If you’re planning a Dublin trip this autumn, here’s one to bookmark. The National Library of Ireland on Kildare Street is running a full programme of free events through October, and several of them take place in the evening, once the daytime crowds have gone.
The evening events to note are:
- Big Stories Behind Small Treasures, 7 October, 5:30pm
- Historical fiction (Ficsean stairiúil), 8 October, 6:30pm
- Into Irish: Translating a Nation, 15 October, 6:30pm
- Director’s Tour of the building, Thursday 22 October, 6pm
- Supernatural: Exploring Ireland’s Fairy Tradition, 27 October, 6pm
- Samhain and the Thinning Veil, 29 October, 6pm
The big one is Dublin By Dusk on Thursday 29 October. The Reading Room on Kildare Street and the Yeats exhibition are open from 5pm to 8.30pm, with last admission at 8.15pm. The Live Aid exhibition in Temple Bar is open for the same hours. Admission is free. The Main Reading Room is normally restricted to readers with tickets, so this is a rare chance to walk in as a visitor. A Twilight Talk, a 15-minute presentation by an NLI researcher, is scheduled for 7.10pm that evening.
Check nli.ie for booking details and opening-hours updates before you go. Travelextra reports that visitors should check opening hours because of industrial action.
We love recommending free cultural stops that actually deliver, and this one does. It’s central, it works well as an evening activity after a day of sightseeing, and it connects you to Irish literary heritage in a way that feels genuine rather than tourist-packaged. For the Yeats exhibition tours earlier in the month, see our guide to the free Yeats exhibition tours. For more Dublin ideas, see our complete guide to things to do in Dublin.
October in Dublin can be wet. Having a warm, fascinating, free option in your back pocket? Smart travel.
Originally reported by travelextra.ie
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