The National Library of Ireland has the largest collection of Yeats manuscripts in the world and, in addition, holds other fascinating Yeats material generously donated by Mrs George Yeats, wife of the poet, and Michael Yeats, the poet's son, over several years.

The Yeats Collection at the Library includes more than 2000 items, stored in 100 archival boxes, occupying 24 metres of shelf space.

In the exhibition, visitors can trace WBY's descent from the conventional Pollexfen and Yeats families, through his unconventional father (a lawyer turned artist) and his increasingly silent and depressed mother, to WBY and his brother and sisters, who became the single most significant artistic family in twentieth-century Ireland.

Many places now associated with WBY, like Ben Bulben and Knocknarea, Coole Park and Thoor Ballylee, provided inspiration for his work, as did his imagining of more remote places like India, Japan and Byzantium, and his own childhood. A computer installation helps visitors get a taste of the worlds of WBY's imagination.

Opening Times
Monday -Wednesday 10am - 8.30pm
Thursday - Friday 10am - 4.45pm
Saturday 9.30am - 4.30pm
Closed Sundays and Bank Holidays

Admission
Admission is free

Further Info
http://www.nli.ie