Princess Grace Irish Library | |
---|---|
43°43′52.6″N7°25′26″E / 43.731278°N 7.42389°E | |
Location | Monaco |
Established | 1984 |
Branches | N/A |
Collection | |
Size | More than 9,000 books and sheet music [1] |
Access and use | |
Population served | Monegasque citizenry and residents |
Other information | |
Website | pgil.mc |
The Princess Grace Irish Library is a library situated in Monaco named after Princess Grace, the wife and consort of Prince Rainier III. Among its collections of Irish literature, the library hosts the personal collection of Irish books and music that belonged to Grace, whose paternal relatives came from County Mayo, Ireland. The library was established in November 1984 by Prince Rainier, in memory of his wife.
The Library was founded by Princess Grace's husband, Prince Rainier II, and novelist Anthony Burgess in honor of Grace's Irish heritage. The collection originally contained the princess's personal library of Irish literature and Irish-American sheet music. Since its founding, it has acquired over twelve thousand books, including literature from the Irish Literary Revival as well as classic volumes. The Library also contains multiple portraits and pictures of Princess Grace, by artists Mohamed Drisi, Jack Yeats, Louis le Brocquy, Jack Murray and Claire D’Arcy, respectively. The collection has a selection for young readers, offering books and DVDs for age two and upwards. [2]
The library regularly sponsors public lectures [3] [4] and issues literary monographs. Previous speakers include poet Seamus Heaney. The library also hosted at one time a large, detailed, comprehensive and definitive online reference database of Irish writers, but this is now available instead at Ricorso's official website. The library also hosts regular conferences on Irish literature and readings. A Biennal Autumn Symposia is held at the Irish Library; past themes include "Irish Poetry After Feminism" and "George Moore: Situating the Oeuvre". [5]
In association with the Ireland Fund of Monaco, residential bursaries have been established "to enable literary and academic writers born or living in Ireland to pursue a current project during a one-month residency at The Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco". The bursaries are available in the spring and the fall. [6] [7]
Grace Patricia Kelly, also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their marriage on April 18, 1956, until her death in 1982. Prior to her marriage, she starred in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s. She received an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards and was ranked 13th on the American Film Institute's 25 Greatest Female Stars list.
Rainier III was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years.
Princess Stéphanie Marie Elisabeth of Monaco is the youngest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and American actress Grace Kelly. She is the younger sister of Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and Caroline, Princess of Hanover. Currently 14th in the line of succession to the Monegasque throne, she has been a singer, swimwear designer and fashion model.
Princess Antoinette, Baroness of Massy was a member of the princely family of Monaco. She was the elder sister of Prince Rainier III. Her parents were Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois and her former husband, Count Pierre de Polignac.
Albert II is Prince of Monaco, reigning since 2005.
Princess Caroline Louise Marguerite of Monaco is Princess of Hanover by marriage to Prince Ernst August. As the eldest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and Grace Kelly, she is the elder sister of Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and Princess Stéphanie.
Fontvieille is the southernmost ward in the Principality of Monaco. It was developed by Italian engineer Gianfranco Gilardini and designed by architect Manfredi Nicoletti, between the 1970s and the 1990s.
A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head. The royal yacht is most often crewed by personnel from the navy and used by the monarch and their family on both private and official travels.
The House of Grimaldi is the current reigning house of the Principality of Monaco. The house was founded in 1160 by Grimaldo Canella in Genoa and became the ruling house of Monaco when Francesco Grimaldi captured Monaco in 1297.
Andrea Albert Pierre Casiraghi is the elder son of Caroline, Princess of Hanover, and her second husband Stefano Casiraghi. He is the eldest grandchild of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and American actress Grace Kelly. Casiraghi is currently fourth in the line of succession to the Monegasque throne, following his twin cousins and his mother.
Daniel Ducruet is a former husband of Princess Stéphanie of Monaco, to whom he was married in 1995 and divorced from a year later in 1996.
Elizabeth-Ann (Noghès) de Massy was the daughter of Princess Antoinette of Monaco and Alexandre-Athenase Noghès. She was a first cousin of the reigning Prince Albert II and niece of Prince Rainier III. She was the godmother of her first cousin once-removed Princess Stéphanie of Monaco.
John Brendan Kelly Jr., also known as Kell Kelly, was an American athlete, a rower, a four-time Olympian, and an Olympic medal winner. He was the son of triple Olympic gold medal winner Jack Kelly Sr., and the elder brother of the actress and Princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly. In 1947, Kelly was awarded the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States. He served a brief tenure as president of the United States Olympic Committee.
The Monaco succession crisis of 1918 arose because France objected to the prospect of a German national inheriting the throne of the Principality of Monaco. Prince Albert I had only one legitimate child, the Hereditary Prince Louis, then heir apparent to the principality. As World War I drew to a close, Prince Louis, at the age of forty-eight, remained without legitimate issue, unmarried, and unbetrothed.
The Prince's Palace of Monaco is the official residence of the Sovereign Prince of Monaco. Built in 1191 as a Genoese fortress, during its long and often dramatic history it has been bombarded and besieged by many foreign powers. Since the end of the 13th century, it has been the stronghold and home of the Grimaldi family who first captured it in 1297. The Grimaldi ruled the area first as feudal lords, and from the 17th century as sovereign princes, but their power was often derived from fragile agreements with their larger and stronger neighbours.
Christian Louis de Massy, Baron de Massy is the son of Princess Antoinette of Monaco, Baroness de Massy, and her husband, international tennis champion Alexandre-Athenase Noghès. His grandfather, Antony Noghès, created the world-famous Monaco Grand Prix. He was one of the two page boys at the wedding of his uncle Rainier III with Grace Kelly.
Constantin George Sandulescu was a Joycean scholar, but in the first place, he was a linguist with twelve years' experience in the Department of Theoretical Linguistics of the University of Stockholm in the 1970s and 1980s, specializing in Discourse Analysis. In that capacity he read a dozen or so papers at various international congresses.
Fred Johnston is an Irish poet, novelist, literary critic and musician. He is the founder and current director of the Western Writers' Centre in Galway. He co-founded the Irish Writers' Co-operative in 1974, and founded Galway's annual Cúirt International Festival of Literature in 1986.
The Red Cross of Monaco is the national Red Cross Society of Monaco, founded in 1948 by Louis II of Monaco in the aftermath of the Second World War.
The Garden Club of Monaco was founded by the late Princess Grace, Princess of Monaco in 1968. She was the first president of the club. After her death, in 1982, her widower, Rainier III, Prince of Monaco appointed his daughter Princess Caroline to the role.