Celebrate Culture Night 2026 at the NLI

Evening Opening at the National Library of Ireland: Explore our Main Building, 5pm-9pm

Our doors will be open from 5pm to 9pm, and everyone is welcome.

• From 5pm, explore the hall to view the Lego model of the library or visit our William Butler Yeats exhibition.
• From 6pm to 9pm, step into the Reading Room and take in its stunning surroundings.
• Starting at 7:15pm, enjoy a live performance by the St. Mary’s College Singers, led by Director Maria Stanley. 

No booking is required to visit the Reading Room or attend the performance. 

Director's Tour of the National Library, 5pm-6pm

Join Dr Audrey Whitty, Director of the National Library of Ireland, as she opens Culture Night 2026 with a special guided tour of our historic Victorian building on Kildare Street.

Discover the story of the Library’s architecture, visit the iconic Reading Room, and explore our deep connections with some of Ireland’s greatest writers and thinkers. The tour also includes visits to the Richard Hayes Room and the Art Room, offering a unique opportunity to experience spaces not usually explored in depth.

Free entry, but booking is required.

Behind the Curtain: The NLI's Digitisation Studio: Main Building, 5pm-8.45pm

The National Library of Ireland's Digital Studio plays a key role in the efforts to protect and make available our various different collections. Visit us this Culture Night on a short 15 minute tour to explore what is involved in digitisation and see some of the end results.

Free entry, but booking is required. 

 YEATS: The Life and Works of William Butler Yeats, 5pm-9pm

Sit awhile and immerse yourself in some of the poet’s best-loved works as you explore our W.B. Yeats exhibition. Wander through displays that capture his many passions: from Ireland, literature, and folklore, to theatre, politics, the occult, and his immense influence on modern Irish cultural identity.

The exhibition is open to all from 5pm to 9pm – no booking required.

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, 5pm-9pm 

The Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again exhibition invites Culture Night visitors on a fascinating journey exploring the highlights of Seamus Heaney’s poetry and life, donated to the National Library of Ireland. The exhibition allows guests to explore Seamus Heaney’s rural origins through to his remarkable career as a poet and noble prize winner. Explore the exhibition at your own pace, with expert staff at key areas in the exhibition to help you.

No booking required – simply drop in and experience the world of one of Ireland’s most beloved poets.

Live Aid Exhibition, National Photographic Archive, Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, 5pm-8.30pm 

Live Aid, the “Global Jukebox”, held in London and Philadelphia, attended by over 150,000 audience members in total and broadcast live using cutting edge technology to unite almost 2 billion viewers across 150 countries, raised millions for famine relief in Africa. 

For a generation of music fans, watching Live Aid in 1985 was an experience like no other. Share that experience with a special pre-launch Culture Night visit to our new exhibition of photographs, selected from the Band Aid Trust Archive, generously donated to the National Library by Bob Geldof in 2017.

No booking required – come experience this landmark exhibition.