In Our Day: An Oral History of Dublin's Bygone Days

By Kevin C. Kearns

For over fifty years, historian Kevin C. Kearns trekked the rough-and-tumble streets of the heart of Dublin, hoping to record and preserve the city’s vanishing oral history. Armed only with a Sony tape recorder, the ordinary people he encountered – street traders, dockers, factory workers, tram drivers, midwives, mothers, grandparents, publicans, jarveys – shared private stories of hardship, joy, sorrow, survival and triumph – with humour and whimsy.

In Our Day is the culmination of a life’s work – a treasure trove bursting with whispers from the past – 450 vignettes, memories and recollections gathered to present an evocative, poignant portrait of a forgotten Dublin.

‘Those of us who know and love Dublin owe Kearns a huge debt.’ Roddy Doyle

‘Without Kevin, the lives of ordinary decent Dubliners would be forgotten. This book is a celebration of them.’ Joe Duffy

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gill Books
• Release date: Sep 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9780717195602

Kevin C. Kearns

Kevin C, Kearns, PhD, is a social historian, Professor Emeritus at the University of Northern Colorado and the author of fifteen books, including several bestsellers – most notably Dublin Tenement Life and Ireland’s Arctic Siege. In 2021 he was awarded the Lord Mayor’s Scroll from Dublin City Council, in recognition of his ‘dedication to preserving Dublin’s social history’. Kearns now lives in New England, on the coast of Maine.