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A Traveller's Companion to Dublin
Dublin's turbulent history, its intensely literary and theatrical character of long literary lineage, its revolutionary ideals and heroes, and its ordinary life are all brought to life in this collection of letters, diaries and memoirs of travellers to the city and by Dubliners themselves. The extracts, from medieval times onwards, include Red Hugh O'Donnell's escape from Dublin Castle, James Joyce's plans for a novel while staying at the Martello Tower, and the seizure of the GPO by Irish volunteers during the Easter Rising. The book also includes gossip and story-telling in the humorous sketches of many famous Dubliners.
- GenresIrelandNonfiction
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
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About the author
Thomas Pakenham
33 books91 followersThomas Francis Dermot Pakenham, 8th Earl of Longford, is known simply as Thomas Pakenham. He is an Anglo-Irish historian and arborist who has written several prize-winning books on the diverse subjects of Victorian and post-Victorian British history and trees. He is the son of Frank Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, a Labour minister and human rights campaigner, and Elizabeth Longford. The well known English historian Antonia Fraser is his sister.
After graduating from Belvedere College and Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1955, Thomas Pakenham traveled to Ethiopia, a trip which is described in his first book The Mountains of Rasselas. On returning to Britain, he worked on the editorial staff of the Times Educational Supplement and later for ,i>The Sunday Telegraph and The Observer. He divides his time between London and County Westmeath, Ireland, where he is the chairman of the Irish Tree Society and honorary custodian of Tullynally Castle.
Thomas Pakenham does not use his title and did not use his courtesy title before succeeding his father. However, he has not disclaimed his British titles under the Peerage Act 1963, and the Irish peerages cannot be disclaimed as they are not covered by the Act. He is unable to sit in the House of Lords as a hereditary peer as his father had, due to the House of Lords Act 1999 (though his father was created a life peer in addition to his hereditary title in order to be able to retain his seat).
After graduating from Belvedere College and Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1955, Thomas Pakenham traveled to Ethiopia, a trip which is described in his first book The Mountains of Rasselas. On returning to Britain, he worked on the editorial staff of the Times Educational Supplement and later for ,i>The Sunday Telegraph and The Observer. He divides his time between London and County Westmeath, Ireland, where he is the chairman of the Irish Tree Society and honorary custodian of Tullynally Castle.
Thomas Pakenham does not use his title and did not use his courtesy title before succeeding his father. However, he has not disclaimed his British titles under the Peerage Act 1963, and the Irish peerages cannot be disclaimed as they are not covered by the Act. He is unable to sit in the House of Lords as a hereditary peer as his father had, due to the House of Lords Act 1999 (though his father was created a life peer in addition to his hereditary title in order to be able to retain his seat).
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 29, 2018
From its beginnings as a ninth-century Viking settlement, Dublin has enjoyed a vibrant history as Ireland’s dominant city. Over the centuries, it has served as a nexus of the economic, political, and cultural events of the island, with many of the key developments in Ireland’s past taking place on its streets and inside its walls. In this book, authors Thomas and Valerie Pakenham have assembled a collection of excerpts from memoirs, letters, diaries, and other contemporary sources, usually from a few paragraphs to a couple of pages in length, that are designed to illuminate its history and evolution throughout the ages.
The editors grouped these literary snapshots into seven sections. Most of these are focused around neighborhoods in the city’s historic center and subdivided around landmarks, from the grandest public buildings to the most disreputable quarters. Here the momentous is interwoven with the mundane, as accounts of historic events are leavened with descriptions of social events and everyday life. Other sections focus on the area around Dublin, the city’s rich culture, and the dramatic events of the Easter Rising and the wars that followed. Taken together, they capture the drama of Dublin’s history, as well as provide a sense of how Dubliners lived their everyday lives.
Yet the strength of this anthology is not in its breadth of coverage but in the quality of the selections. Throughout its pages the Pakenhams demonstrate a judicious eye for the engaging story and the insightful anecdote. This is a book that entertains as well as informs, and I often found myself laughing as I read accounts of some of the more colorful figures that the metropolis has known. It is this quality which makes this book such an enjoyable way of discovering Dublin’s colorful legacy and the path it took to becoming the great city it is today.
The editors grouped these literary snapshots into seven sections. Most of these are focused around neighborhoods in the city’s historic center and subdivided around landmarks, from the grandest public buildings to the most disreputable quarters. Here the momentous is interwoven with the mundane, as accounts of historic events are leavened with descriptions of social events and everyday life. Other sections focus on the area around Dublin, the city’s rich culture, and the dramatic events of the Easter Rising and the wars that followed. Taken together, they capture the drama of Dublin’s history, as well as provide a sense of how Dubliners lived their everyday lives.
Yet the strength of this anthology is not in its breadth of coverage but in the quality of the selections. Throughout its pages the Pakenhams demonstrate a judicious eye for the engaging story and the insightful anecdote. This is a book that entertains as well as informs, and I often found myself laughing as I read accounts of some of the more colorful figures that the metropolis has known. It is this quality which makes this book such an enjoyable way of discovering Dublin’s colorful legacy and the path it took to becoming the great city it is today.
Displaying 1 of 1 review