Culture Night at the NLI

National Library of Ireland – 7/8 Kildare Street

In Kildare Street, our doors will be open from 6:30pm–9pm and everyone is welcome. Wander in through the hall to view the beautiful Reading Room which will be open through the evening, view the Lego model of the library, and meet some of our keepers while they discuss their work.

In the Front Hall of the Main National Library Building on Kildare Street, St Mary’s College Choir led by Director Maria Stanley will be there to greet visitors with a selection of popular music in the beautiful entrance hall.

Director's Tour of the National Library – 7/8 Kildare Street, 6pm

The Director, Dr Audrey Whitty opens Culture Night 2024 at the National Library of Ireland with the Director’s Tour.  Discover the history of our beautiful Victorian building on Kildare Street and visit the famous Reading Room and explore our links with some of Ireland’s greatest writers and thinkers. It will also include access to the newly opened Art Room, normally open by appointment for readers to consult NLI’s visual collections.

Meet in the Front Hall of the National Library of Ireland, entry free but booking is required.

Meet the Keepers - 7/8 Kildare Street, 7-8pm

Walk-in, no booking required.

Brian O’Donnell, Deputy Director will be on hand in the Front Hall, and bring people into the Richard Hayes Room, to talk about the former Director and Code Breaker (access is limited so this will only form part of the tour).

The Joly Theatre is where Head of Published Collections Eoin McCarney will talk about books in the National Library.

Liz Coffey, Head of Communication and Development welcomes visitors to the famous Reading Room, where Aryton O’Brien will read passages from James Joyce’s Ulysses. These passages from Ulysses set in the Reading Room, will be read at 7pm, and again at 7.30pm.  

Gerry Long, who was featured on RTE’s Hidden Treasures documentary will be in the Manuscripts Reading Room, 2/3 Kildare Street to showcase some items from Special Collections. Head of Exhibitions, Learning and Programming Dr Sinéad McCoole will talk about how to research women from the collections, showing examples of finds over the years, how often that calling up items reveals a new source, or an idea for a book, article, talk or even a play.  

Conservation Studio Visit:

Head of Conservation Andrew Megaw and conservator Maria Montcalm will demonstrate some aspects of the preservation of the collection, with the Head of Special Collections Colette O’Flaherty. Access to Conservation Studio is limited so prebooking is required for this event, click the link above to register.

YEATS: The Life and Works of William Butler Yeats – 7/8 Kildare Street, 6:30pm-9pm

Sit awhile and listen to some of the poet’s best-loved poems and stroll through the exhibition exploring the many interests of WB Yeats: Ireland, literature, folklore, theatre, politics, the occult – and his significant influence on modern Irish cultural identity.

Our Yeats exhibition will be open in the main building on Kildare Street from 6:30pm-9pm. For more information regarding accessibility in our buildings please see here.

Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again – Bank of Ireland Cultural and Heritage Centre at College Green – entrance via Westmoreland Street, 5pm-9pm

Enjoy a self-guided, ‘after-hours’ tour on Culture Night. Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again draws on the National Library’s extensive archive of Heaney documents to bring the visitor on a multi-sensory journey from the poet’s humble origins through his remarkable career.

People and Places – National Photographic Archive, Meeting House Square, 5pm-9pm

This exhibition showcases 50 photographs from the NLI collection, revealing the people and places of the island of Ireland from the 1850s to the 21st century in images.

The recent acquisition of the work of Irish Professional Photographers during the COVID-19 pandemic is also available on a large digital screen in the exhibition.   

Take a moment to drop in and explore this unique and fascinating record of life in Ireland.