| Bolton Library | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 53°13′09″N7°53′08″W / 53.219190804434184°N 7.885437490647715°W | |
| Location | Cashel, County Tipperary, Ireland |
| Established | 18th century CE |
| Collection | |
| Items collected | Books |
| Size | ca. 12,000 items |
The Bolton Library is a collection of books housed at the University of Limerick and a physical library building in Cashel, County Tipperary, Ireland. It is described as the largest and most important collection of antiquarian books in Ireland outside of Dublin. [1] [2] [3]
Church of Ireland Archbishop Theophilus Bolton established the library in the 18th century CE by combining his own collection of books with approximately 6,000 more purchased from the estate of the late Archbishop of Dublin, William King. Known as the Cashel Diocesan Library, it was originally housed in the Bishop's Palace before moving to a purpose-built chapter house designed by local architect William Tinsley on the grounds of St. John's Cathedral, Cashel. On his death, Bolton left the collection to the diocese of Cashel in perpetuity. His bequest did not include funding for the maintenance of the collection and the library struggled financially. [4] [5] [6] [7] [3]
The collection was endangered as early as 1798, when soldiers quartered in the Bishop's Palace damaged the library and destroyed some books. In 1822, Reverend Henry Cotton was appointed librarian. Passage of the Church Temporalities Act 1833 led to the removal of the collection from the Bishop's Palace and in 1835 Cotton hired local architect William Tinsley to design a new building to house the library. In 1857, John Davis White became librarian, a post he held until the 1890s. Introduction of the Irish Church Act 1869 reduced funding for the collection, resulting in a deterioration of conditions in the building. In 1873, the library printed a Catalogue of the Library of the Dean and Chapter of Cashel, documenting the contents. In 1909, the post of librarian was dissolved and the Dean of Cashel took charge of the collection. In the early 1900s, Bolton Library made loans to other institutions, including Marsh's Library and the Church of Ireland Representative Church Body Library in Dublin. On his appointment in 1961, Dean Charles Wolfe arranged the return of loaned items and attempted to obtain funding to restore the library. Unable to find sponsors, Wolfe sold hundreds of books to the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. and used the money to repair the outside of the building. In 1973, a Catalogue of Cashel Diocesan Library was printed in Boston. [3]
In the 1980s, Dean of Cashel David Woodworth began a renovation and conservation project. The building was refurbished with funding from the American Irish Foundation and the Smurfit Foundation, among others. Major support came from Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA) and in 1986 the library was renamed the GPA Bolton Library. Throughout the 1990s, the library's debts increased dramatically, leading to the sale of two valuable pieces. Attempts to fund the library through tourism failed. In 1994, under Dean Philip Knowles, the University of Limerick agreed to support the library, including managing its finances and administration. Further funding was provided by philanthropist Lewis Glucksman and much work was carried out by FÁS employees and volunteers. In 2004 a computerised catalogue was established. The Irish Heritage Council published a heritage conservation plan for the library in 2007. [8] [9] [10] [5] [3]
From 2010, the University of Limerick took a greater role in managing the library, in conjunction with Marsh's Library and the Office of Public Works. In 2016, the collection was moved to the Glucksmann Library at the University of Limerick. [11] [2] [12] [13] [14]
Previous board members, trustees, and patrons have included Archbishop John Neill, Founding President of the University of Limerick Edward M. Walsh, Bishop Peter Barrett, and politician Martin Mansergh. [4]
The library contains approximately 12,000 items, including books, manuscripts, maps, and prints. More than 50 items are not on record anywhere else in the world and a further 800 are unique in Ireland. The library includes books from the collections of Catherine of Aragon, Francis Bacon, and Abraham Ortelius, creator of the modern atlas. [6] The library has been featured as part of National Heritage Week. [15]
Thurles is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles. The cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly is located in the town.
The University of Limerick (UL) is a public research university institution in Limerick, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in September 1989 in accordance with the University of Limerick Act 1989. It was the first university established since Irish independence in 1922, followed by the establishment of Dublin City University.
Cashel is a town in County Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 4,422 in the 2016 census. The town gives its name to the ecclesiastical province of Cashel. Additionally, the cathedra of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly was originally in the town prior to the English Reformation. It is part of the parish of Cashel and Rosegreen in the same archdiocese. One of the six cathedrals of the Anglican Bishop of Cashel and Ossory, who currently resides in Kilkenny, is located in the town. It is in the civil parish of St. Patricksrock which is in the historical barony of Middle Third.
James Kemmy was an Irish socialist politician from Limerick, who started his political career in the Labour Party. He later left Labour, was elected as an independent Teachta Dála (TD), and founded the Democratic Socialist Party, which merged with the Labour Party in the 1990s.
The Archbishop of Cashel was an archiepiscopal title which took its name after the town of Cashel, County Tipperary in Ireland. Following the Reformation, there had been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Ireland. The archbishop of each denomination also held the title of Bishop of Emly. In the Catholic Church, it was superseded by the role of Archbishop of Cashel and Emly when the two dioceses were united in 2015 and in the Church of Ireland the title was downgraded to a bishopric in 1838.
Emly or Emlybeg is a village in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Clanwilliam. It is also an Ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly.
The Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church located in mid-western Ireland, and the metropolis of the eponymous ecclesiastical province.
Michael Andrew James Burrows is a bishop in the Church of Ireland. He was elected Bishop of the Diocese of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe on 14 January 2022, having previously served as Bishop of Cashel, Ferns and Ossory.
Peter Francis Barrett was the Bishop of Cashel and Ossory in the Church of Ireland from 2002 to 2006.
Mary Immaculate College, (MIC) St. Patrick's Campus, Thurles is a third-level college of education in Thurles, County Tipperary. Formerly a seminary, the college specialises in humanities courses in accounting, business studies, Irish and religious studies.
Ven. Henry Cotton was an English Anglican divine, ecclesiastical historian and author.
The Cashel Palace Hotel is a palladian mansion now operating as a 61 bedroom hotel and restaurant in Cashel, County Tipperary, Ireland.
The Dean of Elphin and Ardagh is based in St John the Baptist Cathedral, Sligo in the Diocese of Elphin and Ardagh within the united bishopric of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh of the Church of Ireland. The dioceses of Elphin and Ardagh were merged in 1841. The original cathedral had been destroyed by military action in 1496 and the original diocesan cathedral was damaged by a storm in 1957 and abandoned in 1961.
The Dean of Waterford in the United Dioceses of Cashel and Ossory in the Church of Ireland is the dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Waterford.
The Dean of Cashel is the head of the Chapter of the Cathedral Church of St John the Baptist and St Patrick's Rock, Cashel, one of the Church of Ireland cathedrals of the united Diocese of Cashel, Ferns and Ossory.
The Dean of Kilkenny or Dean of Ossory is based at The Cathedral Church of St Canice, Kilkenny in the united Diocese of Cashel and Ossory within the Church of Ireland.
The Dean of Ossory or Dean of Kilkenny is based at The Cathedral Church of St Canice, Kilkenny in the united Diocese of Cashel and Ossory within the Church of Ireland.
Philip John Knowles is an Anglican priest.
Martin Hayes is an Irish Roman Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Kilmore since 2020.
The Diocese of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe is a diocese of the Church of Ireland that is located in the west of Ireland. The diocese was formed by a merger of the former Diocese of Tuam, Killala and Achonry and the former Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe in 2022, after the retirement of the separate dioceses' bishops and the appointment of Michael Burrows as bishop of the united diocese. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. It is one of the eleven Church of Ireland dioceses that cover the whole of Ireland. The largest diocese by area in the Church of Ireland, it covers all of counties Clare, Galway, Kerry, Limerick and Mayo, plus parts of counties Cork, Sligo, Roscommon, Offaly, Laois and Tipperary.
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