 30 nóiméad ar líne, faoi shaol agus saothar William Butler Yeats. Tá an chaint oiriúnach dóibh siúd atá díreach ag tosnú amach ag foghlaim na Gaeilge agus dóibh siúd a bhfuil níos mó taithí acu uirthi. Join Niamh...
Dublin City Historian in Residence, Elizabeth Kehoe, will give a talk about O’Connell Street based on people's memories and historical records so this will be an eclectic mix about the Capital’s main street. This year marks the 100th year anniversary of the naming of this iconic street. No booking required.
In July 1927, at just thirty-five years old, Kevin O’Higgins was assassinated on his way to Mass in Booterstown, Co. Dublin. A reviled figure for anti-Treaty republicans, O’Higgins became the target of particular venom for his vocal support of the Free State government’s execution policy during the Civil War, which saw seventy-seven IRA men executed,...
In her talk – entitled ‘Sacraments and Suburbs: Building Catholic Dublin, 1960-80– Dr Ellen Rowley will share some ongoing research into the relationship between the Irish Catholic Church (namely the Dublin Archdiocese) and the built environment during the heady decades of expansion, from 1960 to c.1980. Richly illustrated and in some instances, barely cooked, Ellen’s...
Dr. Elizabethanne Boran, Librarian of the Edward Worth Library, Dublin, will provide an insight into the various illnesses and diseases occurring in Dublin of the 1700s, and how and where they were treated. No booking required.
*Apologies, this event has now been CANCELLED due to unforeseen circumstances* In the 1970s, the Janelle clothing factory was a significant employer in North-West Dublin. It offered employment to many residents of the then new estates in Finglas, particularly women. When the factory closed, it was replaced by the Janelle Shopping Centre, which included a...
Join Dublin City Historian in Residence Cathy Scuffil, as she unravels the story behind the Dolphin’s Barn Brick Company and the people associated with it. The company was located on the Crumlin Road from the 1890s until 1944 with the clay pits extending from Kimmage to the Grand Canal at Goldenbridge. The brickworks were a...
**CANCELLED** The choral setting of the Requiem Mass is a centuries-old tradition. Its formal structure has brought consolation to generations in its comforting predictability. How then has the choral Requiem negotiated the solemn boundaries of its functional liturgical context, and situated itself firmly in the secular concert repertoire? This talk by Dr Melanie Brown, explores...
Myles Dungan is one of Ireland’s best-known and most respected broadcasters on both radio and television for more than two decades. He is the author of a number of popular works including The Stealing of the Irish Crown Jewels, The Great Irish History Book and his latest Land is all that Matters. Land seizures were...
**Apologies, registration full** The Royal Irish Academy will host a live recording of Three Castles Burning, a social history podcast created and hosted by Donal Fallon. The episode will feature the editors and contributors of 'Irish Food History: a companion' (Royal Irish Academy, 2024). Edited by Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire and Dorothy Cashman, this book,...
Ringsend Library presents 'The 1924 Free State Army Mutiny' with Dublin City Historian in Residence Cormac Moore. The Army Mutiny of March 1924 was the biggest threat to the Irish Free State since the Civil War, as attempts to radically downsize the bloated army were resisted, in what also was a power-play amongst different factions...
There are some 200 memorials in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. In this talk, based on book of the same name, the biographies of those commemorated are explored. Many of these were famous in their day, but in some instances are little-known now. Join us for a fascinating insight into the people and stories behind the memorials...
Within the archives of CIÉ are the records of most of the former railway companies of Ireland who operated the railway lines that criss-crossed the country from the 1830s up until the establishment of CIÉ in the 1940s. This talk by the CIÉ Group Archivist will exhibit the records of some of these companies with...
**Apologies, registration full** Please note that this event is now taking place on Wednesday 9 October and not Tuesday 8 October as previously listed. Join Dermot Looney for this talk, which will explore the history of the men who have managed St Patrick’s Athletic FC, from the early days of selection committees through famed managers...
ONLINE TALK Explore the Cantonese diaspora in Ireland. This event will delve into the experiences, challenges, and contributions of the Cantonese-speaking community in Ireland. Hear personal stories, cultural insights, and academic perspectives from our speaker Alice Chau - producer and presenter of Asian Talents radio show NearFM. Whether you are part of the diaspora, interested...
ONLINE TALK Modern Belfast is a beautiful city with a vibrant tradition of radicalism, industry, architectural innovation, and cultural achievement. But the city’s many qualities are all too frequently overlooked, its image marred by association with the political violence of the Troubles. Feargal Cochrane tells the story of his home city, revealing a rich and...
Join Francis Thackaberry as he talks about the coming of the Great Southern and Western Railway to Inchicore. This event was often seen as the beginning of the transformation of the area into a suburb. Ironically Dublin's suburban spread into the western end of the city began a lot earlier. This talk will look at...
Patrick Quigley will explore how Stanislaw (Stasko) Markiewicz, son of Casimir and stepson of Countess Markievicz, stayed in Dublin at three critical stages of his life. He had a happy childhood in Rathgar before leaving Dublin for Ukraine in 1915, returned to comfort the Countess on her deathbed in 1927 and emigrated from Poland to...
The Irish State came into existence on 6 December 1922. At this time the creation of a new system of courts remained unfinished business. In January 1923 a Judiciary Committee was appointed to advise the Irish government on the establishment of a new court system. Its report was followed by the enactment of the Courts...
Dr Paul G. Smith (Independent Scholar and former Bríd McGrath Research Fellow) will present a lecture on 'Forfeited estates of 1688 in Ireland: an account of the late proprietors and the purchasers; 1702-1703.' This is the Brendan Prendiville Memorial Lecture. Note: Booking required, email info@edwardworthlibrary.ie
The story of Henrietta Street is the story not only of architectural and political history, but the arts. When campaigner Uinseann MacEoin saved a number of Henrietta Street homes in the 1960s and ‘70s, it began a process of revitalisation that drew artists to the street. Mick O’Dea, past president of the Royal Hibernian Academy,...
This lecture marks the centenary of the closure of the Freeman’s Journal which appeared for the last time on 19 December 1924. Founded in 1763 as the organ of the so-called ‘patriot’ opposition in the Irish parliament, it was the principal Irish nationalist daily paper in the nineteenth century. For 50 years, from 1841 to...
**Apologies, registration full** Join Dublin City Historian in Residence, Katie Blackwood, for an illustrated talk on the history of Dublin cinemas that takes the audience through the early days of makeshift venues, the golden age of cinema building, and right up to the emergence of the multiplexes of the 1990s. Incorporating architecture, censorship, queuing, courting...
Let historian Juliana Adelman and geographer Ann Marie Durkan show you a different side to Dublin as they tell stories of Dublin’s animal past. Covering approximately 100 years of history,...
**Apologies, registration full** In the mid-1940s Marlborough House was set up by the Department of Education as a place of detention for young boys. It was the only centre of its type managed directly by the Department of Education, but it was also registered by the Minister for Justice as a Place of Detention. In...
Approximately 210,000 Irishmen volunteered for the British Forces between 1914 and 1918; of these, around 35,000 died, with over 6,000 of these from Dublin. This talk will tell the story of Fingal natives who died during the Great War and illustrate the complex relationship between Ireland and the British military. Dr. Bernard Kelly completed his...
Dublin City Historian in Residence, Elizabeth Kehoe will be giving a talk about O’Connell Street based on people's memories and historical records so this will be an eclectic mix about the capital’s main street. This year marks the 100th year anniversary of the naming of this iconic street. Note: Limited spaces, booking essential.
*Apologies, registration is now full for this event* This event will be a lecture by Paul Maher, on the Dublin Metropolitan Police Occurrence Book 1922/23 covering the Kevin Street Division. Entries include robberies, Free State manoeuvre, Anti-Treaty ambushes, sudden deaths etc. The Occurrence Book details Police, community, businesses and Oriel House activities. Expect the everyday...
Join us at the GAA Museum for two lectures from the vast history of Gaelic Games. Dublin City Historian in Residence, Cormac Moore, will deliver an enthralling account of the GAA’s relationship with Douglas Hyde. Hyde was controversially removed as GAA patron after he attended a soccer match between Ireland and Poland in 1938. Secondly,...
**Apologies, registration full** This year marked the 150th anniversary of the birth of Cathal Brugha. Brugha was a tireless and devoted activist for Irish republicanism across various spheres including: as an Irish language activist in the Gaelic League, a key organiser for both the Irish Volunteers and Sinn Féin, Minister for Defence in the underground...
The Launch of the Drimnagh Historical Map with guest speakers; Cathy Scuffil, Historian in Residence and Liz Gillis, Historian and Author.
**Apologies, registration full** Join us at Dunsink Observatory for a night-long celebration of space and history — from Ireland’s rich and colourful history of exploring the universe, to our role in making future discoveries beyond our atmosphere. Throughout the night we’ll have talks, conversation and, weather permitting, some stargazing — all in the historic surroundings...
The Irish Tourist Association (ITA) was established in January 1925 as a result of a Conference held in Government Buildings in Dublin, under the Presidency of the Minister for Industry and Commerce of the new Irish State. The ITA was Ireland’s first official National Tourism Body and would go on to lay the foundation for...
**Apologies, registration full** EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum will host UCD PhD candidate, Fiona Slevin, as she explores the post-famine economic and social landscape of rural Ireland. By using examples of letters home and other primary sources, this talk will assess the monetary and social value of emigrant remittances back to Ireland and their impact...
The National University of Ireland in collaboration with Dublin City Council and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Ireland, each year organise an International Viking Event as part of the Dublin Festival of History. We are used to reading and hearing about the wars fought by the fleets and armies of Dublin against their Irish neighbours...
This talk is part of the Marino 100 series of talks, celebrating the centenary of the development of the Marino estate, the first estate built in the Free State after independence. Dr Ruth McManus, Associate Professor in Geography in DCU, and co-author, with Joseph Brady, of the book "Building Healthy Homes, Dublin Corporation's first housing...
One hundred years ago, in March 1924, about 50 officers of the National Army who were facing demobilization in the post-Civil War reduction of the army, seized weapons, and absconded from their posts. Could it have been a prelude to the renewed Civil War or was it a farce, characterised by the arrest of many...
A Celebration of Franco-Irish Heritage and Francophile Community at Alliance Française Dublin We invite you to join us for a full day of celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of Alliance Française...
*Apologies, registration full* From independence in 1922 until the abolition of the death penalty in 1990, 25 women were convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Only one ultimately met the hangman. This talk explores their lives, crimes, and punishments. Although extraordinarily rare, women’s lethal violence in this period can reveal much about Irish women’s...
Art historian Kathryn Milligan discusses the life and work of Estella Solomons. A graduate of Dublin’s Metropolitan School of Art, Solomons became one of the leading artists of her generation in the Irish capital active within Cumann na mBan in the Irish revolution. From her beautiful illustrations in The Glamour of Dublin (1926) to her...
How well do you know Victorian Dublin? In this special meetup of the Children’s History Book Club, we will be joined by author and illustrator Alan Nolan as we learn about Dublin’s lost landmarks and creepiest crypts – as featured in his new historical book series, starring the young Molly Malone and Bram Stoker! Test...
Dublin City Historian in Residence, Elizabeth Kehoe will host a talk given by Helen O’Donohoe on the rich and interesting history of patchwork and its introduction to Ireland. Helen is a Patchwork and Quilting teacher who has been interested in textiles craft and stitch from a young age. She is a member of the Irish...
Join Lorcan Collins of the Revolutionary Ireland podcast, as he explores the importance of Tom and Kathleen Clarke to the story of the revolutionary period in Ireland. The eldest signatory of the 1916 Proclamation, Tom Clarke was a veteran Fenian before the Easter Rising, while Kathleen would go on to become Dublin’s first female Lord...
Join Colm Molloy, Creative and Cultural Lead, Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride for a look at the history of queer Ireland, covering a wide research from prehistory to marriage equality. This is an in-person event at the Pride Hub.
Bígí linn d’oíche speisialta ag ceiliúradh spiorad an ghníomhaíochais Ghaeilge i measc na bpríosúnach. Ar an oíche beidh painéil agus léacht ag plé le diongbháilteacht na ngníomhaithe seo a cuireadh...
**Apologies, registration full** Railway Historian Michael J Walsh, of the Irish Railway Record Society will host a lecture on the history of the DART to celebrate 40 years. He will detail its construction and the impact that it has had on communities it serves as well as the social impact it has had. This talk...