Dublin-born poet and author Austin Clarke (1896 - 1974) amassed a large personal library during his lifetime. Encompassing prose, poetry, drama, literary criticism and biography, this collection of publications is now part of the Poetry Ireland Library, housed in UCD Special Collections. As well as revealing much about Clarke’s own reading interests and the type … Continue reading By the Cover: Dust Jackets and the Austin Clarke Collection
Amid the stress and worry of the world we now find ourselves living in, the change of pace over the past few months has offered many of us time to think more deeply about our immediate surroundings. Whether small reflections on the pleasure gained from hearing birdsong more clearly, or noticing the small progressive changes … Continue reading The Last Hour of the Night
In these unprecedented times, people have been sharing poetry as a way to lift the public mood. Seamus Heaney’s words ‘If we can winter this one out, we can summer anywhere’ have offered solace and hope. Derek Mahon’s Everything’s going to be alright was been broadcast to the nation at the end of a news … Continue reading Words True and Kind
On October 13th 2019, Cardinal John Henry Newman, first rector of the Catholic University of Ireland, will be canonised in Rome. The Catholic University of Ireland (CUI) was opened in 1854 and it is from this institution that University College Dublin traces its origins. The CUI was established as a result of opposition from the … Continue reading Canonisation of Cardinal Newman
“The Workhouse was the most feared and hated institution ever established in Ireland” - John O’Connor, The Workhouses of Ireland. The local workhouse building remains a familiar sight in many towns across the island of Ireland. Built to provide relief for the poor, the controversial and tragic history of these buildings reverberates to this very day. … Continue reading The Workhouse Drawings Collection
So this is our last blog post of 2018 and what a great year we have had! Thank you all for following, reading and commenting on our blogs. We really appreciate your support and suggestions. All of us at UCD Cultural Heritage Collections want to wish you and yours a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy … Continue reading Merry Christmas Y’All
It's that time of year again when the elves are working overtime and Brussels sprout farmers rub their hands together with glee! To get in the Christmas mood the Cultural Heritage Collections units have got together and created a Twitter advent calendar of different Christmas cards found in our collections. So head over to our … Continue reading It’s Christmas!!
How could it happen that an Irish writer who wrote 40 novels between 1912-1948 does not appear in our Dictionary of National Biography? (This is a rhetorical question….) Mrs Victor Rickard, formerly Jessica Louisa Moore, was the author of over forty popular novels and other non- fiction works. One of her books, The Story of … Continue reading The Forgotten Mrs Victor Rickard
As this will be our final blog post of 2017, we at UCD Library Cultural Heritage Collections (CHC) decided to end the year with some beautiful Christmas cards from within the UCD Archives collections. The Christmas cards above and below were sent to Jack and Máire Sweeney by Jacob Bronowski and his wife Rita through the 1960s. … Continue reading Have a Very Merry Christmas
With December only a day away UCD Library Cultural Heritage Collections (CHC) have created an online Happy Heritage Advent Calendar to count you down to that magical of all days, Christmas. This advent calendar picks images from the various Cultural Heritage Collections Units (UCD Archives, UCD Special Collections, National Folklore Collection and the Digital Library) to not … Continue reading Cease fire for Christmas?