Directory of Historic Dublin Guilds

Second Edition

Mary Clark and Raymond Refaussé, editors

Guilds were mutual benefit associations which flourished in the towns and cities of medieval Europe. The guild system was brought to Dublin by the Normans in the late twelfth century and dominated the commercial, political and social life of the city for 650 years. The guilds were abolished in 1841, with two exceptions, Goldsmiths and Apothecaries, but Tailors’ Hall and Merchants’ Hall survive to remind us of now-vanished guilds which helped to shape Dublin’s history. The Directory of historic Dublin guilds was first published in 1993 and was the winner of the international Phillimore Prize, awarded by the Society of Archivists. The Directory contributed to a renewed interest in Dublin’s guilds, which in turn led to the discovery of more source materials, now included in this second edition, containing a brief history of each trade and craft guild, religious guilds and military guilds, with locations of surviving documents and artifacts. 

Mary Clark was Dublin City Archivist, 1979–2021. Raymond Refaussé was Librarian and Archivist of the Church of Ireland, 1984–2016.