The Linen Hall Library
The Linen Hall Library is one of the narrated stops on the self-guided Belfast audio walking tour in Gingerguide. Plan about ~45 min here. Press play at the spot for its two to three minute story, or ask the AI guide anything about it.
- Type historic
- Suggested visit ~45 min
- Belfast Belfast guide
About The Linen Hall Library
Belfast's oldest library, founded in 1788, home to the world's most comprehensive collection documenting the Troubles, over 40,000 items, as well as irreplaceable Irish historical archives.
The Linen Hall Library, on Donegall Square North looking across at Belfast City Hall, is the oldest library in Belfast and one of the oldest subscription libraries in Ireland. Founded in 1788 as the Belfast Reading Society, its members including many of the United Irishmen who launched the 1798 rebellion, the library takes its name from the White Linen Hall that once occupied the site now covered by City Hall. Today it holds approximately 250,000 volumes, including an irreplaceable collection of early Irish printing and literature. Its most internationally significant holding is the Northern Ireland Political Collection: over 40,000 items, pamphlets, posters, newspapers, flyers, and ephemera, documenting the Troubles conflict from every perspective, Republican and Loyalist, British and Irish government, community groups and paramilitary organisations alike. This archive, assembled with deliberate impartiality over four decades, is now recognised as the world's most comprehensive collection relating to the Troubles and is an essential resource for historians, journalists, and researchers worldwide. The library is open to all, free of charge, and its historic reading room remains a working library of extraordinary atmosphere.
Did you know? The Linen Hall Library was founded in 1788 by members who included United Irishmen, the radical republicans who launched the 1798 rebellion against British rule, making it one of the oldest subscription libraries in Ireland.
How long should you spend at The Linen Hall Library?
Plan about ~45 min at The Linen Hall Library. That is enough to take it in and hear its narrated story; stay longer if it grabs you. The tour is self-guided, so there is no rush.
Is The Linen Hall Library worth visiting?
The Linen Hall Library is one of the 22 sights the Gingerguide team researched and narrated in Belfast, so it earns a place on a self-guided walk. Its story explains why it matters, and you can ask the AI guide anything the story leaves open.
Nearby stops in Belfast
Hear the story of The Linen Hall Library
Preview the Belfast tour free in the Gingerguide app.