Historical Library

The Historical Library of Ireland Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends is situated in Quaker House. Usually known as Friends Historical Library Dublin, it contains the manuscript and printed archives of Quakers in Ireland since their establishment here in the 17th century together with an important collection of books by and about Quakerism from their earliest times.

Manuscripts and Records

The most important manuscripts are the Minutes of the various Quaker meetings and committees. These and many other documents from 1670 to 1914 may also be viewed on the website findmypast.ie on payment of a modest fee.  The website includes an index of names with more than a million and a half entries.  Clicking on a name yields a brief outline of the individual’s life together with a downloadable image of the page on which the name appears.

Books, pamphlets and personal writings

The collection of printed books contains works from the 17th century up to the present, together with many unpublished dissertations.  The Library also holds a large collection of printed pamphlets, manuscript letters, essays and photographs.  The headings of some 45,000 documents are available on the findmypast.ie website and appear when a name search is initiated.

The Library also sells a number of books.  A list of titles is available here.

Material Culture

The Library also holds many items of interest for the study of material culture of Quakerism.  A catalogue of same is available here.

Outreach

Librarian and archivist duties are seen to by a team of volunteers who engage in cataloguing, assisting visiting readers and replying to queries by e-mail or letter.

Mailing address

Historical Library, Quaker House Dublin, Stocking Lane, Dublin 16;

Email: library@quakers.ie.

 

Curator: Christopher Moriarty