The Goldsmiths of Dublin

Six centuries of achievement

Douglas Bennett

'A welcome addition to a series which focuses on the history of the city's urban landscape [...] The author of this volume [...] is synonymous with the study of Ireland's precious metal trade [...] One of the strengths of this book is the lively detail, often drawn from manuscript sources, of Dublin's politics, at guild, civic, and national level [...] Bennett deftly employs engaging examples to remind the reader of the very human stories behind the corporate structure of the goldsmith's guild [...] Bennett is to be commended for this fascinating survey of the last surviving guild trade guild in Dublin', Alison FitzGerald, Irish Arts Review (2018).

'The latest in a series of wonderfully illustrated books on aspects of the city's architectural, civic, industrial and cultural heritage. The history of Dublin's goldsmiths is described in this important book, which charts the history of the Dublin Company of Goldsmiths from the Middle Ages to the present [...] Not only does the depth of [the author's] knowledge come through in the pages of this lavishly illustrated work, his passion for the subject and, more importantly, his respect and admiration for the goldsmiths themselves is evident in the painstaking research undertaken over a prolonged period, sometimes in a difficult circumstances', Ireland's Genealogical Gazette (February 2019).

'Douglas Bennett has drawn on the records of the Company, the medieval guilds and a wide range of other sources to recount the history of the Company. He is well-equipped for the task as an author of note about the city ... and a former master and clerk of the Company of Goldsmiths', Dublin Historical Record, vol.70, no.1 (2018).