What were women reading for relaxation and entertainment during the 1950s and 60s? Find out more with Dr Caitríona Clear in this intriguing talk about women’s magazines of the period. Caitríona is the author of Women’s Voices in Ireland: women’s magazines in the 1950s and 60s and has written extensively on women and rural Ireland, household work and homemakers during the decades following independence.

Recorded at the Studio Theatre, dlr Lexicon on Mon 15, April 2019.

Listen back on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/dlr-soundcloud/womens-magazines-and-problem-pages-of-the-1950s-and-60s

Sweet sorrow is a novel about the joy and angst of first love, the potency of friendship, the worry and the misery too. It is a tragicomedy about a turning point in the life of an unremarkable young man who is suddenly offered an opportunity to change his fortunes. David Nicholls, the bestselling author of Starter for Ten, One Day and Us, aims to make the reader think, ‘yes, I remember exactly what that felt like’. Few writers can tug at the heartstrings as convincingly and eloquently as David Nicholls. His most recent screenwriting credits include Patrick Melrose, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, adapted from the novels by Edward St Aubyn.

Recorded at dlr LexIcon on Monday 22 July 2019

Listen back on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/dlr-soundcloud/an-evening-with-david-nicholls

To celebrate the poetry of Gerard Fanning, friend and fellow poet Gerald Dawe gave a talk entitled 'Gerard Fanning: Poet of the County' on Thursday 17 October 2019 in the Studio Theatre, dlr LexIcon. Gerald was joined by poet and novelist Conor O'Callaghan, actor Cathy Belton and piper Mick O'Brien.

Gerard Fanning, who died in 2017, lived in Blackrock and worked in the Irish Civil Service. His books of poetry include Easter Snow, Working for the Government, Water and Power, Hombre: new and selected poems and the unpublished Rookery. He was awarded The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 1993.

Recorded at dlr LexIcon on Thursday 17 October 2019

Listen back on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/dlr-soundcloud/an-evening-with-david-nicholls

A unique evening of poetry, featuring three dynamic women poets: Rosamund Taylor, winner of the 2017 Mairtín Crawford Award, Jessica Traynor, author of two collections, most recently, The quick, and Grace Wilentz, whose chapbook Holding distance is forthcoming with Green Bottle Press. The poets will read on themes as diverse as travel, loss, sexuality, myth and witches.

Recorded at dlr LexIcon on Wed, 14 August 2019.

Listen back on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/dlr-soundcloud/poetry-evening-with-rosamund-taylor-jessica-traynor-and-grace-wilentz

The Vogue is an unforgettable novel of ghosts, lies and the ways in which the past can return with a vengeance. Late 1944, and two teenagers dance the Vogue in silence on the projectionist’s floor of the Cranfield Aerodrome. Decades later, a ghost returns to the shifting sands. Names have long since been changed; children long since cast out; lies long thought forgotten. Set against an eerie landscape, awash with secrets, The Vogue is a grimly poetic dance through the intertwined stories of a deeply religious community, an abandoned military base, and a long-shuttered children’s Care Home.

Recorded at dlr LexIcon, Dún Laoghaire on Tues 6 November 2018.

Listen back on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/dlr-soundcloud/eoin-mcnamee-in-conversation-with-paula-shields

In what has become a time-honoured tradition, Dún Laoghaire-based poet Gerald Dawe provided local audiences with a special event to mark his most recent collection, hosted by dlr Libraries. Gerald’s The last peacock, published by The Gallery Press was launched with a visual essay by Dr Éimear O’Connor, interspersed with readings by Gerald from The last peacock.

Recorded at dlr LexIcon, Dún Laoghaire on Mon, 18 Nov 2019.

Listen back on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/dlr-soundcloud/the-last-peacock-gerald-dawe-and-dr-eimear-oconnor

Robert Harris returned to dlr LexIcon to talk about his new novel The second sleep. In this disturbing and prescient thriller, he offers a unique take on who we are and where we're heading. Turning his attention to the future and taking inspiration from the world in which we're living, Harris examines our dependence on technology and how this might ultimately lead to our downfall. The second sleep, his dazzling new novel, is destined to thrill, shock and unnerve.

Recorded at dlr LexIcon, Dún Laoghaire on Thurs, 12 September 2019.

Listen back on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/dlr-soundcloud/robert-harris-in-conversation-with-declan-hughes

On 23 October a day-long seminar was held in the Studio Theatre, celebrating the centenary of the Oratory of the Sacred Heart. This podcast has all the talks from the day so slide forward to hear the various speakers.

0:00:00 - A Road to God: Sr Concepta’s Oratory of the Sacred Heart. Dr Síghle Bhreathnach-Lynch, Art Historian.
00:26:45 - Women Religious and Oral History. Dr Catriona Delaney, Convent Collections Fellow, UCD. 
00:54:00 - Selection of teaching orders in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.
Mount Anville, David Gunning, dlr Archivist in Residence at dlr LexIcon.
Loreto Dalkey, Sarah Greene, oral historian and Oratory guide.
Dominican Convent, Dún Laoghaire, Liz Clarke Pilkington, Oratory guide.
1:55:05 - Through Her Eyes: Writing Women’s Histories. Clodagh Finn, journalist and writer.
2:25:20 - Dún Laoghaire Arts Centre (DLAC). Marian Thérese Keyes, Librarian, dlr LexIcon.
2:41:15 - Vintage Values: Marketing Religion. Lír Mac Cárthaigh, Art Director,Veritas.
3:00:25 - The Cultural Revival in Glass: Harry Clarke and the Geneva Window. Fiana Griffin, Irish Art Studies.

Recorded at dlr LexIcon, Dún Laoghaire on Wed, 23 October 2019.

Listen back on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/dlr-soundcloud/seminar-oratory-of-the-sacred-heart-dun-laoghaire

Mary Costello’s eagerly-awaited second novel, The River Capture, tells of one man’s descent into near madness, and the search for rescue. Luke O’Brien has left Dublin to live a quiet life on his family land on the bend of the River Sullane. Alone in his big house, he longs for a return to his family’s heyday and turns to books for solace. This is a novel about love, loyalty and the raging forces of nature. More than anything, it is a book about the life of the mind and the redemptive powers of art. In the words of Sara Baume, ‘it is as near perfect as it is possible for a novel to be’.

Recorded at dlr LexIcon, Dún Laoghaire on Wed, 23 October 2019.

Listen back on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/dlr-soundcloud/mary-costello-in-conversation-with-nadine-oregan