TO THE L I B R A R Y A S S O C I AT I O N , BY THE P ESIDENT OH M IN RA LL D. J N ' . R , G , . ET me begin by offerin g to the Library Association a hearty w elcome to Dublin , and in particular to Trinity College , which gladly receives within its walls a Body pursuin g ends n a kindred to its own , and doi g good work for the further nce of u research and the promotion of general c lture . a o u When Mr . Bradsh w addressed y at Cambridge , he asked a nd n answered the question , What the Association could gai by visiting that place If the same question were proposed to me I in relation to Dublin , could not in reply hold out to the Members who come from the sister island the hope o f finding much that is avel or suggestive in our local sys PM g G. toms of Library and management . Here in if at fbur a e Trinity College , t methods r , for the most part, , ' traditional ; they : have come down to u s from our pred e cessors . , and have been fixed by lapse of time We find them practically adequate to our needs ; and they could not be in n altered any considerable degree , even whe the change would be in some respects desirable , without producing an amount of confusion far outweighing the good that could be attained . ' f t What , then , can we o fer that will interes our visitors ; what can they gain by coming to us beyond the interchange are of ideas and discussion of principles , which in a great degree independent of the place of meetin g ' B 2 D' I s n an wer that one important fu ction of the Association , ” w a u hich its migr tory habits enable it to f lfil , is to take stock of the book treasures of the United Kingdom . Now , not to u speak at present of other val able collections in Dublin , we have in Trinity College a Library Which is well worthy of their i examination . It is well stored w th ancient and modern litera n n of ture , containi g more tha volumes printed books and 2 0 00 . about MSS There are in it , too , certain peculiar and pre cious o f t c n things , some hem deserving to be alled ational heir looms , which give to it a special character and a dignity of its own . n o w s ee fo r I A certain number of those who it the first time will , f hope , look care ullyinto it , allowing themselves the necessary time m . for aking some real acquaintance with it We shall , of course , g ive them such help and guidance as we can . By way o f pre a ra tion p for such a closer view, as well as for the benefit of those w ho I will be satisfied with a more general survey , have thought that I should best occupy your time this morning in giving y o u t . I a brief, but olerably comprehensive account of it shall first h i explain the way in w ich it has grown to its present dimens ons , and then notice the most interesting rarities which heighten its o f d reputation and attract strangers to it for purposes stu y . And , lastly, since it is a profitable thing for us all to render I S at times a public account of our stewardship , hall describe w hat has been done, and what we are now doing , both in adding n e w s n elements to our tores , and in maki g what we possess as f a s . I accessible and use ul possible In filling up this outline , shall o f course mention much that is familiar to some of my I to n hearers , but will ask them bear with the repetitio of facts already known to them for the sake of the many to whom they will probably be new . 1 . 159 1 wa s Trinity College , having been founded in , opened 594 9th 1 . for the admission of Students on the of January , A f College cannot do without books , and the ormation of a Library would naturally be amongst the first cares of the heads of the . u institution But f nds were not immediately available , and the way in which they were supplied is curious enough . Those 5 w ho have visited our Library w ill have observed that in the gallery outside the door of what is called the Lon g Room is s n su pe ded an old plan of the Battle of Kinsale , fought in 1 60 1 m a h d l December, , and y possibly ave aske why this p an should appear in s uch a seemingly incongruous place . But there h o f fo r is excellent reason , at least from the istorical point view , : m . its being there it com emorates , in fact , the origin of the Library r r n s s th e For the English a my , afte havi g uppres ed revolt of the n a n d e d ative Irish , taken Kinsale from th ir allies the Spaniar s , ‘ 8 0 a k l subscribed £1 0 out of their p y to buy boo s for the Col ege . n 16 5 6 Dr . Nicholas Bernard , writi g in , after mentioning the f d t he m n for act , a ds parenthetic com e t , Then souldiers were ” the advancement of learning . The sum thus contributed was d h . u e a n entrusted to Dr L ke Chalon r the celebrated James Uss er , w d after ar s Archbishop of Armagh , who were sent to London in 1 6 03 n m for the purpose of purchasi g b ooks . They there e t Sir b n Thomas Bodley , who was also uyi g books for his Library at B “ Oxford , and between them , say s ernard , there was a com “ merce in supplying each other with rarities . There is gi ven in our Register a l ist o f the printed books in the possession of ' in 1 60 0 : 40 Trinity College the y ear they amount to volumes . d 16 04 We have also a Catalogue of the ate of , the work of o f . Ambrose Ussher , brother the future Primate From an ex I l amination of this , estimate rough y the number of volumes then o n 49 0 0 the shelves at . This large increase must have been the fruit of the purchases of Chaloner and his colleague . James Ussher collected not merely on this occasion and in l ater b ut . y ears for the College, throughout his life for himself He had , says his biographer Parr, a kind of laudable cove tousn ess t for books, and never thought a good book , ei her to o d . manuscript or print , ear Sir William Brereton, of the county of Chester , the well known Parliamentarian general , visited Ireland , and travelled 6 5 1 3 . through a considerable part of the island , in the year in He visited Trinity College , and found it to be seated ' “ oo f o . a g d air, out the city and near the sea They m glory uch , he says , in their Library , whereof I took a n d a full view , there were showed unto me many manuscripts ; t ’ one they highly esteem , and which hey call Friar Bacon s work . The library is not large , well contrived , nor well fur n ish ed with books . They say it is to be disposed of to some c ” other uses , and a new Library and schools to be ere ted . Sir A Ussher William afterwards dined with rchbishop , whom he describes as a most holy and heavenly man , and as pregnant w ithal as any I have heard ; and Ussher showed him some of his books , of which he says there were not many in his closet , but those that were were much used and employed . Amongst “ W them were the whole books of the aldenses , which are very him £22 rare ; they cost sterling , about ten or twelve volumes , ’ in a miscellaneous language twixt French and Spanish ; these ” w ere sent him from a Counsellor in France . ’ D Ussher s Library was in rogheda , under the custody of Dr . in Bernard , when the town was besieged for four months 1641 by the Irish insurgents ; and , when the siege was raised it a n d was transferred (both books manuscripts) to Chester , and a in co n s e afterwards to Chelse College , where it was when , ’ quen ce of Ussher s having preached against the Assembly of D n . e xer ivines , it was co fiscated by the Parliament By the f tions of a riend of the Archbishop , aided by the cel ebrated John Selden , it was either obtained by grant or purchased for a a small sum , and restored to the owner, not,however , it is s id , without a part of its contents having been lost durin g the z sei ure . 1645 In September , ,when travelling in Wales , Ussher was “ ” n : roughly ha dled by some soldiers they broke open , says “ k Bernard , two of his trun s full of books , and took all away , amon gst which he lost two manuscripts of the History Of the o s Waldenses , which he never got again most of the other b ok w ere returned by the preachers exhorting of all sorts in their the sermons to that end ; but those two manuscripts , though m ” o .