You’ll recall that the National Library was on the blog post I made for Kitty Lee.  It was among the things I wanted to see but hadn’t yet.

My recent visitor, Pam Eddy, used to enjoy going there when she was a Fulbright scholar to Ireland in the spring of 2009.  She knew the ropes of getting in and around the place, and that made it easier for me to jump in and enjoy being there.  (I’ll admit I’d been a bit intimidated by the place before going there with her.)

We viewed an exhibition of W. E. B Yeats, stowed our bags in the handy (all glass) lockers, and proceeded into the grand reading hall.  I’ve posted a host of images to show you the grandeur or the hall and the entry procession leading to it.

Photos outside the National Library show the exact same scene a century ago.

Pam and I signed in…

…and looked around the formal reading room.

It doesn’t look so different today…

…than in this old photograph.

The ceiling is beautiful and the space filled with natural light.

The furnishing are from days past…

…the clock…

…and word work from a time when craft was highly valued.

Pam and I…

…collected memories…

…enjoyed the space…

…admired the materials…

…and then found our way back to the door. Perhaps next time we’ll bring some work to do in the stillness of this grand place.