Our History

As a result of this act, the majority of the collections of the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) were transferred to state ownership.

Of significance was an expansive collection donated in 1863 to the RDS by Dr Jaspar Robert Joly, under the proviso that whenever a library for public use was established in Dublin, his collection would be donated to it. Dr Joly’s donation, which contained books, prints, music, manuscripts and other materials, formed the nucleus of the NLI’s collection, and remains vital to our collections to this day.

Governance

After the foundation of the Irish Free State, responsibility for the NLI passed to the newly founded Department of Education. The Industrial and Commercial Property (Protection) Act, 1927 gave the NLI legal deposit status which meant that it was entitled to a copy of everything published in the Irish Free State. In the years since, we have added to our collections through purchase and donations.

Responsibility for the NLI remained with the Department of Education until 1986 when it was transferred to the Department of the Taoiseach. In 1992, a government department with responsibility for culture was established. Since then, the NLI has remained under the culture portfolio.

In 2005, the NLI was established as an autonomous national cultural institution under the National Cultural Institutions Act 1997, with a Director and a Board replacing a Council of Trustees that had been established in 1881. 

The Kildare Street Building, 1890

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. It was designed — along with the neighbouring National Museum of Ireland’s archaeology building — by the architectural practice of Thomas N Deane and Son.

With its magnificent domed Reading Room, the NLI became a popular destination in Dublin. It was frequently used by students of the nearby universities of Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin, then located in the city centre. James Joyce set the ninth episode of Ulysses in the NLI, wherein Stephen Dedalus is depicted pontificating about Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Expansion and new premises, 1990-2010s

As the NLI and its collections continued to expand, the original premises were no longer sufficient. To facilitate its growing requirements additional premises on Kildare Street were acquired and a commitment was made to develop the site.

The Manuscripts Reading Room at 2/3 Kildare Street was opened in 1990. The National Photographic Archive, housing the NLI’s photographic collections opened in Temple Bar in 1998.

In 2004, what was formerly part of the National College of Art and Design, was refurbished to include a new exhibition area, the Department of Prints & Drawings and a lecture theatre.

In 2018, the NLI partnered with the government’s culture department and Bank of Ireland to develop an exhibition entitled Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again, hosted at the Bank of Ireland Cultural and Heritage Centre on College Green. A separate collaboration with University College Dublin came to fruition in 2019 with the opening of the Museum of Literature Ireland (MoLI) in Newman House, on St Stephen’s Green.

Looking forward - 'Capital Development Project' 

In 2017, the NLI began a major redevelopment of its Kildare Street building, as a part of the Government’s ten-year strategy, Investing in Our Culture, Language and Heritage 2018-2027. This Capital Development Project, will transform and modernise the main NLI building and deliver major new exhibition galleries, universal access for all, new learning and event facilities, a shop and café, and enticing new public spaces for everyone to enjoy.