Early Printed Books and Special Collections

15 posts

An Piarsach, a Phaimfléid agus Aithreacha an Náisiúin

Ar lá Nollaig 1915 i Scoil Éanna, Rath Fearnáin, chuir Pádraig Mac Piarais críoch lena chéad phaimfléad– Ghosts. Ar lá breithe Íosa féin, leag sé amach stair thuiscint na saoirse mar a tháinig sé ó na glúine a d’imigh roimhe- aithreacha an náisiúin- Tone, Emmet, Davis, Lalor, Mitchel agus Parnell […]

Ruthless Duplicity

The historian Fearghal McGarry has described the Irish Republican Brotherhood’s way of doing things as ‘ruthless duplicity’. Joseph Plunkett, who was responsible for the so-called ‘Castle Document’, was inducted into the IRB by late summer 1914 after the Kilcoole gun-running. Already a leading member of the Irish Volunteers, he followed […]

Among the Nations: Poblacht na hÉireann

Probably the most iconic example of Irish printing, ‘The provisional government of the Irish Republic to the people of Ireland’ was read aloud by Patrick Pearse outside Dublin’s General Post Office (GPO) at the beginning of the 1916 Easter Rising. The history of the Proclamation is well documented. Drafted by […]

Can you be loyal to China?

Stationed in France in 1916, Patrick Hone maintained a witty correspondence with his wife Mary, which began the new year with a signed card from him and his comrades. He drew a sketch on its front of him sitting on a motorbike and smoking a pipe, ‘Mudguard Hone out for […]

The Capuchin Annual and 1916

The twentieth, twenty-fifth and fiftieth anniversaries of the Easter Rising, 1916 were commemorated by The Capuchin Annual in volumes 1936, 1942 and 1966. The Capuchin Annual espoused a very strong Irish nationalist and Catholic identity and its interpretation of the Rising was framed within this context. It also served to […]

At The Sign Of The Three Candles

Canon Charles O’Neill’s ballad The foggy dew is synonymous with the events of Easter 1916. Shortly after printing this copy in 1919 the firm O’Loughlin, Murphy & Boland experienced financial trouble and insolvency. Proprietor John O’Loughlin soon found employment with his son, Colm Ó Lochlainn (1892-1972), who had earlier established […]

Excerpt from 'Sixteen dead men'

Sixteen dead men

The Irish poet and sculptor Dora Sigerson Shorter (1866-1918) was profoundly affected by the 1916 Easter Rising and mourned those who had lost their lives in the rebellion in her verse. Dora was born in Dublin in 1866, the eldest daughter of George Sigerson, a physician, Gaelic scholar and writer, […]

The Golden Jubilee in 1966

1966 marked the 50th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising and in this week’s post we take a look back at some of the golden jubilee commemorations. In addition to official events in the Republic sponsored by the government’s commemoration committee, local ceremonies and celebrations took place in all 32 counties […]

Coming into his force

The impact of conflict on families features as a theme regularly on Changed Utterly. We have learned of the occupation of Denis Johnston’s house in Ballsbridge and the tragic accounts of the Boyle and Kidd families. This week, the trend continues as we look at the Gifford family and in […]

Caught in a bind

Until now our weekly blog posts have concentrated on a specific collection or a particular item among the holdings of our Library. This week’s theme, however, is about items no longer available to consult as a direct consequence of events during Easter week 1916. Before our in-house bindery was established, […]

The Catholic Bulletin’s ‘Events of Easter Week’

The Catholic Bulletin was first published in 1911 as The Catholic Book Bulletin, a monthly review of Catholic literature and soon established itself as a family magazine with popular appeal and an estimated circulation of 10,00-15,000. While not overtly political in the beginning, the Bulletin was opposed to the English […]

Exit Stage Left

The majority of our weekly posts relate directly to events surrounding the 1916 Rising. However, we also have the opportunity to delve deeper into the collections and realign the focus to include topics such as 20th century social and living conditions, fallout from the conflict, and significant commemorations etc. This […]

History of a Conflagration – A Record of the Rebellion

One of the earliest published accounts of the 1916 Rising written “while the ruins [were] still smouldering” is A record of the Irish rebellion of 1916 published by the magazine ‘Irish Life’. Received by Trinity College Library on the 29th of June 1916, this issue contains a history of events […]