Irish Texts in State Library Victoria’s Rare Book Collection

State Library Victoria’s Rare Book Collection houses a range of important Irish works that, since the mid-1860s, have become an important component of the Library’s rare holdings.  

Documenting the history of printing in Latin, Irish and English, and including selected scribal texts, this viewing will explore a range of unusual historical, linguistic and literary works, the debates they generated and their representation of continuing literary traditions.  

This session will examine works from the seventeenth to the twentieth century, and include authors such as Roderic O’Flaherty (1629–1718) and Thomas Carve (1590–1672), the Paris works of Hugh MacCurtin (1680–1755) and James Joyce, through to the migrant fiction of Mary Ann Sadlier and literary texts of the Celtic Revival. This will be a chance view and discuss some rarely seen works in cultural context. 

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About Melbourne Rare Book Week  

Rare Book Week is an annual, Melbourne-wide program of free talks and events that celebrate the importance of books, literacy and literature in our lives. It has become a key event in literary Melbourne’s calendar since 2012.