Sir John Gilbert
Nineteen-ninety-eight is the centenary of the death of Sir John Gilbert whose valuable legacy to the city and people of Dublin continues to this day. Born in Dublin in 1829, he was a noted book collector, librarian of the Royal Irish Academy, historian and archivist. The Gilbert Library in Pearse Street contains his unique collection, which was purchased by Dublin Corporation, relating to the social, economic and cultural history of Dublin between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. The library also holds a special collection of beautiful eighteenth-century Irish book bindings, a valuable collection of theatre posters and paraphenalia and a collection of Irish newspapers from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Douglas Hyde, who catalogued the collection, described it as ‘one of the most perfect libraries of its kind’. A centenary exhibition, John T. Gilbert and his World, will be open to the public in summer 1998 in the Atrium, Civic Offices, Wood Quay. City Hall, Dame Street, will host a conference on 12 September 1998 and Dublin Corporation Libraries are planning a series of related publications.
Enquiries: Nollaig Hardiman, (01) 6619000.