HANDCOCK, William Domville. The History and Antiquities of Tallaght, in the County Dublin. Second edition, revised and enlarged.

Illustrated. Dublin: Hodges Figgis, 1899. Crown octavo. pp. vii, 160. Green cloth, titled in gilt on spine. From the library of V. Rev. James Hickey with his bookplate and signature. Galwey binder’s ticket. A near fine copy. Rare.
William Domville Handcock’s The History And Antiquities of Tallaght published in 1899 used historical sources such as The Annals of The Four Master and The Martyrology of Tallaght and other sources including the notes of his grandfather, the recollections of his father and many other anecdotes. The author was anxious to record the changes in the local area in the preceding two hundred years before the knowledge was lost. Handcock describes how new roads, new boundaries, buildings and plantations altered the face of the countryside. Parts of Tallaght were once wooded but in the late 19th century were no longer while marshes were reclaimed. Some lands were enclosed and cultivated in the past but had since returned to heath and furze. He describes how the work of Austin Cooper who created illustrations of ruined castles and churches a century before was believed lost but was eventually recovered by his grandson. He also used the preserved letters of the antiquarian Professor O’Curry of the Royal Irish Academy who visited ancient sites in Tallaght in 1837.

[Cat 160]