Minister Catherine Martin and Minister Kieran O’Donnell open Joly Lecture Theatre at the NLI

The new tiered lecture theatre is a state-of-the-art facility with a focus on accessibility. The theatre can accommodate 96 people, including two accessible spaces. The front row of seats can be removed to accommodate additional wheelchair users. The acoustic design ensures optimal sound quality. Meanwhile, the high-tech audiovisual setup will enhance presentations and will enable the NLI to record and to broadcast events. The development is part of the ‘Reimagining the National Library’ initiative.

Commenting, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport, and Media, Catherine Martin TD said: “I am delighted to officially open the Joly Lecture Theatre. Today marks another milestone in the NLI’s ‘Reimagining the National Library’ redevelopment project, which, when completed, will be the most significant investment in the NLI since the main building opened on Kildare Street in the late 1800s.

“The final phase of the project will be the refurbishment and extension of the former book storage area in the West Wing. This will pave the way for the redevelopment of this amazing space into a publicly accessible cultural area that will enhance Dublin’s offering as a place to visit, live and work. This work has been granted planning permission by Dublin City Council, which will allow it to progress to the next phase of development.

“I would like to thank our colleagues in the Office of Public Works for their dedication to the project, the delivery of which is being led by the NLI, in partnership with the OPW, and is funded by my Department. I look forward to visiting this wonderful cultural hub when the full ‘Reimagining the National Library’ project is completed in the coming years.”

Minster of State for the Office of Public Works, Kieran O’Donnell TD said: “This is a great day for the National Library of Ireland and the new state-of-the art Joly Lecture Theatre. Our Office of Public Works team has been working closely with the National Library of Ireland and Minister Martin’s department to deliver a modern, accessible, sustainable lecture theatre and I wish to commend the work undertaken by all teams here.

“As Minister for the Office of Public Works, I am pleased that planning permission for the next phase of the ‘Reimagining the National Library’ initiative has been granted. Once completed, this culturally significant and transformative redevelopment project will allow visitors to experience this remarkable building, redeveloped in a sustainable manner, with its fine key features retained or repurposed.”

Director of the National Library of Ireland, Dr Audrey Whitty said: “The new Joly Lecture Theatre is an outstanding space that will allow us to bring larger groups into our beautiful historic building for lectures, educational programmes, readings, and events. It will also allow us to bring the story of Ireland to bigger and more diverse audiences via the recording and streaming capacity the new AV system provides. This will further help us in our mission to make accessible the recorded memory of Ireland. Now that we have planning permission, we are very delighted to complete the final phase of the ‘Reimagining the National Library’ project.”

The Joly Lecture Theatre is named after Jaspar Robert Joly, the Offaly man whose donation to the Royal Dublin Society in 1863 forms the nucleus of the National Library of Ireland’s collection. The donation comprises books, manuscripts, prints, maps, and sheet music. He made the donation to the RDS on the proviso that whenever a public library was established in Dublin by Act of Parliament, his collection would be transferred to it. The NLI was established under the Dublin Science and Art Museum Act 1877 and opened at its Kildare Street location in 1890, having initially been based at Leinster House – the former RDS building.

ENDS