Spotlight on
- J.M. Synge
Irish Writers | Wicklow County Library
- Carlow Writers
Arts & Literature | Carlow County Library
- Irish Authors
Irish Writers
- Three-Dimensional Objects Pilot Project
The Virtual Museum | Waterford Museum of Treasures
- Digitisation in Depth
The Virtual Museum | National Museum of Ireland
-
Cork gets its name from the marsh on which the city is built.
Read More »
Discover the colour and diversity of Irish Traditional Music in this feature article by Terry Moylan.
Featured Media
Those Showband Days (Waterford City Library)
Those Showband Days - a cartoon by Robbie O'Keeffe 1991
© Munster Express (O'Keeffe, Dower and Commerford)
Sackville Street, Dublin, late 19th century
Black and white print of Sackville Street, Dublin in The Industries of Dublin, historical, statistical, biographical, an account of leading business men, commercial interests, wealth and growth, page 20, published by Spencer Blackett, 1887 (approx)with illustrations
© Dublin City Public Libraries
Richard Lowell Edgeworth (Longford Co. Library)
Oliver Cromwell
Cromwell only spent 9 months in Ireland from August 1649 to May 1650, but his impact was to be everlasting on the island. With fierce brutality Cromwell succeed in completing the English conquest of Ireland where others had failed. Cromwell first set a course to Drogheda. 3,500 men women and children were killed over the two day battle, with the city suffering heavy bombardment. Nearby towns surrendered or evacuated. Less than a month later, Cromwell arrived at Wexford town. Here over 1500 people were slaughtered in the massacre that ensued. Cromwell rested in Youghal until the spring of 1650 and then turned his attention towards Kilkenny and the Tipperary towns of Fethard, Clonmel and Cashel. By May 1650 Ireland had been placed under British rule and Cromwell returned home. Sieges on both Limerick and Galway, the last city under Irish control to fall, ended in October and November 1650 respectively. English rule in Ireland was complete.
O'Connell Bridge, Dublin 1927-1929
O'Connell Bridge, Dublin 1927-1929. The public transport of the time was trams. The automobile is now much in evidence.
By kind permission of Seamus Kearns, Old Dublin Society
More Evictions (Mayo Co. Library)
Maria Edgeworth (Longford Co. Library)
In Wicklow, West Kerry etc. by J.M. Synge
This is the fourth volume from a collection called "The Works of John M. Synge in 4 volumes" publsihed in 1910. This volume is a collection of essays written by Synge about his travels through Wicklow, Kerry & Connemara.
Wicklow County Library
Fanny Power
Fanny (Frances) Power was the daughter of David and Elizabeth Power from Loughrea in county Galway. She married Richard Trent in 1732. This tune was composed before their marriage because in the second verse Carolan hopes to dance at their wedding.
Courtesy of Dearbhail Finnegan
Meath County Library
Carolan's Farewell to Music
When Carolan felt his death was near he returned to the house of his patron Mrs MacDermott Roe at Alderford. He composed and played his final piece of music there called Carolan's Farewell to Music. Carolan died in March 1738.
Courtesy of Dearbhail Finnegan
Meath County Library
Bridget Cruise
Bridget Cruise lived at Rahood near Nobber and was Carolan's first love. They met while Carolan attended the school run by the Cruise family. Carolan composed many tunes for Bridget although they parted when Carolan's family moved to Roscommon. Meeting at Lough Derg many years later Carolan recognised Bridget by the touch of her hand.
Courtesy of Nobber Festival Committee
Meath County Library
'The Ship in Full Sail'
Elizabeth Crotty (concertina) plays 'The Ship in Full Sail'
© RTÉ
An Chomhairle Leabharlanna
The Morning Thrush
Conor Byrne (flute) and Christy Moore (bodhrán) play a reel from the recording 'Wind Dancer'.
Newberry Recording Ltd, CB 0001
An Chomhairle Leabharlanna
Slip jigs
The Four Star Trio perform a set of slip jigs from their CD, The Square Triangle. Barney Brallaghan's / Ride A Mile / The Sport of the Chase
Craft Recordings, CRCD002
An Chomhairle Leabharlanna
Slides
Johnny O'Leary (accordion) plays two slides from his CD, Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. The Hair Fell Off My Coconut / Thadelo's
Craft Recordings
An Chomhairle Leabharlanna
Reels
Elizabeth Crotty performs a set of reels on her concertina. The Wind that Shakes the Barley / The Reel with the Beryl
© RTÉ
An Chomhairle Leabharlanna
W.B. Yeats, Plays, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Shakespeare Press, 1914
W.B. Yeats, Plays, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Shakespeare Press, 1914
Digital Books | Dublin City Public Libraries
O'Neill, Francis, O'Neill's Irish Music, Dublin: M.H. Gill And Son
Frances O'Neill (1848-1936) was born near Bantry, Co. Cork at the height of the Great Irish Potato Famine in which over a million died and over a million fled in the 'coffin' ships for the New World. Despite their misery Irish people had a vibrant musical culture in which O'Neill was immersed from childhood. From the 1840s generations of Irish people emigrated to the United States. Irish Americans proudly retained many of the traditions of the 'Emerald Isle' especially traditional music for whom collectors such as O'Neill published sheet music
Cork County Library
Strickland, Walter, A Dictionary of Irish Artists, Vol 2, L to Z, Dublin and London: Maunsel & Company, 1913
A Dictionary of Irish Artists by Walter G. Strickland (1851-1928) was published into two volumes in 1913. The labouriously researched work draws from extensive and widely varied sources. Strickland sought to produce the dictionary to remedy the neglect of the subject of Irish art and to recover the memory of Irish artists who had disappeared into obscurity. Each entry includes important biographical information and details of their work. Portraits and examples of Irish art are also included with the text illustrated on hundreds of plates.
Dublin City Public Libraries
ed. Brooke, Stopford A. & Rolleston, T. W., A Treasury Of Irish Poetry In The English, London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1915
A Treasury Of Irish Poetry In The English Tongue by Stopford A. Brooke and T. W. Rolleston first published 1900 is collection of Irish verse written in the English language since the 18th century. Among the poets featured include Thomas Moore, Thomas Davis, Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, Charles J. Kickham, James Clarence Mangan, Sir Samuel Ferguson, George Sigerson, Douglas Hyde and W. B. Yeats.
D.J. O'Donoghue, The Life and Writings of James Clarence Mangan, Dublin: M. H. Gill and Son, 1897
The Writings of James Clarence Mangan by D. J. O' Donoghue is a biography interspersed with the writings of of the 19th century poet, essayist and Irish nationalist.
Dublin City Public Libraries
Rhiodes, R Crompton, The Plays and Poems Of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1928
The Plays And Poems Of Richard Brinsely Sheridan by R Crompton Rhodes is a collection of the works of the Irish-born, playwright, theatre owner and British parliamentarian Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816).
Dublin City Public Libraries
Synge, John Millington, The Aran Islands, Part III and IV, Dublin: Maunsel And Company Ltd, 1912
The Aran Islands by John Millington Synge (1871-1909) was first published in 1907. It is a four part series of essays on the geography and people of Islands with whom the playwright and author became intimate with over several summers in the late 1890s.
Arts & Literature | Galway County Library
Synge, John Millington, The Aran Islands, Part I and II, Dublin: Maunsel And Company Ltd, 1912
The Aran Islands by John Millington Synge (1871-1909) was first published in 1907. It is a four part series of essays on the geography and people of Islands with whom the playwright and author became intimate with over several summers in the late 1890s.
Environment & Geography | Galway County Library