Chester Beatty Library

A great place to visit and a definitely must-​see when you are in Dublin !
Very close to the Dublin Castle, this Library is actually a whole collection of books and various treasures related to literature (manuscripts, paintings, drawings). All these treasuries have been collected by Sir Chester Beatty, hence the name of the Library.
The place is spread over two floors, there is a coffee shop on the ground floor and a very nice bookstore. You will have to store your bags in lockers (free of charges) before going to the exhibition rooms. The staff is nice, polite and welcoming.
All items are really amazing: you will travel around the world and over time (various civilizations, cultures and periods). I am still very impressed by the tremendous work done by Sir Chester Beatty to gather such an impressive collection. It was a real pleasure to discover and to travel so much in a single place like this (I’m French and from Paris, so I have seen a lot of museums …)
As most of the places to visit in Dublin, the Library closes at 5.00 pm, so make sure to plan your visit (it takes 1 to 2 hours to see the whole collection).
Also don’t miss the guided tours at 1pm on Wednesday, and 3pm + 4pm on Sunday (it’s free!)

If you’re into art and books at all, you will love Chester Beatty Library.
It’s free to visit — It has tonnes of different ancient books and art from all civilizations — It’s definitely worth checking out. You can also avail of free public tours on Wednesdays or Sundays.
It’s located right behind Dublin Castle, so you’ll need to look out for it.
You can even sign up for their newsletter, which is posted to you!

Free to visit and houses a large collection of ancient cultural and religious texts, scrolls and prints from many areas of the world. Visit if you are particularly interested in history, religion and art. Free public tours are available on Wednesdays and Sundays. It’s right behind the main Dublin Castle buildings and next to the Dubh Linn Garden so convenient to pop in if you are in the area exploring these. Take a trip up to the rooftop garden if the weather is nice.

Fabulous collection of ancient manuscripts. Actual papyri from the 2^nd & 3^rd century AD. So much intestine books & artifacts. The café is perfect for coffee & a snack. The gardens in front are beautiful for pictures. Not to be missed.

I absolutely loved my visit to the Chester Beatty Library.
Chester Beatty is situated right behind Dublin Castle. Unless you are looking for it, you might not find it. It is a museum filled with eclectic items collected by an Irish American. I loved the exhibit on the third floor about different world religions. Both the items and the accompanying texts were interesting and powerful.
After looking through the galleries, I was about to leave when I noticed that there was a staircase to a rooftop garden. It was a gloomy and drizzly day, so there was no one else out there. Despite the weather, it was still really nice in the garden because it was so serene.
Best of all, admission is free! Be sure to not miss this!

La biblioteca Chester Beatty es una de las atracciones turisticas mas importantes de Dublin, y no en vano. Se trata de un pequeño «museo» donde se expone la coleccion personal de este personaje asi como algunas otras piezas, y abarca libros, grabados y otros elementos de varias culturas.
Personalmente, no fui con muchas expectativas, pero con el correr de los minutos, empece a sentirme a gusto y a entender la magnitud de esos manuscritos o libros expuestos.
Se destaca una de las colecciones mas grandes y antiguas de libros del Corán, y diversos manuscritos y libros religiosos q datan del siglo II.
Dos cosas importantes: no se cobra entrada y se puede recorrer en poco tiempo, por lo que resulta una opcion mas que atractiva para visitar.

This is such a hidden gem in Dublin City and its free to the public. The tour guide suggested this place because he could tell that I’m into Asian art because I mentioned I was Chinese?! Possible racial profiling here? Lol. Nevertheless, I’m glad he did because it was a nice library & museum. I like the collection of Chinese and Japanese art and manuscripts from the 18^th /​19^th centuries.

Great library. One of Dublin’s best attractions in my opinion. The guide helped explain a lot of the collections which otherwise would have been lost on me. Great visit and the restaurant is a good spot too. All for free aswell!

One of the best museums I have ever been to… and I have been to a lot around the world! Terrific items that you will not find elsewhere. Great educational display. Highly recommend!

C’est simplement une des plus belles collections de livres que j’ai pu voir dans un musée.
L’ami Chester, américain (et mort) de son état, a fait fortune dans l’industrie minière et a fini sa vie à Dublin. En plus de se faire accorder des obsèques nationales, il a décidé d’exposer sa modeste collection de livres anciens dans un musée, gratuit qui plus est (et qui le restera !)
Le bâtiment, situé dans l’enceinte du Dublin Castle est beau, spacieux et bénéficie d’une muséographie vraiment agréable qui met en avant les pièces tout en fournissant bon nombre d’informations sur leur contenu (en anglais et en gaélique, par contre, donc non-​bilingues s’abstenir)
Concernant la collection en elle-​même, c’est tout simplement la plus belle collection privée de livres en Europe, si ce n’est au Monde, principalement axée sur les textes religieux et l’Orient. Plusieurs exemplaires du Coran, des papyrus à faire pâlir d’envie le département d’égyptololgie du Louvre, tout un rayon passionnant sur la reliure, et quelques pièces surprenantes, comme une collection de flacons à priser, ou encore des estampes d’Hokusai et Hiroshige…
Le café est cool, la boutique sympa, et j’espère que ma tentative de coloriage d’un Bouddha Mexicain trouvera sa place dans la collection permanente

I really enjoy spend my time there, they got an amazing collection of art and religion, parts of the original bible, i particularly love the japan and Chinese artefacts displayed there, in a sun day u could also jut lay in the outside garden

The Chester Beatty Library is such a lovely way to spend an afternoon. It offers permanent exhibits that will take you away with ‘mood lighting’ that actually adds to the experience. Check out the «Sacred Traditions» exhibit or if you’re interested in style history, the prints of old Paris fashions are sweet!
Here’s what makes this ‘museum’ even more appealing:
The café offers all sorts of tasty treats in a setting where natural light envelops the dining space.
The gift shop has so many sweet affordable treasures to take home or pass on as gifts — there’s even an assortment of boxed greeting cards that are very attractive.
The rooftop garden — if it’s open — is unexpected and inviting. And, if it’s raining, you can sit on a bench and take in the view from inside the museum. It’s very quiet up there.
The outside grassy grounds are so beautiful to walk about or to lay down a blanket on an exceptionally nice day.
And, you’re steps away from Dublin Castle as well as Chez Max for a pre– or post-​museum visit — two other gems that Dublin offers which makes this an awesome ‘trio of treasures’ bundled up in one destination!
Check out the library and you may agree that it’s the best museum setting in Dublin.
Best of all — it’s FREE!

Small manageable library to see dated manuscripts from the Bible, Koran, Chinese dynasties. Admission is free (suggested donations is € 5).
No photography allowed. Free lockers to store big bags. My phone battery was running low and I was able to charge behind the wooden bench next to the lockers.

It’s not automatically on your itinerary when visiting the city, but it should be!
I enjoyed this small and quirky library/​museum more than some of the larger national museums/​galleries.
It’s just a fascinating collection of artifacts. Especially the collection of religious books, which is a permanent exhibition in the library.
Because it’s not as busy as it’s larger counterparts generally, you can have a really relaxed look around the different rooms, appreciate the elaborate furniture and changing exhibits.
A sleek and interesting addition to the city and a must !

The library/​museum holds the most beautiful books, manuscripts and objects from around the world that were collected by Chester Beatty. Admission is free. Extremely interesting place to visit, lovely location and peaceful surroundings with great coffee in the café upstairs. Well worth a visit if you fancy an hour or two away from the bustle of the city centre.

This place is great! It’s located right by the Dublin Castle and free! They have lockers you can put your backpack in and the people at the front desk will give you a token so you don’t have to pay to use the lockers.
My favorite is definitely the «Sacred Traditions» hall. Screw the Book of Kells, just come here.

Calling this place a library is wrong. You cannot check out books! This is more like a museum but I prefer to call it a collection — one of the finest collections of its kind anywhere in the world. Really. Read the other reviews for details but in my opinion this is one of the top attractions in Dublin — a shame that Dublin does not do more to promote this cultural icon. And it is free. It is free because that was a condition of Mr. Beatty when he donated this collection to the state of Ireland. I would return — again and again.

Die Chester Beatty Library kann man immer noch kostenlos besuchen. Kein Eintritt, wo gibt es so etwas schon?
Die Ausstellung beginnt mit einem Video-​Dokumentation über Chester Beatty. In den oberen Stockwerken findet man die Austellung in unterschiedlichen Räumen. Beeindruckend, wenn man diese uralten Pergamente und Papyri bestaunen kann. Das Ganze wird durch Videos aufgelockert. Insgesamt sehr sehenswert. Vor allem, wenn man sich für die Entstehung der Religionen bzw. für alte Dokumente interessiert.

My favorite attraction in Dublin. At Trinity College you pay 10 euro and wait in line to see one book (the Book of Kells), but at the Chester Beatty it’s free and full of ancient religious and cultural documents and artifacts.
There’s pretty crazy stuff like parts of the gospels written in Greek on papyrus from 200 AD. The best part might be the diversity of countries and religions represented, all over Asia and the Middle East. I found the writeups and captions extremely educational as well. It really brought the pieces to life. The fact that it’s not too crowded is an added bonus.
Honestly It’s a one of a kind collection and it’s free, so just go! You won’t regret it.

I’ve been waiting to visit the Chester Beatty Library for sometime now. I finally got around to it today, and it did live up to my expectations. First up, this collection is far better than anything the National Museum in Dublin has to offer; I have a real gripe with the latter’s displays, 80% being pots in various disrepair.
Some might say that the Chester Beatty collection houses books in various disrepair, and therefore is equally as boring as the National Museum, but the difference between this museum and the National Museum is that you learn so much more about different cultures and religions through these books.
The collection ranges across many continents, and is a wealth of information for both young and old. I was genuinely shocked at how much I learned after just touring the Western collection. I was also delighted to see The Bamboo Cutter’s scroll display, whose story and conservation was a delight to read. There were times where it was difficult to tell which label was supposed to accompany which book, leaving me a little confused at times as to whose history I was reading about, but this didn’t happen too often except on the larger displays.
The main collection was housed in a room which was quite chill, so remember to keep your coat on when you go upstairs. Also this collection is extremely extensive and reading becomes quite taxing after a time, so I would advise to take breaks between continental collections, and take a walk around the gardens downstairs.
Overall I was extremely impressed, and will be returning some time very soon; i.e. next weekend.

Super awesome place to check out a bunch of eccentric collections from a dead rich guy… make that miner-​magnate-​millionaire.
Naw, seriously, it’s fantastic. It’s free, the displays are thorough, well-​organized and well-​curated, and always informative. I love the décor inside, too: the fountain just outside the café is gorgeous. And the café itself, though I’ve only had hot drinks there, is good fun. Get the homemade mint tea and have fun playing with the spoons — they will hang sideways off your cup.
I have a beef with Beatty, though. Y’see, in that permanent Religions of the World exhibit, there are very many sects and tribes and belief sets represented. And Judaism, a not-​insignificant religion of the world, gets ONE text, relegated to a squeensy back corner. To boot, it’s a decently insignificant text in the scope of all things Hebraic.
Mr. B has long since shuffled off our mortal coil, so I understand the library couldn’t just go out and acquire itself a retired Torah. They’ve at least put up an apologetic placard saying something along the lines of «Beatty couldn’t get his hands on much Judaica»… but it still makes me feel like the Jews were the last ones chosen for the playground kickball team.
Anyhow, the temporary exhibitions are always really cool, and you can learn a lot about dozens of other world religions. Take some time after your visit to wander the labyrinth lawn and the adjoining Dublin Castle grounds. It’s worth the (nonexistent) entrance fee a thousand times over.

Swag. Chester Beatty had it, and thanks to this musuem, we can all get to look at it.
I have to take a minute to rave about their exhibition of the Shanameh. This Persian legend is celebrating its 1,000^th birthday, so the library has chosen a number of the key stories and characters from the epic as well as some of the art that they’ve inspired. The Shanameh is an exciting, chaotic, sometimes sad work, and this exhibit was well worth the time.
The permanent exhibition on the top floor of the library is home to religious texts from around the planet. I’d recommend checking out the beautifully decorated copies of the Koran, or the scrap of Bible from 150AD.
After you’ve given yourself eye-​strain at the exhibits, there’s a coffee shop on the ground floor to refresh yourself.

No two ways about it, Chester Beatty was a badass. Coming from a wealthy family and studying mining engineering at Colombia, he could have had it easy and become a wealthy asshole in New York. Instead, he moved to Colorado, took a crappy job at a mine, worked his way up and up and by his mid-30’s he was a millionaire. All the while, he traveled the world with his family, collecting a huge array of not only books, but also papyri, Chinese snuff bottles, ceremonial dress, writing tools and instruments, and more. The books come from all sorts of civilizations and cultures and are really fascinating. Beatty was interested in religious texts as well, and collected an extensive collection of bibles and Qur’ans.
I think one of the most amazing aspects of the collection is how vast it is; Beatty collected thousands of objects and, at the end of his life just gave them all the Ireland (imagine how pissed his kids were about not being able to get their hands on this priceless collection!). The museum is the only good thing about visiting Dublin Castle, as far as I’m concerned and is an overlooked and underrated museum. AND IT’S FREE!