DR MÁIRE

Dr Máire Kennedy
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This is how the general public most often sees Máire Kennedy, introducing speakers at the local or family history days, or at the many other seminars and talks, in the Dublin City Library and Archive conference room in Pearse Street. And that's her office on the screen, by the way.

But that is only the tip of the iceberg. The rest of the day job out of the public gaze keeps her more than busy. You only have to check out how often she pops up in the acknowledgement pages of most of the books dealing with the history of the city published over the years.

She always has a welcome for researchers be they professionals or amateur dabblers like myself. And she is an entrepreneur in her own right; she takes risks. I am the living proof of that.

Máire doing the techie stuff

My first contact with Máire was when I walked in off the street and offered to do a talk on the history of Ballybrack. Four hundred years in forty five minutes.

I cconfidently explained that I had done a series of talks on this subject more than twenty years previously with slides and panels. "We don't do slides and there is nowhere to put panels" she replied. So what was I expected to do? Powerpoint! And what is that exactly?

So that was my abrupt and unwelcome introduction to Powerpoint.

But Máire took me up on my offer and I ended up using Powerpoint slides, interactive online maps and a blast of sound, and all was well.

Since then I have offered her four more talks and she took them all. To be fair to myself, I put a lot of work into them and I think I had a good product when it came time to deliver them.

Unshockable, almost

But I didn't have to offer my last and sixth talk, I was invited to do it. I had finally arrived, and that talk turned out to be the most significant and the most emotional to date.

It was on the artist and cartoonist Gordon Brewster who had died in my mother's shop in 1946. Following his death, his already estranged wife took his children back to England with her.

Now, nearly seventy years later, his four grandchildren and spouses, descendants and partners, numbering twenty in all, came over from England for the talk. Their ages ranged from the mature down to a five year old who ended up being the only contributor to the Q&A. You couldn't make it up.

Máire even once deputised me, as they say in the cowboy films, to front for the Library and Archive in an interview on Raidió na Life.

Máire is leaving at the end of the month and with her departure I feel I'm losing a mentor and co-conspirator, but I hope I can keep her as a friend.

Go maire tú do scor.

Máire with Uachtarán Michael D

Family History Day 2015

Greg Young
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Family History Day in the Dublin City Library and Archive (DCLA) in Pearse Street is always a great occasion.

It gives a number of those who are pursuing their own family history, or that of others, an opportunity to present their results to a receptive audience. I have done three family history presentations on these occasions and they are a wonderful way of getting you to organise your material for getting it across to an audience. They also give you the incentive to quality control your research and to pursue further avenues that suggest themselves in the course of preparation.

DCLA, and Máire Kennedy in particular, are to be commended for providing this wonderful service.

And it is a service, not only to those who have results to present, but to others who are not quite there yet, and to those who have not yet started into this branch of research but who might be inspired to do so by days like these. Even for those who are not involved in research, and who don't intend to be, most of the presentations are sheer entertainment and an education in themselves.

Anyway, nuff pontificating and down to this year's event.

Greg Young, who has been in the family and local history area for a good few years now, kicked off the day with a talk on the Smyth family of Dublin who were parasol and umbrella makers. This had been the subject of his thesis for his Certificate in Local History, a course run by NUI Maynooth in collaboration with DCLA. I have commented on another student's output in an earlier blog post.

Greg's presentation was hugely interesting. His pursuit of the Smyth family brought us through the family's highs and lows: a new start up family business; expansion of the business and its extension to many city locations; it's decline and the descent of the family into poverty; the Bishop's religious prejudice which removed the children from their (non-denominational) schooling to be taken into care, an act which further fragmented the family. Make you sad and angry at the same time.

And then there was the product. The umbrella evolved from the parasol, from keeping off the sun to keeping off the rain. They were originally clumsy heavy things but Smyth's steel technology for the ribbed umbrella made them a more viable proposition. They were made on the premises and some of the locations crossed over with my own family's shoemaking traditions, such as at Wood Quay. In those days particular trades grouped in particular streets.

Greg was clearly anxious to give the best presentation possible. This was his first talk of this sort. He needn't have worried. The next step is the book.

Joan Sharkey

He was followed by Joan Sharkey, from Raheny Heritage Society. Joan is an old hand at this and for her contribution on this occasion she told us how she set about filling some apparently intractable gaps in her own family history.

She was chasing up missing Usshers (the family, not the theatrical employees). She took us on a fascinating trail of detective work, squeezing blood out of the stones of boring official records. Many of these were in the USA & Canada where some of the missing family members had ended up. She also relied heavily on the online records (subscription) of the Irish Petty Sessions (or what has now become the District Court). If someone appeared there, never mind what he was up for, she now knew that he existed and where he was at the time. And if, like me, you are still searching for an ordinary decent criminal (ODC) in the family this is clearly the place to go. This sort of stuff is addictive.

Conor Dodd

Conor Dodd, who is now working as a historian with The Glasnevin Trust, brought us up to date on the extensive range of data now available, principally about those buried in Prospect Cemetery in Glasnevin. The service now includes access to a genealogical advisor (part time) and he stressed that, in the normal course, people are only charged for what is found. So the Trust is actually going out of its way to encourage people to draw on its facilities.

He showed us how the various data sources are interrelated and outlined the richness and limits of what is available.

He also reminded us that the Trust is a private venture which is dependent on the income it raises from its activities. This has not stopped it from undertaking, in recent years, a major cleanup/restoration in Glasnevin cemetery in order to bring it back to the state envisaged by its founders. The "Garden Cemetery" concept is coming back in. So if you are contemplating a leisurely stroll of a Sunday afternoon, there's no better place to go. (I have to declare an interest here, I love graveyards - well, most of them).

Anthony J Jordan

Anthony J Jordan gave us the run down on the Yeats family. It was at times hilarious, at others sad, and at yet others outrageous. That WB fella seems to have been an insufferable individual, though Anthony did more or less persuade us that he wrote great poetry.

You will notice the absence of a screen in the above shot. Anthony gave us an old style presentation regaling us with stories for the imagination in which the imagined illustrations went well beyond the capacity of a Powerpoint screen.

He told us it was quite late when he came across the controversy over WB's bones (ie whose bones are in the grave in Drumcliff). He recounted how, when he gave a talk on the subject in Sligo, he was accused of undermining tourism in the county. A bucket collection for a DNA test would seem to me to have been a more appropriate reaction. But there you are. Leave well enough alone and to hell with the begrudgers.

James Curry

The final session was on the Fitzpatrick family and the satirical journal "The Lepracaun" produced over a decade at the beginning of the twentieth century by Thomas Fitzpatrick.

James Curry is co-author of a book on Thomas Fitzpatrick and The Lepracaun which was launched at this very spot just a month ago. Thomas's cartoons were beautifully drawn and took a poke at hypocrisy in high places and the various pecadillos of politicians and other very important people. Thomas's death in 1912 was headline news and the poor, who he always stood up for, were caught up in a combination of grief and pride on that occasion.

James replayed a first class short video about the book which Philip Bromwell made for RTÉ.

Appropriately enough for a family history occasion, James reminded us that Thomas's artistic and cartooning skills have now passed down to a fourth generation.

Tracking Dublin

Kevin Whelan
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The 2015 Gilbert Lecture, in Dublin City Library and Archive, was given this year by Kevin Whelan. The subject was Dublin as a Global City but this formal title gave little indication of the roller coaster ride that was to follow.

The angle was the waxing and waning of Dublin over time, but from a global perspective. The question asked was, how important was Dublin on the world scene and why.

Roman Times

Kevin started way back before Roman times when we really didn't figure at all. When the Romans finally got as far as Britain, it seems they didn't fancy going any further into what was to them a hostile and cold environment compared with the Mediterranean. And, anyway, if they overshot they might fall off the edge of the flat earth of its day.

It was only with the coming of the Vikings that Dublin assumed a global importance, becoming a hub for their conquests and trade along the west coast of Europe. In recent times there has been a tendency to stress the benefits of the arrival of the Vikings, but Kevin left us under no illusions. These guys were slavers and ruthless. They considered themselves superior, under Thor, to the milksop Christians they encountered along the way. Generally speaking they killed the men and took the women home as slaves. Hence the high proportion of Irish DNA in Iceland, for example.

The Viking empire waned during the 11th century (and, despite the speed and broad scope of his talk, Kevin even managed to mention Diarmat mac Máel na mBó and the Cavanaughs.)

When the Normans came (1169), the focus turned from being outward and coastal to fixating on Britain and to some extent Europe beyond it.

The next point of inflexion was after 1492 when Ireland became a link between Europe and "newly discovered" America.

After 1800 its importance faded as the focus shifted to London as capital of the UK and as trade/transport restrictions were imposed on seagoing traffic.

There was a further recovery after 1900, both in global transport and also in the city's world image through its literary figures who part colonised the English language and turned it into something of their own.

Finally, Dublin opened up again as a Euro/American hub as US giants set up European headquarters here in their commercial/digital assault on Europe. And, Dublin now ranks well in many international league tables even despite the recent crisis/downturn.

Larry O'Toole

I haven't really summarised the presentation but rather given a small flavour.

Kevin was introduced by Deputy Lord Mayor, Larry O'Toole, who (humorously) compared Kevin's many qualifications and achievements to his own "two years in a tech". Larry not only enlivened his own introduction but carried on from the sidelines providing a foil to Kevin's many humorous references to Dublin's distant southside. Larry is from Wicklow and Kevin from Wexford, but no doubt they both consider themselves honorary Dubs at this stage.

Margaret Hayes

In opening the proceedings earlier in the evening, City Librarian Margaret Hayes gave us a rundown on the Library Service's packed programme of events for the year. She then handed over to Larry to launch the book version of last year's Gilbert Lecture.

Larry O'Toole

Larry then did a great promo for the library service and promptly launched the book.

Séamas Ó Maitiú & Larry O'Toole

Last year's lecture was entitled Alleys, annals and anecdotes: a new look at Gilbert's History of Dublin. It was given by Séamas Ó Maitiú, and, if you are interested, you can see it and some previous Gilbert Lectures here.

[Update - 22/4/2015: The audio of Kevin Whelan's presentation is up on the above site].

L-R: Máire Kennedy, Librarian Dublin & Irish Collections;
Kevin Whelan, Michael Smurfitt Director of the Keough Notre
Dame Centre Dublin;
Mary Hanafin, Councillor, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown;
Margaret Hayes, City Librarian;
Larry O'Toole, Deputy Lord Mayor & City Councillor.

Dublin

Brendan Teeling
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The occasion was the launching of the book Dublin - The Making of a Capital City by David Dickson, Professor of Modern History at TCD. The book is a magnum opus and draws heavily on the work of those who went before. It covers a thousand years of the Capital's history, from the Viking era to the Spire, of which more later.

The master of ceremonies was Deputy City Librarian, Brendan Teeling, last seen on my website at Raheny library's fortieth anniversary celebration.

He teed it up nicely for Dermot Lacey who was launching the book on behalf of the Lord Mayor.

Dermot Lacey

Dermot is a member of Dublin City Council and a himself former Lord Mayor. Not only does he have a great love for Dublin city, but, unlike many another launcher, he had actually read the book he was launching, all 700 pages of it.

In the course of an erudite and humorous speech, he called on the Bank of Ireland to return its building on College Green to the State for use as a museum of Dublin. It is now bailout call in time. Not only was Dublin, until today, lacking this sort of overview survey history, it still lacks a proper museum of Dublin. It was made clear that this was not meant as any reflection on the wonderful Little Museum of Dublin on St. Stephen's Green.

Dermot also confessed to having mixed feelings about the Spire. He said that when asked what he thought of it he would throw the question back at the questioner. If they didn't like it he would tell them he voted against it at the time. If they did like it he would tell them that, as Lord Mayor, he inaugurated it.

Mary Daly

Mary Daly, Professor of History at UCD and currently the first woman president of the Royal Irish Academy in its 229 year history, paid tribute to the book, the first to cover such a period in the Capital's history in such a scholarly and readable manner. She felt that only David Dickson could have produced such a work.

David Dickson

David Dickson made the point that the book could not have been produced without the access to sources provided by the digital age, and without the work that went before him on which he drew massively.

I note that he remarks, on page 562, regarding the Spire, that "Certainly its scale served to diminish the verticality of O'Connell Street". That gave me great encouragement as it is a point I have been making about both the Spire and its predecessor, the Pillar, for many a year. I can still remember being amazed at how majestic a building the GPO was revealed as in the immediate aftermath of the demolition of Nelson's Pillar in 1966, and how much wider O'Connell Street looked in its absence. It might have been a fitting gesture, in this 1916 centenary year, to have demolished the Spire, a monument to Celtic Tiger hubris and an insult to the leaders of the Rising, and to have restored the GPO to its rightful prominence. Those last bits are me talking and I have no idea whether they might be shared by David Dickson. Must ask him sometime.

The launch took place, appropriately enough, in the Dublin City Library and Archive in Pearse St. This venue has been developed over the years and is not only a research library, but it houses much of the City's archive and, in recent years, has acquired a fine lecture hall and exhibition space.

Needless to say, the speakers paid a handsome and well deserved tribute to what Dermot called "the two Marys", Máire Kennedy in charge on the library side and Mary Clarke on the archives. There's hardly a work of note relating to the city of Dublin, including the present book, which does not figure one or both of these generous scholars in the acknowledgements section.

Family History Day 2014

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The Dublin City Library and Archive organises a Family History Day in March and a Local History Day in October every year. The day consists of a number of 45 minute presentations on relevant but not necessarily related topics.

Today (28/3/2014) saw the Family History Day. The conference room was full and the programme packed with goodies.

However, before launching into the talks, it was Máire Kennedy's sad duty to call for a minute of silence for Shane Mac Thomáis who died tragically at the end of last week. You can see a tribute to Shane here.

The programme kicked off with Conor Dodd taking us through the available military records, with particular emphasis on WWI, the centenary commemoration of which starts this year. Conor has been a long time at this and seemed to know the UK National Archive in Kew like the back of his hand.

He was followed by his father, Liam, who took us through the Irish Lights records. Liam has spend some 30 odd years in the service and not only is he familiar with what is available, he was responsible himself for destroying a fair bit of what is not available, and while he now bemoans the destruction of many records including those he destroyed himself, he has a clear conscience as he acted under orders and the objective at the time was simply to free up precious space.

Ricky Shannon took us through her vast family of tanners, many of whom lived in the James's St./Mount Brown area. She told of a small planned family reunion which quickly expanded to take 100 people but which nevetheless proved a great success.

The afternoon kicked off with Jacinta Prunty illustrating the usefulness of maps to the family historian. She showed how many maps have unexpected quantities of genealogical information and made the point that one always needs to walk the walk, even if it is only on paper. The physical/geographical element provided by maps is a vital element in getting the sense of a place and these are becoming increasingly available including in the series of town atlases which is being added to all the time.

Jacinta continues to field questions at the end of a very lively Q&A, while Máire manages the digital transition to the next session.

Padraic Kennedy gave us a whistlestop tour through the Irish military archives of which he is Director. These archives have a vast amount of material which is being steadily digitised. While it is necessary to make an appointment to visit the archives, you get the royal treatment as soon as you go through the door. I can testify to that from my own experience.

And finally we get to Rosie Hackett. Rosie has got the latest bridge over the Liffey named after her following a very intensive online campaign conducted mainly by three young ladies whose enthusiasm for the task sometimes led to supporters of the Rosie campaign rewriting of history on the fly.

Never mind. James Curry demolished the myth and revealed behind it a very worthy and fascinating lady who well deserves to have the bridge named after her. He helped prepare a pamphlet showing the real Rosie Hackett and this will be launched by Dublin City Council on 9 May next.

Meanwhile there will be some tidying up of the records to be done, not least replacing the photo of Lady Gregory on Rosie's current Wikipedia page with one of the real Rosie. The page is here and hopefully by the time you get round to looking it up it will have been straightened out.

Máire

The previous post deals with a talk by Mary Clarke, Dublin City Archivist, whose office adjoins the reading room in the Dublin City Library and Archive (DCLA) in Pearse St.

The office next to hers is occupied by Máire Kennedy, Divisional Librarian, and they are both series editors of one of the Council's series of publications. The most recent publication in this series is "A City in Conflict: Dublin City and the 1913 Lockout" (ed Francis Devine). The detail above shows Máire with President Higgins on the occasion of a presentation to him of a copy of the book.

I have been dealing with Máire now, quite intensively, since 2008 when I persuaded her to let me give my first talk at that year's local history day in the marvellous lecture room in Pearse St. In the intervening years I managed to get her to let me do four more talks covering both local history (Killiney) and my family history.

Her help, enthusiasm and blind faith have been a wonder to behold. She didn't bat an eylid when I told her I would be using the projector, sound and real time online customised interactive Google maps in my first talk. I have a sneaking suspicion that she welcomed the opportunity to show off the, then relatively new, lecture room facilities.

Fortunately all went well, and, as I said, both she and I have been back for more.

Both Máire and Mary make for a formidable team in DCLA, ever patient, generous with their attention and time, enormously helpful, and wearing their learning and qualifications with an excess of modesty.