National Library of Ireland
Ireland's paper memory — manuscripts, photographs, and newspapers free to open on the spot.
Coming soon on iOS — be first to walk Dublin offline.
Built in 1890 on Kildare Street beside Leinster House, this reference library holds the national archive of Irish newspapers, private author collections, maps, music, and photographs — all free to consult. The Museum of Literature Ireland is run as a function of the library in partnership with University College Dublin, and genealogy research tools are available for anyone tracing Irish roots.
What to look for
- The upper-story stonework: buff-coloured Mount Charles sandstone shipped from Donegal — over 3,000 tons dressed on site
- The building's mirrored symmetry with the National Museum of Ireland, both framing Leinster House's frontage
- The National Photographic Archive, one of the library's distinct holdings inside
Free to enter and consult; reference only, nothing lends. Kildare Street, directly adjacent to Leinster House.
National Library of Ireland is one of 35 sights worth the detour in Dublin, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Dublin pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Dublin
- Aviva StadiumOne 51,711-seat bowl jointly owned by rugby and football — two governing bodies, one ground, no separate home for either.
- Dublin CastleThe river that gave Dublin its name still flows beneath your feet — and the building above it ran Ireland for 750 years.
- Croke ParkThe fourth-largest stadium in Europe holds 82,300 people — almost entirely for sports most of the world has never watched.
- St Patrick's CathedralIreland's national cathedral has never had a bishop — that role belongs to the rival church 400 metres up the road.
- Spire of DublinA 120-metre stainless-steel pin planted on the exact spot where an IRA bomb in 1966 — and a controlled demolition six days later — erased Nelson's Pillar.
- Leinster HouseA private ducal palace built on Dublin's wrong side of town in 1745 — the gamble paid off, and now it is Ireland's parliament.