Exhibition · Monday 20 July · 9am
Music Treasures of The Linen Hall Exhibition
Linen Hall Library · 17 Donegall Street North, Belfast, BT1 5GB
Free entryThis event has passed
Music Treasures of The Linen Hall Exhibition. Photograph: the promoter
Treasures from The Linen Hall’s Music Collections
Free Exhibition
To celebrate Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2026, The Linen Hall opens up its remarkable music collections for a special free exhibition.
Founded in 1788, music has been part of the library’s story from its earliest years. On display will be the minute book of the Belfast Harp Society, historic editions of Edward Bunting’s Ancient Irish Music, material relating to influential collectors Robert Shipboy McAdam and Robert Young, and correspondence between song collector Patrick Lynch, Edward Bunting and Mary Ann McCracken.
The exhibition also brings the story into more recent times, with treasures from the archives of composer, organist and choirmaster William Henry “Harry” Grindle, Derek Bell of The Chieftains, and renowned Belfast traditional musician Seán Maguire.
A rare chance to explore more than two centuries of Belfast’s musical history through the collections that helped preserve it.