by Cal McGhee

A newly-minted plaque in honor of The Snapper now dons the Rotunda Maternity Hospital as part of the Dublin: One City One Book 2015 programme.

The sign was unveiled by Lord Mayor Christy Burke as a tribute to author Roddy Doyle's fictional character Sharon Rabbitte's baby Georgina, who was born at the Rotunda in the 1990s bestseller.

The Snapper is the second instalment of Doyle's generation-defining Barrytown trilogy, which also includes The Commitments and The Van.

Irish author Roddy Doyle and the newly-mounted plaque

The book was chosen as the Dublin: One City One Book choice for 2015 by Dublin City Council, following James Plunkett's Strumpet City, James Joyce's Dubliners and Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.

The plaque is one of the many tactics Dublin City Council’s Public Libraries has taken to incorporate Dublin's literature history into the city. Organisers have curated a "packed programme of over 60 events which will animate the characters, scenes, sounds and era featured in Roddy Doyle’s Barrytown novels."

The Commitments, first published in 1987, depicts Jimmy Rabbitte's aspiration to manage the world's greatest band and the success and failure of the musical group. It was adapted into a feature film in 1991.

The Snapper, released three years later, focuses on the neighbourhood scandal of Sharon Rabbitte’s pregnancy as she tries to keep the identity of her unborn baby's father a secret. It was also adapted on-screen in 1993, however Sharon's surname was changed to 'Curley' for licensing reasons.

The Van, released in 1991, is set against the backdrop of the Dublin zeitgeist during the 1990 World Cup as Jimmy Rabbitte Senior opens a chip van. The last of the Barrytown movie trilogy, it was released in 1996.

Aisling Conlan, the baby cast as Georgina Rabbite (Curley) in the 1993 film is now 23 and a championship rower.