The Chester Beatty Library is one of Ireland's National Cultural Institutions. The Library was created by Sir Alfred Chester Beatty and it was bequeathed by him to a trust for the benefit of the public.
Library Location
The Chester Beatty Library and Galleries are situated in the gardens of Dublin Castle in the heart of the city centre. They are a two minute's walk from Dame Street via the Palace Street Gate of the Castle and close to Christchurch Cathedral (enter via the Ship Street Gate of the Castle). Nearest DART Station: Tara Street
The Library is both an art museum and library, housing an outstanding collection of Islamic manuscripts, Chinese, Japanese, Indian and other Oriental art. Early papyri, including some of the earliest texts of the Bible and other early Christian manuscripts, western prints and printed books complete what is one of the richest collections of its kind in the world.
Find unusual gifts inspired by the arts and cultures in the Library's collections. A stock range of postcards, posters, gift items and jewellery is available for the visitors to take with them some tokens of this rich heritage centre.
The CBL Reference Library contains 8,000 volumes relating to the collection. Admission is currently by appointment. For further information please contact the Reference Librarian.
The Chester Beatty Library is a public charitable trust: Registered Charity Number:CHY5879
The library has been awarded:
Ireland's Museum of the Year 2000
European Museum of the Year 2002
Open
October - April: Tuesday - Friday 10.00am-5.00pm
May - September: Monday - Friday 10.00am-5.00pm
Saturday, 11.00am - 5.00pm
Sunday, 1.00pm - 5.00pm
(Closed 1 January, Good Friday, 24, 25 and 26 December, Monday public holidays)
Admission is Free
Facilities
Permanent and Temporary Exhibitions
Gift and Bookshop
Silk Road Cafe
Roof Garden
Film Shows and Lectures
Guided Tours: Groups welcome
Image Reproduction Rights service: Microfilm and photographic service for researchers.
Rental facilities
Bus Routes
50, 51B, 54A, 56A, 77, 77A, 78A, 123
Collections of The Chester Beatty Library
The Library's collections are displayed in two permanent exhibitions: 'Sacred Traditions' and 'Artistic Traditions'. The 'Sacred Traditions' Gallery exhibits the sacred texts, illuminated manuscripts and miniature paintings from the great religions and systems of belief represented in the collections - Christianity, Islam and Buddhism with smaller displays on Confucianism, Daoism, Sikhism and Jainism. The Biblical Papyri, the remarkable collection of Qur'an manuscripts and scrolls and books of Buddhist thought provide the focus for the displays. Audio-visual programmes on Rites of Passage in many faiths, prayer and pilgrimage enhance the displays.
Pictured: Sacred Traditions Gallery: Buddhism
The 'Artistic Traditions' gallery is devoted mainly to works of art on paper, techniques of print-making, binding and paper-making and the art of miniature painting. The display draws on the rich manuscript holdings, the collection of rare printed books and of decorative arts, especially from East Asia. The exhibition is introduced by a display devoted to the life and work of Sir Alfred Chester Beatty.
The Chester Beatty Collection is a unique treasure reflecting the connoisseurship and enthusiasms of its founder.
The Islamic Collections include mainly Persian, Turkish and Arabic manuscripts, most of which are adorned with exquisite illustrations, illuminations and fine bindings. They deal with a wide-range of subjects and, along with a breathtaking array of single-page Mughal paintings and a superb collection of beautifully calligraphed and decorated copies of the Holy Qur'an, they mark the Library as one of the main centres for the study of Isalmic culture and the arts of the Islamic book.
Pictured: Sacred Traditions Gallery: Islam
From East and South East Asia come fine collections of illustrated manuscripts, prints, printed books and decorative arts. The cultural artistic and religious traditions of China, Japan, India, Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, Thailand, Burma (Myanmar), and Indonesia are represented by a range of exquisitely made works of art produced between the 8th and 20th centuries.
The Western Collections hold many important early Christian biblical and Manichaean papyri - the Library is one of the premier sources for scholarship in the Christian Old and New Testament. Armenian, Western European manuscripts from medieval, Renaissance and modern times, prints, early and fine books and bindings complete a remarkable conspectus of the arts of manuscript production and printing from many cultures and periods.
Pictured: Sacred Traditions Gallery: Christianity
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