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Director's Tour of the National Library of Ireland

Date
-
Location National Library of Ireland, 7-8 Kildare Street, D02 P638
Category Tour
Price Free
Date
-
Location National Library of Ireland, 7-8 Kildare Street, D02 P638
Category Tour
Price Free
NLI Reading Room Director's Tour

The National Library of Ireland's beautiful Reading Room, during a Director's Tour with Dr Audrey Whitty.

In Person

Explore the National Library of Ireland with Director Dr Audrey Whitty.

Established by the Dublin Science and Art Museum Act, 1877, the NLI was originally housed at the Royal Dublin Society's premises in Leinster House until the present building at 7/8 Kildare Street was formally opened on 1890.

Discover the history of our beautiful Victorian building on Kildare Street and meet the NLI's Director Dr Audrey Whitty. The guided tour will also visit the magnificent Reading Room and explore our links with some of Ireland’s greatest writers and thinkers.

6–7pm | Entry free but booking required.

Meet in the Front Hall of National Library of Ireland, 7/8 Kildare Street, Dublin 2. For more information regarding accessibility in our buildings please see here.

    If our team can be of any assistance, please contact us on learning@nli.ie.

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    Getting Here Opening Hours Reader's Ticket Accessibility

    Live Aid 2026 Spring Programme

    Programme runs March-April 2026
    Date 13 March - 30 April
    Location National Photographic Archive, Meeting House Square, Dublin, D02 WF85
    Category Event Exhibition Tour
    Date 13 March - 30 April
    Location National Photographic Archive, Meeting House Square, Dublin, D02 WF85
    Category Event Exhibition Tour
    Graphic text reading Live Aid Exhibition Spring Programme
    In Person

    This spring, the National Library of Ireland continues celebrating Live Aid with a new season of vibrant events.

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      Getting Here Opening Hours Reader's Ticket Accessibility

      The Journey To A Vision - April Tour

      A Guided Afternoon Tour of the WB Yeats Exhibition
      Date
      -
      Location National Library of Ireland, 7-8 Kildare Street, Dublin, D02 P638
      Category Tour
      Price Free
      Booked Out
      Date
      -
      Location National Library of Ireland, 7-8 Kildare Street, Dublin, D02 P638
      Category Tour
      Price Free
      Booked Out
      WB Yeats reading
      In Person

      Discover the two decade long project that WB Yeats pursued and what drove him to create 'A Vision'.

      Explore the people, events and other influences that would lead William Butler Yeats to write his most mysterious and esoteric work, A Vision, on this special tour of the National Library of Ireland’s Yeats Exhibition.

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        Getting Here Opening Hours Reader's Ticket Accessibility

        Live Aid | The Global Jukebox Guided Tour

        Date 2pm | Friday & 11am | Saturday
        Location National Photographic Archive , Meeting House Square, Dublin
        Category Tour
        Price Free. No Booking Required.
        Date 2pm | Friday & 11am | Saturday
        Location National Photographic Archive , Meeting House Square, Dublin
        Category Tour
        Price Free. No Booking Required.
        Music exhibition interior featuring large concert photos, including a singer on a window graphic and a wall display about Live Aid at Wembley, with text panels and a QR code.

        Marc O'Sullivan 

        In Person

        "For a brief, brief moment everything seemed possible."

        Join us at the National Photographic Archive located in Meeting House Square, Temple Bar every Friday at 2pm and Saturday at 11am, for a free guided tour, to step back in time to one extraordinary day in 1985 - when music, media and humanity collided on a global scale, described by Bob Geldof, as making him feel that  "For a brief, brief moment everything seemed possible."

        Discover images and stories from Live Aid part of the Band Aid Trust Archive, donated  by Bob Geldof to the National Library of Ireland, capturing this extraordinary experience - two concerts simultaneously taking place in London and Philadelphia, with many of the greatest Pop and Rock performers of the time, with the ambition to feed the world.

        From Status Quo to Joan Baez, Queen to Phil Collins and U2 to Madonna, get ready to rock on a tour where we will relive a day where music really did change the world. 

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          Getting Here Opening Hours Reader's Ticket Accessibility

          Daily Tours | Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again

          Date Monday to Saturday | 11:30am and 2pm
          Location Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again, Westmoreland Street, Dublin, D02 VR66
          Category Event Tour
          Price Free, booking NOT required
          Date Monday to Saturday | 11:30am and 2pm
          Location Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again, Westmoreland Street, Dublin, D02 VR66
          Category Event Tour
          Price Free, booking NOT required
          Visitor walking through the exhibition
          In Person

          Join our informative exhibition guides for our daily tours of 'Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again' at 11:30am and 2pm from Monday to Saturday.

          Happening every day from Monday to Saturday at 11:30am and 2pm,  enjoy a fascinating journey exploring the highlights of Heaney's archive of the National Library of Ireland, from his rural origins through to his remarkable career as a poet.

          During the Easter school holidays, we will also be highlighting our exhibition booklets for families—designed to help younger visitors explore the exhibition in a fun, interactive, and accessible way.

          Booking is not required.

            If our team can be of any assistance, please contact us at heaneyexhibition@nli.ie

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            Getting Here Opening Hours Reader's Ticket Accessibility

            December In-Person Tours | Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again

            December in-person tours
            Date Tuesday, December 6th, 13th, and 20th | 11am-12pm
            Location Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again, Bank of Ireland Cultural & Heritage Centre, Westmoreland Street, Co. Dublin, D02 VR66
            Category Tour
            Price Free; booking not required
            Date Tuesday, December 6th, 13th, and 20th | 11am-12pm
            Location Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again, Bank of Ireland Cultural & Heritage Centre, Westmoreland Street, Co. Dublin, D02 VR66
            Category Tour
            Price Free; booking not required
            image of a woman looking at computer
            In Person

            Every Tuesday, join our exhibition guides for a tour of 'Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again'.

            Enjoy a fascinating journey exploring the highlights of Heaney's archive, from his rural origins through to his remarkable career as a poet.

              If our team can be of any assistance, please contact us at heaneyexhibition@nli.ie

              Visit

              Getting Here Opening Hours Reader's Ticket Accessibility
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