Join dlr libraries book club discussion from the comfort of your own home!

Do you like reading and discussing books? If you would like to be involved in a live discussion this is the club for you! Join dlr libraries staff and our excellent book club facilitator Mary Burnham, on the last Wednesday of each month at 7.30pm. 

Previous titles:

February 2025: The Granddaughter by Bernhard Schlink

Wed 26 March 2025: Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon

Wed 30 April 2025: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones 

Upcoming titles: 

Wed 28 May 2025: Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead by

The Pale Project is a writing initiative devised by Selina Guinness, dlr Writer in Residence 2015-16. We all know where we live but we don’t always get the chance to consider what it means to inhabit a place or how it might shape our daily lives, our habits and dreams. Each participant chose an area in the county as their individual ‘pale’, a territory they documented in field notes, sketches, maps and photographs.

Participants: David Alvey, Jane Dillon Byrne, Patricia Byrne, Berni Dwan, Denise French, Selina Guinness, Sara Hanley, Veronica Heywood, Glenn Kaufmann, Pádhraig Nolan, Catherine O

This is the story of Private 21526, Cleary, John of 'D' Company, 9th Dublins but it is also the story of his comrades and includes extracts from their surviving letters. John Cleary, like so many others, has no known grave and no photograph of him exists to date. But he is always remembered...

Exhibition curated by dlr Senior Library Assistant Seán Downes and produced by dlr Libraries in 2018.

From its earliest days, Kingstown served as a centre for yachting in Ireland, with the first regatta being held in 1828. Since that time, Dún Laoghaire has continued to host cruising and racing events. This exhibition, curated by David Gunning and originally displayed in the LexIcon to coincide with the 2023 Coastival festival, explores the evolution of yachting in Dún Laoghaire, the history of the various local yacht clubs and their contribution to the development of aquatic sports throughout the years, and the social and cultural significance of regattas for the participants, spectators and

‘This exhibition is a tribute of gratitude to a little stretch of water that has been for me a place of solace and inspiration, those moments when I soothe my mind in all weathers in preparation for a day of heaven-knows-what difficulties and travails. These photographs record the visual impact of the sky, the sun, the spires of four churches seen from the sea, and, of course, the many beautiful birds and sea creatures that share the sea so willingly with us human intruders. From photos of the past to the many recreational pursuits at Seapoint and not forgetting the majestic Martello Tower

In July 2020, it was 55 years since St Michael's Church in Dún Laoghaire burned to the ground.

dlr Archivist in Residence David Gunning has used archival material and photograph albums, donated to dlr Local Studies in 2015, to curate this online exhibition telling the story of the destruction of this vast Gothic Revival church that once stood in the heart of Dún Laoghaire. Find out about the old church and its importance in the town until its destruction by fire in 1965.

dlr Local Studies also holds further archival material relating to the new St Michael's Church, completed in 1973 which will

What was life like in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown over the years? Storyteller Helena Byrne posed this question to members of local day care centres. Enjoy these stirring memories of trips to the Baths on sunny days, shopping in the much-loved local shops of the past such as Lee’s, and getting dressed up for a Saturday night out in the Top Hat! This heartwarming exhibition is the culmination of a social history project to collect and preserve reminiscences and recollections of times gone by.

A huge thanks to the staff and members of all the participating day care centres for sharing their stories

In the mid-1980s, American company Emerald City Productions was set up from scratch in Dún Laoghaire, adjacent to the DART station. Canadian directors Al Guest and Jean Mathieson created a fully serviced animation facility, recruiting fifty people from all walks of life. In five years, ten 50-minute feature-length television films based on classic books were produced. This is the story of Emerald City Productions, bringing us back to the early days of animation activity in Ireland, right here in Dún Laoghaire.

Exhibition curated by Nicola Sedgwick and produced by dlr Libraries in March 2019.

Curated by Patrick Kiersey, this wonderful exhibition consists of 30 photographs, taken over Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown in the 1950s by Norman Ashe. They are of special interest as they depict the area when there were more fields than houses, lanes that became dual carriageways and landmarks that are no longer.

Patrick Kiersey, Art/Photographer teacher, with a keen interest in historical photographic collections, worked in Dún Laoghaire VEC/ETB for many years. He found the collection almost by accident and is restoring the images of aerial photographs from all over Ireland taken in the early 50s