NI’s oldest public library marks 250th anniversary

The Library was founded in 1771 by Richard Robinson, the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, at a cost of £3,000.

Robinson had it incorporated in 1773 by having an Act passed by the Irish Parliament for ‘settling and preserving a Publick Library in the City of Armagh for ever’.

The Library was built to the design of the English-born architect Thomas Cooley, whose original drawings are still held in the Library. Today the Library has some 45,000 printed volumes, the earliest dating from the 1480s.

In addition, the Library has manuscripts (going back to the 12th century), Roman and medieval coins, medals from the reign of the French King Louis XIV, antiquities and fine art.

The latter includes Archbishop Robinson’s collection of 4,500 prints and engravings, dating from the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries.

On Thursday, April 29 at 7.30pm the Library’s Director, Dr Robert Whan, will give an online lecture on ‘Armagh Robinson Library – 250 years’.

This will provide an overview of the history of the Library and an insight into some of the treasures that it has.

The free talk will be delivered by Zoom.

To book a place please go to https://armagh-robinson-library.arttickets.org.uk/ or email [email protected].

Speaking ahead of the public lecture, Dr Whan said: “Armagh Robinson Library occupies a unique place in Northern Ireland’s cultural and literary landscape, being the earliest purpose-built library for use by the public in the north of Ireland.

“While the books and fine art collections provided by the Library’s founder have been added to, the ethos of making them freely available to all has remained at the heart of the Library’s continued service for two and a half centuries.

“This 250th anniversary lecture is an opportunity to find out about the building and collections provided by Archbishop Robinson, how they have been used, and expanded over the years.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.

You can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk

With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Thank you