Publications
Dublin Civic Trust publishes books, pamphlets and information leaflets on the built heritage of Dublin. Our highly popular series of books on the secondary streets of Dublin brings the reader through the origins of each street, the history and architecture of their historic building stock, a full building inventory, and a vision for improvement.
Our flagship publication Irish Period Houses - A Conservation Guidance Manual has recently been comprehensively rewritten and can be purchased below.
Pricing & Postage
All prices quoted include postage and packaging to Ireland and the UK only (unless otherwise stated below). For orders from outside Ireland and the UK, please email our office in advance of placing you order to confirm postage rates.
Credit card payment is easily and securely processed through PayPal (no account is required - just click the Pay with Debit or Credit Card button at the bottom of the PayPal page).
We aim to dispatch orders within one working day of receipt, but please allow up to seven days for delivery. If you wish to make multiple purchases, please contact our office on info@dublincivictrust.ie, where we'll be pleased to process your order.
Irish Period Houses - A Conservation Guidance Manual
Irish Period Houses – A Conservation Guidance Manual is a brand new revision of the previous edition of Period Houses, printed in 2001, which was a pioneering manual for best practice repair and maintenance of period houses in Dublin. The 2016 edition, undertaken by the same author, conservation surveyor Frank Keohane, greatly widens the scope of the manual with a comprehensive array of new topics now covering all of Ireland.
Irish Period Houses provides invaluable information for the homeowner and building professional into the design of traditional houses, their construction materials and decorative elements, and expert guidance on how they can be repaired and enhanced with best conservation practice. The book is arranged into 25 easily navigated chapters, with subjects ranging from traditional walls and roofs, windows, internal joinery, damp, timber decay, decorative finishes and energy efficiency. A unique feature is the array of specifications from historic builder’s manuals and architect’s instructions which provide an invaluable insight into how Ireland’s buildings were originally assembled.
Over 1000 colour illustrations and diagrams provide useful instruction on typical features and materials used in Irish traditional buildings, problems commonly encountered, and best practice solutions for their conservation, repair and replacement where necessary. Author Frank Keohane distils years of surveying experience working on hundreds of historic buildings of all types and periods across Ireland. Many of the country's leading conservation contractors have also contributed to the rich array of instructive images and case studies featured.
For anyone who owns, manages or occupies a traditional building in Ireland, or who is thinking of taking on a building conservation project, this is the must-have, definitive reference guide to the subject.
Author: Frank Keohane
Format: Hardback, 272 pages, with colour illustrations
Price: €45.00 + pp
ONLINE PURCHASE OPTIONS INCLUDING POSTAGE
IRELAND €55 GREAT BRITAIN €60 EUROPE €63 US & REST OF THE WORLD €78
The Streets of Dublin: 1910~1911
This handsome new book comprises 45 essays written by former Lord Mayor of Dublin, Alderman Thomas Kelly, as first published between October 1910 and December 1911 in Sinn Fein, the Irish nationalist newspaper. They offer a fascinating insight into the Dublin of the nineteenth century, describing the streets, trades and indeed the hardship suffered by the population in the decades after the Act of Union in 1801 and the departure of the political class.
The book reproduces the series of articles in their own idiom and style, cataloguing the decline of the traditional trades and industries of the city as observed by Kelly. He recounts the history of many streets, giving us insights into the social and colourful life of many of their inhabitants. He has a clear view of the political realities of the time and outlines the effect the importation of cheap goods from England had on Irish ways of life. Kelly consistently expresses his concern for his fellow citizens, the effect the destruction of the traditional industries has had on their lives, and the consequent loss of their dignity. His narrative also contains judgment on many political figures of the nineteenth century and laments the decline of the fine buildings and streetscapes which had made Dublin a city of architectural significance and which, in his opinion writing in 1910, it no longer was.
Elegantly illustrated with original hand drawings by David Rowe, this is a must-have book for anyone with an interest in the social and landscape history of Dublin.
Author: Thomas Kelly, edited by Sheila Carden
Format: Softback, 216 pages, with black & white, hand-drawn illustrations
Price: €16.00 + pp
ORDER ONLINE INCLUDING POSTAGE
For postage rates to outside of Ireland, please email our office before placing your order
Dawson, Molesworth & Kildare Streets
Dawson, Molesworth and Kildare Streets comprise the most prestigious network of streets in Dublin, located in a parkland setting between the grounds of Trinity College and St. Stephen's Green. They play host to some of the most important buildings and institutions of State in Ireland, and feature a unique blend of Georgian houses and Victorian retail premises.
Discover the story behind the development of Leinster House, the speculative carve-up of the Molesworth Fields, and the transformation of the district from a sleepy residential enclave to 'first class shopping' streets by the middle of the 19th century. This book will bring you on a journey through the social and architectural history of some of the most famous thoroughfares in Ireland.
Author: Robin Usher
Format: Softback, 89 pages with b&w illustrations
Price: €12 + pp
ORDER ONLINE INCLUDING POSTAGE
For postage rates to outside of Ireland, please email our office before placing your order
Meath & Francis Streets
Meath Street and Francis Street in Dublin's Liberties are two of the most historically significant streets in Dublin, with their origins rooted in the expansion of the medieval western suburb of the city. Their building stock has seen much change in recent years but many historic buildings remain, some of which are amongst the oldest in Dublin.
Today, the streets play an important role in the social and commercial life of the Liberties, with a distinctive character that is worth protecting. Learn about some of the earliest estate management in Dublin, the 'Dutch Billy' legacy, and the commercial enterprises of the Victorian period. This book will bring you on a journey through the social and architectural history of Meath Street and Francis Street.
Author: Graham Hickey
Format: Softback, 58 pages with b&w illustrations
Price: €12 + pp
ORDER ONLINE INCLUDING POSTAGE
For postage rates to outside of Ireland, please email our office before placing your order
Capel Street
Capel Street is a narrow thoroughfare leading from Bolton Street to the River Liffey. An aristocratic residential street in the 18th century, it was once one of the most fashionable addresses in the city, laid out by Sir Humphrey Jervis in the 1670s on the lands of St. Mary's Abbey. Once lined with Anglo-Dutch style houses, it now a vibrant commercial street with a host of local businesses, occupying converted town houses and purpose-built Victorian retail premises.
Discover the story of Boland's Bakery, the original designs for Essex Bridge, and catch glimpses of some of the oldest staircases in Dublin. This book will bring you on a journey through the social and architectural history of Capel Street.
Author: Olwyn James
Format: Softback, 83 pages with b&w illustrations
Price: €12 + pp
ORDER ONLINE INCLUDING POSTAGE
IRELAND & UK €19
For postage rates to outside of Ireland, please email our office before placing your order
Thomas Street
Thomas Street is one of the oldest streets in Dublin, corresponding to the eastern terminus of the great Slige Mor, one of Ireland's four ancient highways. In the medieval period it developed into the most important street in the western suburb of Dublin, lined with timber cage-work houses and later brick dwellings in the gabled 'Dutch Billy' style.
The strong mercantile and industrial tradition of the 18th and 19th centuries can still be seen today in the impressive array of commercial buildings that line the street, interspersed with modest houses and fine historic churches. Discover the story of St. Thomas's Abbey, Power's Distillery and the transformative exploits of the Wide Streets Commission. This book will bring you on a journey through the social and architectural history of Thomas Street.
Author: Emmeline Henderson
Format: Softback, 81 pages with b&w illustrations
Price: €12 + pp
ORDER ONLINE INCLUDING POSTAGE
IRELAND & UK €19
For postage rates to outside of Ireland, please email our office before placing your order
Pearse Street
Pearse Street stretches from the city centre to where the circular line of the Grand Canal meets the sea. Sited on land reclaimed from the Liffey estuary, it is a relatively young street, coming to prominence in the early 19th century as a grand commercial thoroughfare planned by the Wide Streets Commissioners flanking the grounds of Trinity College.
A highly eclectic building stock dating from a variety of periods lends Pearse Street a distinctive character that reflects the transition from the Georgian to the Victorian city. Featuring an extensive chapter outlining a vision for the future of the thoroughfare, this book will bring you on a journey through the social and architectural history of Pearse Street.
Author: Katriona Byrne
Format: Softback, 135 pages with b&w illustrations
Price: €12 + pp
ORDER ONLINE INCLUDING POSTAGE
IRELAND & UK €19
For postage rates to outside of Ireland, please email our office before placing your order
Henrietta Street: Numbers 8~10
The grandest and formerly the most fashionable Georgian street in Dublin, Henrietta Street on the city's north side hosts some of the finest urban mansions of any city in these islands. Built on a lavish scale with remarkable attention to interior decoration, Numbers 8~10, owned by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent De Paul, are the oldest houses on the street dating to the early 1730s.
With a particular focus on these houses, this beautifully illustrated book explores the history of Dublin's most celebrated Georgian enclave, offering an insight into each of the houses on the street, their design and their social background. The magnificent restoration of Numbers 8~10 by the Daughters of Charity is also charted. An ideal gift for anyone with an interest in Georgian Dublin.
Authors: Staff of Dublin Civic Trust
Format: Softback, 63 pages with colour illustrations
Price: €12 + pp
ORDER ONLINE INCLUDING POSTAGE
IRELAND & UK €19
For postage rates to outside of Ireland, please email our office before placing your order
Wallpapers: History and Conservation in Ireland
Published as part of an historic wallpapers exhibition hosted by Dublin Civic Trust, this beautifully illustrated 8-page colour pamphlet charts the development of wall coverings and wallpapers from the 1600s to the present day. It describes wallpaper types, manufacturing techniques and changing styles and fashions in 18th and 19th-century Ireland.
Wallpaper conservator and manufacturer David Skinner also provides an insight into the challenges of conserving historic wallpapers, and the processes involved in reproducing them using traditional techniques. A rare, must-have resource for anyone interested in historic interior decoration.
Author: Charles Duggan, with David Skinner
Format: Pamphlet, 8 pages with colour illustrations
Price: €5
ORDER ONLINE INCLUDING POSTAGE
IRELAND & UK €8
For postage rates to outside of Ireland, please email our office before placing your order
The Irish House: An Teach Gaelach - 1870~1968
One of the most eccentric buildings ever erected in Dublin, The Irish House on Wood Quay stood as a unique architectural statement of political and historical intent. Erected in 1870 as a public house, its distinctive facade of nationalistic iconography playing out scenes from Irish history overlooked the River Liffey for almost a century, until its demolition in 1968 for the building of Dublin Corporation's Civic Offices.
A series of short essays by those who knew and have studied the building, this well illustrated 35-page colour booklet, in both English and Irish, shines a light on one of the many forgotten buildings from Dublin's past.
Contributors: Peter Walsh, Professor Kevin B. Nowlan, Nicki Gordon Bowe, Sean Lynch & Graham Hickey
Format: Booklet, 35 pages with colour illustrations
Price: €10.00
ORDER ONLINE INCLUDING POSTAGE
IRELAND & UK €16
For postage rates to outside of Ireland, please email our office before placing your order
Period Houses (2001 Edition)
Our well known and most popular publication, the first edition of Period Houses is a comprehensive guidance manual on the principles of maintenance, repair and conservation for the owners and occupiers of period houses, as well as their professional advisers.
The manual covers a broad range of subjects, including structural problems and their repair, joinery, brickwork, ironwork, decorative plasterwork and much more. While the book concentrates mainly on period houses in Dublin, the principles set out can be applied to a wide variety of historic houses and buildings around the country.
Author: Frank Keohane
Format: Softback, 148 pages with colour illustrations
Price: €10
ORDER ONLINE INCLUDING POSTAGE
For postage rates to outside of Ireland & UK, please email our office before placing your order
