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14 Henrietta Street publishes three new books

News

Published 18 May 2021

14 Henrietta Street is delighted to present not one, not two, but three publications which expand on, and uncover the lives of the people who lived at 14 Henrietta Street and the surrounding areas.

14 Henrietta Street is a social history museum of Dublin life, from one building’s Georgian beginnings to its tenement times. We connect the history of urban life over 300 years to the stories of the people who called this place home.

Each of the three publications focuses on a significant chapter in the history and evolution of the house; from its grand Georgian beginnings, through its decline into a tenement house, to the last of its residents and their move to suburbia.

These publications are commissioned, edited and published by Dublin City Council Culture Company, written by historians Dr Melanie Hayes, Dr Tim Murtagh and Donal Fallon, and designed by Atelier TypoGraphic Design. They are an extension of the engagement work that runs through the museum.

The three publications are:

14 Henrietta Street: Georgian Beginnings, 1750 - 1800, By Dr Melanie Hayes
14 Henrietta Street; Grandeur and Decline, 1800 - 1922, By Dr Timothy Murtagh
14 Henrietta Street; From Tenement to Suburbia, 1922 - 1979, By Donal Fallon

The books are available to buy now.

(The books retail at €18 each and all three books can be purchased at a special price of €48.)

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14 Henrietta Street: Georgian Beginnings, 1750 - 1800 by Dr Melanie Hayes

In 1800, Henrietta Street was one of the most elegant and elite addresses in all of Georgian Dublin, home to some of the most powerful members of the Anglo-Irish ruling class.

14 Henrietta Street: Georgian Beginnings explores the early history of 14 Henrietta Street, its first residents, the Molesworths, Bowes, and O'Brien families, and the lives lived behind the red brick facade.

About the author
Dr Melanie Hayes is an architectural and cultural historian, specialising in Ireland’s eighteenth-century architectural and social history. Melanie was part of the historian research team at 14 Henrietta Street, and continues to be involved with the museum as a historian for 14 Henrietta Street. Melanie also currently works as a post-doctoral research fellow, on an Irish Research Council advanced laureate project, CRAFTVALUE, at Trinity College Dublin.

Commissioned, edited, and published by Dublin City Council Culture Company, which operates 14 Henrietta Street, and designed by Atelier TypoGraphic Design.

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14 Henrietta Street; Grandeur and Decline, 1800 - 1922 by Dr Timothy Murtagh

By 1900, Henrietta Street had become synonymous with Dublin’s poverty and decline, as almost every house on the street was in use as tenements.

14 Henrietta Street: Grandeur and Decline tells the story of Henrietta Street over the period 1800 to 1914. Using the story of one house and street, the book investigates the nature and origins of Dublin’s housing crisis in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A dark but necessary tale, it is a story of hardship and tragedy – but also of endurance and resilience.

About the author
Dr Timothy Murtagh received his PhD from Trinity College, Dublin in 2015, having completed a thesis on the history of Dublin’s eighteenth-century workers. From 2016–2019, he was a historical consultant to 14 Henrietta Street. In 2020, he was appointed an ‘Archival Discovery Fellow’ to the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, as part of the Beyond 2022 Project.

Commissioned, edited, and published by Dublin City Council Culture Company, which operates 14 Henrietta Street, and designed by Atelier TypoGraphic Design.

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14 Henrietta Street; From Tenement to Suburbia, 1922 - 1979 by Donal Fallon

In the decades that followed independence, Dublin expanded rapidly as new suburban developments attempted to eradicate the tenement landscape. From streets like Henrietta Street, families moved to places like Crumlin, Cabra, Whitehall and later Ballyfermot. Brendan Behan quipped there was ‘no such thing as suburbia, only Siberia’, but others made happy homes there.

14 Henrietta Street; From Tenement to Suburbia tells the story of the last residents of Dublin’s tenements and their move to a new life in the Suburbs and includes the recollections of some of those who made that journey.

About the author
Donal Fallon is a historian, broadcaster and curator from Dublin. Formerly Historian in Residence to Dublin City Council, he is the author of numerous studies of twentieth-century Dublin. He produces the Three Castles Burning podcast and has contributed to publications including Jacobin, Dublin Historical Review, Saothar and The Irish Times. Donal Fallon continues to be involved with the museum as a historian for 14 Henrietta Street.

Commissioned, edited, and published by Dublin City Council Culture Company, which operates 14 Henrietta Street, and designed by Atelier TypoGraphic Design.

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