Open House Junior
Exploratory trail for younger visitors – National Library of Ireland
Thomas Dean
National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2
Tour Dates & Times
- Saturday 15 October:
- 2pm –
An exploratory trail for younger visitors aged 7+
The National library of Ireland was established in 1877, under the Dublin Science and Museum Act. For the first 13 years of its existence, the Library shared a space in Leinster House with the Royal Dublin Society. Leinster House struggled to contain the vastly growing collections of both the Library and the Society. After an architectural competition, Thomas Deane and Son’s design was chosen for a new National Library and National Museum that were to be constructed by J. and W. Beckett. The chief architect Thomas Deane was a member of the Royal Dublin Society and was committed to improving and broadening the education of aspiring architects to include the study of fine art and antiquities. The building was also inspired by the suggestions of its first librarian, William Archer and is constructed in the Victorian Palladian style with its grand neoclassical colonnades and rotunda.
Trail starts at 2pm. No booking required.
Accessibility Information
Wheelchair access to the main Library building is at the main entrance on Kildare Street, via a ramp. On entry to the Front Hall, wheelchair users have access to both the Main Reading Room and the Microfilm Reading Room on the first floor via the lift. The exhibition area on the lower ground floor can also be reached via the lift which is located to the right of the Front Hall. An accessible workstation where family history can be provided is currently located off the Main Reading Room.
There is an accessible restroom located on the ground floor at the back of the Front Hall.
Assistance Dogs welcome
