The James Hardiman Library () serves the

University of Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It is a

legal deposit Legal deposit is a legal requirement that a person or group submit copies of their publications to a repository, usually a library. The number of copies required varies from country to country. Typically, the national library is the primary reposit ...

or "copyright library", which means that publishers in the country must deposit a copy of all their publications there, free of charge. The James Hardiman Library is home to an extensive range of cultural artefacts, particularly relating to the history of theatre. This includes the largest digital theatre archive in the world, a joint project with The Abbey, Ireland's national theatre, to preserve material that institution has compiled since its foundation. Other theatre archives found at the James Hardiman Library include those of the

Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Gearóid Ó Lochla ...

, An Taibhdhearc (the national Irish language theatre), the Lyric Theatre and the

Druid Theatre Company The Druid Theatre Company, referred to as Druid, is an Irish theatre company, based in Galway, Ireland. As well as touring extensively across Ireland, the company's productions have played internationally to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the ...

(Ireland's first professional theatre company established outside Dublin). In addition, manuscripts collected by

Douglas Hyde Douglas Ross Hyde (; 17 January 1860 – 12 July 1949), known as (), was an Irish academic, linguist, scholar of the Irish language, politician, and diplomat who served as the first president of Ireland from June 1938 to June 1945. He was a l ...

, the first

President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...

, are deposited at the James Hardiman Library, as is a manuscript personally donated by

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

in 1932. "Access to Research at NUI Galway" (ARAN) is the university's repository of research publications, including peer-reviewed articles, working papers and conference papers by the university's researchers, and is maintained by the James Hardiman Library.

Location

The James Hardiman Library is situated centrally, close to the Concourse, the Arts Millennium Building and Áras na Gaeilge.

History

The Library is named in honour of

James Hardiman James Hardiman (February 1782 – 13 November 1855), also known as Séamus Ó hArgadáin, was a librarian at Queen's College, Galway and an important historian. Hardiman is best remembered for his '' History of the Town and County of Galway'' (1 ...

, who was the university's first librarian.

Legal deposit library status

According to the Ireland's ''Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000'', the James Hardiman Library is entitled, along with the

National Library of Ireland The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ) is Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is "To collect, preserve, promote and make accessible the ...

, the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

and

Trinity College Library The Library of Trinity College Dublin () serves Trinity College, and is the largest library in Ireland. It is a legal deposit or "copyright library", which means that publishers in Ireland must deposit a copy of all their publications there ...

, as well as libraries at

UCC The initialism UCC may stand for: Law * Uniform civil code of India, referring to proposed Civil code in the legal system of India, which would apply equally to all irrespective of their religion * Uniform Commercial Code, a 1952 uniform act to ...

, UCD, MU, UL, and DCU, to receive a copy of all works published in the Republic of Ireland. Section 198(1) of the Act states "the publisher of any book published in the state, shall, within one month after publication, deliver, at his or her own expense, a copy of the book to each of the following…", then lists the libraries concerned.

Archives

The James Hardiman Library houses more than three hundred archival collections which range from the fifteenth century onwards. Numerous archives relating to literature, theatre and other items of cultural merit to be found there include the following:

History

*A collection of books about the Williamite Wars (1689-91) in Ireland and its aftermath, donated by the son of a graduate of the University

Literature

's manuscript collections of poetry and folklore he gathered *An original edition of ''

Pomes Penyeach ''Pomes Penyeach'' is a collection of thirteen short poems written by James Joyce published in 1927. It was the second collection he published after ''Chamber Music''. Overview ''Pomes Penyeach'' was written over a 20-year period, from 1904 to 1 ...

'', personally donated by

in 1932 after its publication in Paris, and printed on rare Japanese paper complete with illustrations by the writer's daughter Lucia. *The John McGahern Archive (

John McGahern John McGahern (12 November 1934 – 30 March 2006) was an Irish writer and novelist. Known for the detailed dissection of Irish life found in works such as '' The Barracks'', '' The Dark'' and '' Amongst Women'', he was hailed by ''The Ob ...

) *The Thomas Kilroy Collection ( Thomas Kilroy): Available from August 2011, this archive includes Kilroy's academic criticism, papers relating to his board membership of The Field Day Theatre Company and his collaboration with The Abbey Theatre, as well as notes, drafts, scripts, and production material relating to all of Kilroy's plays. Correspondence featured includes from the Seamuses: Deane and

Heaney Heaney is a surname of Irish origin. It is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic ''Ó hEignigh'', thought to be based on the Gaelic a personal name meaning "horseman". It was mistakenly thought to derive from Éan, Gaelic for Bird. Versions of it ar ...

; Mary Lavin, John McGahern, various agents, publishers, theatre practitioners and the general public. On 22 March 2011, a public interview with Kilroy, moderated by Professor Adrian Frazier (with an introduction by Doctor Lionel Pilkington), was held at the University of Galway to mark the donation; amongst those in attendance were

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription requ ...

and

Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins (; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, broadcaster, and sociologist who has been serving as the president of Ireland since 2011. Entering national politics through the Labour Party, he served as a senator ...

. *

Máirtín Ó Direáin Máirtín Ó Direáin (; 29 November 1910 – 19 March 1988) was an Irish poet from the Aran Islands Gaeltacht. Along with Seán Ó Ríordáin and Máire Mhac an tSaoi, Ó Direáin was, in the words of Louis de Paor, "one of a trinity of poets ...

*The literary papers of

Eoghan Ó Tuairisc Eoghan Ó Tuairisc (''Eugene Rutherford Watters'') (3 April 1919 – 24 August 1982) was an Irish poet and writer. Life Eugene Rutherford Watters was born at Dunlo Hill, Ballinasloe, County Galway, to Thomas Watters, a soldier, and his wife, Ma ...

Theatre

*The Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe Archive ( Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe) *The Druid Theatre Archive (

) *The Lyric Theatre, Belfast Archive *The Siobhán McKenna Archive (

Siobhán McKenna Siobhán McKenna (; 24 May 1922 – 16 November 1986) was an Irish stage and screen actress. Early life She was born Siobhán Giollamhuire Nic Cionnaith in Belfast in the newly created Northern Ireland into a Catholic and nationalist family. ...

) *The Arthur Shields Archive (

Arthur Shields Arthur Shields (15 February 1896 – 27 April 1970) was an Irish actor on television, stage and film. Early years Born in Portobello, Dublin into a family who were members of the Church of Ireland, Shields started acting in the Abbey Theatre w ...

) *In 2012, the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre (), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland () is a theatre in Dublin, Ireland. First opening to the public on 27 December 1904, and moved from its original building after a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the p ...

and NUI Galway formed a partnership to digitise the Abbey Theatre archive, billed as the largest digital theatre archive in the world. *In 2016, digitisation of the

archives commenced. *The John Arden and Margaretta D'Arcy Archive (

John Arden John Arden (26 October 1930 – 28 March 2012) was an English playwright who at his death was lauded as "one of the most significant British playwrights of the late 1950s and early 60s". Career Born in Barnsley, son of the manager of a glass ...

and Margaretta D'Arcy) launched on 24 November 2017.

Screen

*The John Huston Archive (

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics. He rec ...

)

Other

*The Galway Arts Festival Archive ( Galway Arts Festival) *The Brendan Duddy Archive (

Brendan Duddy Brendan Duddy (10 June 1936 – 12 May 2017) was a businessman from Derry, Northern Ireland, who played a key role in the Northern Ireland peace process, which ended most of the violence of the Troubles in the 1990s. A notable Catholic republican ...

), papers deposited in 2009, unveiled at a

symposium In Ancient Greece, the symposium (, ''sympósion'', from συμπίνειν, ''sympínein'', 'to drink together') was the part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was accompanied by music, dancing, recitals, o ...

in November 2011 attended by Michael Oatley and Seán Ó hUigínn *In 2014 the

Kevin Boyle (lawyer) Christopher Kevin Boyle (23 May 1943 – 25 December 2010) was a Northern Irish-born human rights activist, barrister and educator. He was among the first in the academic law community to engage in human rights activism. Born and brought up in N ...

archive was added for the study of human rights.

Constituent buildings

According to an internal newsletter from February 2009, the James Hardiman Library at that time spanned four floors and housed 424,843 books and 1,645 study spaces. The new Nursing & Midwifery Library opened in June 2009. It spans three floors and can be accessed via the James Hardiman Library. The university's Nursing Library had previously been located in Dangan.

References

External links

James Hardiman Library

Search the Library's catalogue

Collections
at the University of Galway
Theatre Archives
at the University of Galway {{Authority control Academic libraries in Ireland Buildings and structures of the University of Galway Deposit libraries Libraries in the Republic of Ireland