Our Books
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 purchase now.
(The books retail at €18 each and all three books can be purchased at a special price of €48.)
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 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.
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.
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.
MUSEUM by Dragana Jurišić and Paula Meehan
Renowned Irish poet, Paula Meehan and award-winning photographer, Dragana Jurišić join forces to create a book celebrating the varied history of, and the lives lived in, 14 Henrietta Street. The result is ‘MUSEUM’, a 68-page book, featuring 11 sonnets inspired by the house, with accompanying photography taken in and from the house. Both Paula’s words and Dragana’s photography beautifully capture the story of the building and the lives lived in it.
Visitors to the house will already be familiar with ‘This Bed, This Raft on Stormy Seas’, which features as part of the guided tours and is voiced by Paula Meehan. Paula, who grew up in tenement housing in Dublin, said: “I feel privileged for a myriad of reasons to have been invited to respond to the house and to make this poetry sequence. 14 Henrietta Street and its hauntings gripped my imagination from the moment I first crossed the threshold." Dragana Jurišić added: “It was the walls of the house that fascinated me the most: with layer upon layer of old wallpaper or paint, pictures, graffiti, they were like secret maps inviting you to imagine the hundreds of destinies 14 Henrietta Street witnessed.”
MUSEUM’ is unique to 14 Henrietta Street and allows people to take home a piece of the museum and to reflect on and to share its story. If you have any questions in relation to the delivery of your purchase please email us at info@14henriettastreet.ie.