WHAT'S ON AT THE LINEN HALL

EXHIBITION

All 70 political posters from our 'Troubled Images' exhibition, documenting the years of the Northern Ireland conflict, have been hung five storeys high in our Vertical Gallery.

The exhibition has travelled throughout the world to inform and educate the general public about the turbulent years of Northern Ireland’s ‘Troubles’. It is now ‘home’ again and available for all to see.

EXHIBITION

Forty years ago, the first of Joan Lingard's Kevin and Sadie books, The Twelfth of July, appeared. In the subsequent four books, readers followed the growing relationship between the young couple, one Catholic, the other Protestant, against the backdrop of 1970s Belfast. This summer, for the first time, Lingard's personal archive of original manuscripts will go on display at the Linen Hall Library.

BELFAST NATURAL HISTORY & PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY LECTURE

My Da, His Poetry, The Troubles and Me by Martin Lynch

Lectures take place at 6.30pm in the Linen Hall Library. They are free and non-members are welcome.

LIBRARY TOURS

Guided by Library staff, these tours delve into the Library's colourful and tumultuous history and offer a look at the 'gems' of our collections.

STORY TIME FOR CHILDREN

This children's Story Time will be inspired by European Heritage Open Day and suitable for 4 to 7 year olds. It will run for about half an hour. Please note that today's Story Time starts at the later time of 11.30am.

EXHIBITION

Flow - From the Department of Finance and Personnel (NI) and the Office of Public Works (Republic of Ireland) – Exhibition

Reflections on our relationship with water, so vital for life and central to much of our work and play, feature in this year's joint government art exhibition. Beautifully capturing the ebb and flow of this essential bond will be works by some of the most-admired and influential Irish artists including TP Flanagan, William Conor, Patrick Collins, Basil Blackshaw and Niall Speers.

Key items from the Library's own collection will accompany the display. Always popular, this show should not be missed.

READING GROUP

Brooklyn - In 1950s Ireland, opportunities for young girls like Eilis Lacey are scarce. When a job is offered in America, it is clear that she must go. Far from home, homesick and just beginning to forge a new life for herself in Brooklyn, Eilis receives news which summons her back to Ireland only to be confronted by a devastating choice between duty and great love.

The Reading Group meets on the last Thursday of each month and all are welcome to come along and discuss the book chosen for that month. 

BELFAST SOCIETY LECTURE

Habits, Humans and Healthcare: Biodiversity meets Drug Discovery
By Professor Christopher Shaw

These talks are organised by The Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society and held in the Linen Hall Library. The Society was founded in 1821 to promote knowledge in arts sciences.

Lectures take place at 6.30pm in the Linen Hall Library. They are free and non-members are welcome.

LANGUAGE CLASSES

Ulster-Scots classes run from 3pm-4pm
Irish classes run from 4.15-5.15pm

Introductory Ulster-Scots with Gary Blair
Supported by the Ulster-Scots Agency.
Every Tuesday 12 Oct – 7 Dec

Advanced Irish with Dr Stiofán Ó Direáin
Every Thursday 14 Oct – 9 Dec

Beginners' Irish with Gordon McCoy
Supported by the Ultach Trust.
Every Friday 15 Oct – 10 Dec

Post-Beginners' Irish with Niall MacLochlainn
Supported by the Ultach Trust.
Every Friday 15 Oct – 10 Dec

READING GROUP

The Anatomy of Ghosts - 1786, Jerusalem College Cambridge. The ghost of Sylvia Whichcote is rumoured to be haunting Jerusalem since disturbed fellow-commoner, Frank Oldershaw, claims to have seen the dead woman prowling the grounds. Desperate to salvage her son’s reputation, Lady Anne Oldershaw employs John Holdsworth, author of The Anatomy of Ghosts – a stinging account of why ghosts are mere delusion – to investigate.

The Reading Group meets on the last Thursday of each month, and all are welcome to come along and discuss the book chosen for that month.

CHILDREN'S STORY TIME

BELFAST SOCIETY LECTURE

Odd Dorics, Idiosyncratic Ionics and Curious Corinthians: the Exotica of Classical Architecture
By Dr Edward McParland

These talks are organised by The Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society and held in the Linen Hall Library. The Society was founded in 1821 to promote knowledge in arts sciences.

Lectures take place at 6.30pm in the Linen Hall Library. They are free and non-members are welcome.

LINEN HALL LIBRARY PRINT SALE

The Linen Hall Library is selling a selection of surplus prints. A perfect opportunity to bag a bargain, with hundreds of prints available on a first-come, first-served basis.  Great for Christmas presents. 

Book Sale hours are 10am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on Saturday.

For further information please contact the Linen Hall Library on 028 9032 1707.

CHILDREN'S STORY TIME

Once upon a time...

Noddy is 60 this year and features in today’s chosen stories!

Our popular series of children's story times are a great introduction to the Library. Children hear some of the most popular stories in our collections, read by our Library staff. Sessions are suitable for 4 to 7 year olds, start promptly at 11am and run for about half an hour. Adults are welcome to browse the bookshelves or relax in our coffee shop.

READING GROUP

The Bell Jar - The story of a gifted young woman's mental breakdown beginning during a summer internship as a junior editor at a magazine in New York City in the early 1950s. The real Plath committed suicide in 1963 and left behind this scathingly sad, honest and perfectly-written book, which remains one of the best-told tales of a woman's descent into insanity.

The Reading Group meets on the last Thursday of each month, and all are welcome to come along and discuss the book chosen for that month.

BELFAST SOCIETY LECTURE

A Tour of Fermanagh Past and Present: with illustrations from Fermanagh County Museum
By Helen Lanigan Wood

These talks are organised by The Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society and held in the Linen Hall Library. The Society was founded in 1821 to promote knowledge in arts sciences.

Lectures take place at 6.30pm in the Linen Hall Library. They are free and non-members are welcome.

READING GROUP

Never Let Me Go - In one of the most acclaimed and strange novels of recent years, Kazuo Ishiguro imagines the lives of a group of students growing up in a darkly skewered version of contemporary England. Narrated by Kathy, now 31, Never Let Me Go hauntingly dramatises her attempts to come to terms with her childhood at the seemingly idyllic Hailsham School, and with the fate that has always awaited her and her closest friends in the wider world. A story of love, friendship and memory, Never Let Me Go is charged throughout with a sense of the fragility of life..

The Reading Group meets on the last Thursday of each month, and all are welcome to come along and discuss the book chosen for that month.

STORY TIME FOR CHILDREN

Once upon a time... 

Christmas favourites feature today and Santa makes a visit.

Our popular series of children's story times are a great introduction to the Library. Children hear some of the most popular stories in our collections, read by our Library staff. Sessions are suitable for 4 to 7 year olds, start promptly at 11am and run for about half an hour. Adults are welcome to browse the bookshelves or relax in our coffee shop.