Marsh’s Library was opened in 1701 by Archbishop of Dublin, Narcissus Marsh (1638 – 1713). It was designed by Sir Wm Robinson. He was a remarkable man in many ways who preferred a scholarly and prayerful lifestyle to that of administration and executive responsibility. He was also an accomplished scientist and studied acoustics. He was the first to coin the word ‘microphone’. There was already a great library in Trinity but not open to the public and this was noted by Marsh when he was Provost of TCD. It was highly unusual then for a quality library to be opened for public use and thus Marsh’s is Irelands first public library and still functions as such.
Dependent on charity, the library went into decline in the 19th century and became somewhat derelict until it was restored by the Guinness family. Today, it is supported by corporate funding and state aids as well as by modest admission fees. Almost nothing is changed from when it was first opened and the library is one of the few 18th century buildings still being used for its original purpose. Beautiful, dark, oak bookcases with carved and lettered gables topped by a mitre contain a vast array of books on varied topics from the 17th century and earlier. All the books, organised by subject and then size, are in exactly the same order as Marsh left them. Marsh himself is supposed to haunt the library after dark!
www.marshlibrary.com
