National Library of Ireland
| County: | Co. Dublin |
| Tel: | 01-603 0200 |
| Fax: | 01-676 6690 |
| Email: | info@nli.ie |
Exploring Ireland’s literary heritage, visiting award winning exhibitions or researching family history are just some of the many reasons to visit the
National Library of Ireland. Established in 1877, the National Library’s holdings of books, manuscripts, prints and drawings, maps, photographs, newspapers, music, ephemera and genealogical material comprise the most outstanding collection of Irish documentary heritage in the world.
The multi-award winning exhibition Yeats: the Life and works of William
Butler Yeats celebrates one of the greatest poets of the twentieth Century using interactive technology and material drawn from the Library’s unique collections. The Library’s other exhibition Discover your National Library of Ireland: Explore, Refl ect, Connect uses a wide variety of original documents and interactive technology to invite visitors to explore the richness of the Library’s collections.
The Library’s Genealogy Advisory Service is a walk-in service designed to assist visitors who wish to research their family history in Ireland.
General Information
| Address: | Kildare Street, Dublin 2 |
|---|---|
| Telephone; | 01-603 0200 |
| Fax: | 01-676 6690 |
| Email: | info@nli.ie |
| Website: | http://www.nli.ie |
| Location: | Dublin city centre, 7 minutes from Grafton Street |
| Season: | All Year |
| Open Times: | Mon-Wed: 09.30-21.00 / Thur-Fri: 09.30-17.00 / Sat: 09.30-13.00 |
| Tours: | Max No: 20, Duration: 30 minutes Languages: English |
| Booking Contact: | Brid O Sullivan |
| Average Visit Length: | 45 minutes - 1 hour |
| Entrance Fees: | FREE ADMISSION |
| Audio Visual: | Electronic ‘turning the page’ technology and multimedia is used throughout the exhibition. |
| Exhibition: | Award Winning Yeats: the life and works of William Butler Yeats (until mid-2009) |
| Restaurant: | Café |
| Picnic Area: | No |
| Shop: | Books, Gifts |
| Information Guide: | English |
| Coach Parking: | No |
| Group Booking Necessary: | Yes |
| Car Parking: | No |
| Disabled Access/Parking: | Yes |
| Other: | http://www.facebook.com/HeritageIsland?ref=ts#!/pages/Dublin-2/National-Library-of-Ireland/240989225037?ref=sgm |
Exhibition - Discover your National Library
Discover your National Library exhibition
Hundreds of rare items from the National Library of Ireland’s collections – some of which are either too light sensitive, air sensitive or too valuable to be placed on public display in exhibition cases – can now be viewed in close-up detail by visitors thanks to the use of an innovative technology solution developed by Microsoft Ireland in partnership with Martello Media.
The Discover your National Library exhibition, which was opened by Dr Martin Mansergh TD, Minister of State with special responsibility for OPW and the Arts, enables visitors to examine objects from the Library’s collections in the kind of detail that has hitherto been possible for only a limited number of researchers, academics and other specialists. Over the lifespan of the exhibition, several thousand different objects will be featured and will be made available online.
The Discover exhibition is now open to the public at 2-3 Kildare Street, Dublin. The selection of items on view will be refreshed and updated every four months. Admission is free. The contents of the central Silverlight Discovery Table may be seen on www. nli.ie.
Witness to War: the War of Independence and Civil War through the lens of WD Hogan
National Photographic Archive, Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, Dublin 2
The photographer WD Hogan had unique access to the events of the War of Independence and Civil War in Ireland between 1920 and 1923. Hogan who had the official sanction of Sinn Féin during the War of Independence, and the official sanction of the national army during the Civil War, had a ringside seat at many historically significant events during these years. While many critics argue that his photographs of this key period in Irish history are one-sided, they provide an undeniably powerful record nonetheless.
The 167 photographs featuring in the exhibition were compiled by Captain Rev Denis J Wilson, Chaplain to the Free State army during the 1920s. The photographs in the exhibition include actions shots of military activity; photographs of the Black and Tans; images of both Arthur Griffith and Michael Collins addressing meetings attended by huge crowds; the destruction of the Four Courts and of the Customs House.
Schools
The collections of the National Library constitute a unique learning resource for students of all aspects of Ireland’s history and culture. Primary and Post-Primary schools visiting the Library can avail of a range of tours and workshops based on the Library’s current exhibition
Yeats: the life and works of William Butler Yeats
4th-6th class can find out more about William Butler Yeats, his family, friends, hobbies - and of course, his poems - on a 40 minute tour of the exhibition. A series of complimentary workshops has been designed to explore themes from the exhibition and to help particpants develop their literacy and historical skills. To help classes to get the most from their visit a teachers’ pack containing pre- and post- visit material is also available to download from our website (www.nli.ie) - Post Primary tours of the exhibition are tailored to both the English and history syllabi and focus on particular poems and events in some detail; tours can be customised to meet the needs of individual class groups. Students of Junior Certificate English can also find out more about Yeats’ interest in Japanese culture through a 45 minute haiku-writing workshop
Conference & Incentive
The unique ambience of the National Library makes it an ideal venue for entertaining clients with a champagne reception and guided tours of our major exhibition Yeats: the life and works of William Butler Yeats
Snapshots in time are just a click away
A new link to our past is just a few clicks away. The National Library of Ireland has launched its new enhanced online service, with 34,000 photographs recording almost 100 years of Irish history.
Last year, the National Library introduced it's online service including 22,000 photographs from the Lawrence, Poole and Independent Newspapers collections were added. Since then, library staff have digitised an additional 12,000 images from five other important National Photographic Archive collections: Eason, Stereo Pair, Clarke, Tempest and Keogh.
The 34,000 photographs of Ireland, all relating to the period 1860 to 1954, can be viewed online at www.nli.ie/digital-photographs.aspx .
Exhibition - Yeats: the life and works of William Butler Yeats
The National Library of Ireland has the largest collection of Yeats manuscripts in the world, and in addition, holds other fascinating Yeats material generously donated by Mrs George Yeats, wife of the poet, and Michael Yeats, the poet’s son, over several years. Material from this collection is now on display in the Library’s award winning exhibition. Covering many aspects of Yeats’ life and his development as a writer, this exhibition also gives visitors an insight into Irish social, cultural and political life from the late 1800s to the 1930s. The exhibition also features poetry readings, films on the poet’s life and interactive multimedia displays which allow visitors to explore his work in detail.
The exhibition is also available to view online: www.nli.ie/yeats
The exhibition will run until the end of 2010.
Discover Lifelines: letters from famous people about their favourite poems
The exhibition celebrates the Lifelines project which began in 1985 when English teacher Niall MacMonagle suggested to his Fifth Year class in Wesley College, Dublin that they do something to help those suffering in Africa. They wrote to famous people and asked them to name a favourite poem and give a reason why. The replies were compiled in a simple booklet and sold out in two days. Further booklets, also compiled by Wesley College pupils, were published in 1988, 1990 and 1992.
The success of the booklets resulted in the publication of the Lifelines book in 1992, with a foreword by Seamus Heaney. Lifelines 2 appeared in 1994 and Lifelines 3 in 1997. A selection from Lifelines was published by Penguin in 1993, and a further volume, a New and Collected edition, published by Townhouse in 2006. Royalties earned on the various editions had, by 2006, raised over €100, 000 for Concern to fund the organisation's work in the developing world.
The Library purchased the original letters that were included in the first Lifelines publication and the money was donated to Concern. Subsequently Wesley College donated all correspondence, photographs and other related archival material to the Library. The Discover Lifelines exhibition in the Library's main hall shows letters from this archive from writers, poets, actors, artists, media personalities and politicians.
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