From the Viking settlement of ‘Dyflin’ to the Georgian splendour of the ‘second city of Empire’ and today’s vibrant capital, Dublin has been through many incarnations in its time, surviving raids, sieges, famine, rebellion, civil war, bombing and the occasional town planning mistake. But what was it like to live here at key moments in the city’s history, and what have Dubliners themselves made of their home? Join David Dickson, Professor of History at Trinity College, as he traces the story of Dublin through the voices of the people themselves. Drawing on diaries and eyewitness accounts from a thousand years of history, Dickson conjures up the life of the city and asks what it means to be a Dubliner. Actors Melissa Nolan and Cathal Quinn will be reciting passages from David Dickson's THE CITY WAS US: 1,000 YEARS OF THE DUBLINERS. Melissa Nolan is Co-Founder of Mouth on Fire Theatre Company and has produced 17 Beckett productions and performed 10 Beckett plays (three World Premieres, one European Premiere). Melissa holds a Masters Degree in Performance Drama from University College Dublin. She has traveled around Ireland, UK, Russia, India and Japan with her performances of Beckett and is currently exploring the Beckett Actor, a comprehensive study of performing his work. Melissa will be performing in the Pavilion Theatre, Wed 21st May as part of Fishamble's new Playwrighting Programme. She is currently the Venue Manager of Meeting House Square in Temple Bar. Cathal Quinn: Voice coach at the Lir, Trinity College; Gate Theatre, and for numerous films and tv, such as Albert Nobbs, Eden, Love/Hate. He is Artistic Director of both Mouth on Fire Theatre Company and Guthanna Binne Síoraí. He was a regular contributor on the Tom Dunne Show, on Newstalk FM. Cathal trained as an actor at the Royal Scottish Academy and in Voice at Central School. of Speech and Drama. He has acted in plays for BBC Radio 4, and for Radio Kerry; he has performed in Shakespeare all over Germany and the Netherlands, Pinter in Denmark and Sweden, played Wilfred Owen in Not About Heroes all over Scotland and took his own show about Keats to Toronto, Edinburgh, London and St Petersburg. He is directing Téip Dheireanach Krapp starring Macdara Ó Fátharta at the New Theatre June 9th-14th and A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Dublin Castle this July and August.