Charleville Mall at 125

A Dublin Story of Welcome, Learning and Renewal

Last Saturday (15 November 2025), we marked 125 years of Charleville Mall Library—a North Strand landmark that has offered knowledge, welcome and opportunity since 1900. In the packed library hall, neighbours, families and staff celebrated a century-and-a-quarter of service, from the revolutionary era through the North Strand bombings to today’s vibrant, modern network. We even unveiled a beautiful community memory quilt, stitched with care by local hands—a fitting symbol of a library woven into the life of its place.

Why this matters

When Charleville Mall opened, Dublin was preparing for Queen Victoria’s visit and Maud Gonne was organising the “Patriotic Children’s Treat”—proof that even in divided times, Dubliners shared a radical idea: access to books and learning should belong to everyone. That conviction has endured. In 2024 alone, Charleville Mall welcomed 37,000 visitors and hosted nearly 3,000 events—from book clubs and poetry circles to sensory sessions for toddlers and Japanese cultural exchanges.

As I said in my remarks, libraries aren’t relics; they’re essential civic infrastructure—places where a child leaves with a universe under their arm, a newcomer finds belonging, and an older neighbour discovers new confidence online.

Our five commitments (grounded in the 2025–2029 Libraries Plan)

To honour the anniversary, we set out five practical, near-term commitments—how we deliver the strategy in this community:

1. Open when people need us – Review and extend opening hours (starting in the NEIC) and expand My Open Library for early-to-late access, seven days a week.
2. Spaces that work – More desks, more sockets, better study areas—alongside the capital pipeline including the new City Library at Parnell Square.
3. Digital access for all – Upgrade Wi-Fi and PCs, extend laptop-lending, roll out a new user app, and pilot makerspace tools and e-government support here in the NEIC.
4. Inclusion by design – Deepen ESOL, dyslexia-friendly and sensory-friendly programmes; expand outreach with the electric library van; strengthen school partnerships.
5. Memory → Imagination – Accelerate digitisation of North Strand history and connect it online—so a young person can meet their grandparents’ Dublin with a few taps—and pair it with future-focused programming (STEM, climate literacy, creative writing).

If we do these five things well—access, space, digital, inclusion, memory—we won’t just preserve a great library; we’ll equip a great city.

A word of thanks

My thanks to City Librarian Mairéad Owens and the entire Dublin City Libraries team; to the staff and volunteers at Charleville Mall, past and present; and to the community who keep this place alive. Your dedication is why Charleville Mall remains a safe, civic, democratic space where everyone belongs.

Here’s to the next chapter—Celebrating Dublin by keeping the library door open, wider than ever, for the next 125 years.