There is a website called South Dublin Images. It has been created by South Dublin Libraries as part of their Local Studies Collection. The collection includes: photographs, postcards, slides, prints, illustrations, maps and digital material. The database content has been developed by the Local Studies Section at the County Library in Tallaght.
You can search images of particular areas of Dublin and some other counties by using the location option or you can search by keyword.
I searched by the location name Donnybrook and got three images all of which were maps. The date was 1837. You click on view to see a larger image of the map. Below the image is the source citation and location of the document.
You can download and reproduce the images for your personal use. You require permission to publish the images. There is an option to purchase a laser print of image, a copy on floppy disc or on CD-ROM and by email free of charge.
I tried the keyword search with the term “Dodder” this is a river that ran through Dublin and part of it passed behind my Grandparents home in Donnybrook. My Grandmother would walk her dogs along the tow path on a regular basis. As a small child this is where I learned the importance of the dock leaf when you touch nettles. If you touch nettles against your skin they sting you. Dock leaves always grow near nettles and if you pick one and rub the spot where the nettles touched it will numb the area.
There was a small sweet shop at the end of the path in Clonskeagh where we would sometimes stop. The shop was so tiny you could only fit a couple of people inside. The elderly lady behind the counter always greeted us with a smile. There were rows of sweet jars behind the counter with the weight scale and small white bags to put your purchase in. We would go in and get a quarter pound of jelly babies or licorice babies.
If you have Irish ancestors particularly from the Dublin area why not go in and see what you can find.
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