Page 121 - Gullivers

Jonathan Swift, Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, was born in Dublin in 1667,
and died there 78 years later in 1745.
Of English parentage, his birthplace was
in Hoey’s Court, a small square of tall seventeenth-century houses in the Dutch style, behind Werburgh Street, not far from St. Patrick’s, where he served for over forty years, first as prebendary and then as dean. Although a reluctant Dubliner he is cherished by the people of the city and is considered one of Dublin’s most eminent sons. In his day he was a well-known
wit, renowned in high society, but his witticisms and sayings penetrated to the ordinary people and they were celebrated in song and story. These stories and ballads associated with ‘the Dane’ (Dean) have lived on in Irish folklore. He was a friend to the poor of the city, giving much of his income for charitable purposes and leaving money in his will to found St. Patrick’s Hospital for Imbeciles, opened in 1757.
Swift’s writings occupy a central place in the holdings of Dublin City Libraries, ranging from his political works, prose, satires, verse and sermons to his collected works in many editions. Early editions of these works in English and in translation were collected by Sir John T. Gilbert during
the nineteenth century and his important library was purchased for the city in 1900. Early editions continue to be collected today, new editions, often augmented by critical notes, verse, and prose works in illustrated editions, are actively sought. Foreign language editions of Swift’s works also find a place in the holdings, from early editions to recent translations. This area
is currently being expanded to encourage research. Swift holdings have been acquired by donation and purchase since the setting up of the public library service in Dublin city in 1884. Modern editions of Swift’s works are available for lending through
the branch library network and editions of Gulliver’sTravels for adults and children are purchased as they are published.
Dublin City Library and Archive in Pearse Street holds early editions of Swift’s works, including political tracts published in London, and pamphlets concerning
Irish affairs published in Dublin in the first decades of the eighteenth century. Dublin editions were originally issued by the printers John Harding, his widow Sarah Harding, and Thomas Hume. Swift involved himself in the controversy surrounding Wood’s halfpence. His Letters, signed M.
B., Drapier, were written in opposition to
VI. Dublin City Public Libraries’ Swist Collection
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