All Hallows Campus and Woodlock Hall Library

This guest post is written by Alana Mahon O'Neill and Rosemary Shanahan from DCU Library. 

In January 2024, we were asked to present at a Library Learning and Development event in DCU Library. We decided to collaborate on a presentation about the picturesque library in which we work: Woodlock Hall Library. To fully understand the context of Woodlock Hall Library, we researched the history of All Hallows Campus in Drumcondra, where the library is located. Our study of the campus, presented here, is based on the extensive research of various historians, archivists and academics. 

Woodlock Hall Library. Picture credit Kyran O'Brien/DCU. 

All Hallows College: A History

Woodlock Hall Library is located on All Hallows Campus, Drumcondra. In the 12th century, the King of Leinster, Diarmuid McMurrough founded the All Hallows Priory monastery on the land where the DCU All Hallows Campus now stands (McQuinn & Guihan, 2022, p. 4). 

Illustration of Diarmuid McMurrough taken from f. [56] r of MS 700 (Giraldus Cambrensis) c. 1200 via Irish Script on Screen

However, by 1538 Henry VIII’s act for the Suppression of the Monasteries meant that all monasteries were dissolved and the land was divided up and granted by the King to ‘the mayor, bailiffs, Citizens and Commons of Dublin’ (McQuinn & Guihan, 2022, p. 4). Sir Marmaduke Coghill redeveloped a standing country house on the old monastery lands of All Hallows. This building became known as Drumcondra House, the oldest building on All Hallows Campus (McQuinn & Guihan, 2022, p. 5).

All Hallows College Dublin. Picture from pg. 154 'Priests and People in Ireland' by Michael J.F. Fitzgerald and Andrew White published in 1902 by Hodges Figgis & Co. via Wikimedia Commons

Coghill left no heirs, so the house passed through various members of the extended family until Reverend John Hand acquired the land. He intended to establish a centre where young Irish priests were trained as missionaries to spread Catholicism abroad (McQuinn & Guihan, 2022, p. 8). 

All Hallows College was founded in 1842 and was named after the monastery the “Priory of All Hallows” which once stood on the land (McQuinn & Guihan, 2022, p. 7). The seminary numbers grew over the following years, peaking in the 1960s, before closing in 1998 when two priests were ordained (Overall, 2016). 

Seminarians studying in Junior House (now Purcell House). Picture credit: All Hallows Trust. 

In the late 1990s, All Hallows College became a third-level institute and provided a range of theological and community work degree programmes. A partnership with DCU was established in 2008. The college announced its closure in 2014 and in 2016 it became All Hallows Campus of DCU (Williams, 2022).

Woodlock Hall Library: A History

Woodlock Hall Library was named after Fr Bartholomew Woodlock, a president of the college from 1854 to 1861. The hall had three different functions before it became a library. It was constructed in 1909 in Senior House as an ‘Aula Maxima’ (Great Hall) and included an elevated stage (dais) for delivering speeches to distinguished guests. Meanwhile, across the corridor, the corresponding room was intended as a reception hall and museum of cultural artefacts brought back by priests who travelled the world. However, the original plans for the library were scrapped when the building project for the east wing of Senior House was abandoned. Therefore, the reception/museum was made into John Hand Library and the Aula Maxima was turned into a refectory (McQuinn & Guihan, 2022, p. 11).

When All Hallows College became a third-level college, Woodlock Hall became a lecture hall and function room. In 2018, plans were implemented for a new library at All Hallows Campus. Due to Senior House’s status as a listed building, the old Gothic features such as the fireplaces, ceilings, walls and windows were incorporated into the new design. The original dais was retained and free-standing shelving was implemented (Williams, 2022). Eanan O’Doherty, who is DCU's Real Estate Contracts Manager, documented the building process in this YouTube video.

Woodlock Hall Shelving. Picture credit Kyran O'Brien/DCU

The architects drew inspiration for the project from famous libraries such as The Ancient Library of Ephesus, The Austrian Melk Abbey Library, Trinity College Long Room and the interior design of New York Public Library (Williams, 2022). In 2021, DCU officially opened Woodlock Hall Library and in 2022, Mullarkey Pedersen Architects won an Architectural Association award for the library design (DCU, 2022).

Library of Epheseus. Picture credit: Ben Lieu Song via Wikimedia Commons

New York Public Library. Picture credit: Diliff via Wikimedia Commons

Every great library needs a comprehensive collection. Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy granted a 10-year loan of 140,000 books to DCU and 18,000 of those books make up the collection on the Woodlock Hall Library shelves. The collection possesses titles specialising in literature, social sciences, Irish language, history, theology and philosophy. The dedicated DCU Library shelving staff worked with 982 boxes containing 18,435 titles filling 573 shelves. The project lasted 13 days and took 65 hours to complete (DCU, 2022; A. Zieba McLoughlin, personal communication, May 9, 2022).

Another eye-catching feature is the art installation behind the helpdesk which consists of 18 portraits depicting some of the notable leaders of the 1916 Rising. The artwork was created by artist Mick O’Dea and was part of a 2016 exhibition, “The Foggy Dew” at the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) in Ely Place. The exhibition commemorated the destruction of the original RHA building on Lower Abbey Street in the 1916 Rising. The artwork was gifted to DCU by the One Foundation and was installed in Woodlock Hall Library by DCU Arts and Culture (Fitzpatrick, 2016).

Artist Mick O'Dea at the official opening of Woodlock Hall Library in December 2022. Picture credit: Kyran O'Brien/DCU

Conclusion

The history we uncovered during our research is vast and we've only recorded a fraction of it here. We invite you, the reader, to come and learn more about the historic Woodlock Hall Library at DCU, All Hallows Campus. To get in touch with the team to arrange a visit contact us at woodlocklibrary@dcu.ie.

References 

All Hallows Trust (2024). Timeline. https://allhallows.ie/all-hallows-trust-section/timeline/

DCU (2022). The transformation of Woodlock Hall. 

                 dcu.ie/commsteam/news/2022/dec/transformation-woodlock-hall 

 
Designing Libraries. (n.d). Woodlock Hall Library, All Hallows Campus, Dublin City University.
                         designinglibraries.org.uk/?PageID=1752

Fitzgerald, M.J. & White, W. (1902). Priests and People in Ireland. Hodges Figgis & Co.

Fitzpatrick, R. (2016, January 15). Irish painter brings Easter 1916 scenes to life. Irish Examiner. 
                         irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/arid-20376293.html

McQuinn, C. & Guihan, C. (Ed.) (2022). A historic guide to All Hallows College land and buildings.
                            All Hallows College. fliphtml5.com/uhbb/vpcf

National Library of Ireland. (n.d.). MS 700 (Giraldus Cambrensis).
                            https://www.isos.dias.ie/NLI/NLI_MS_700.html#115

Overall, S. (2016, July 28). Celebrating the Heritage of All Hallows.
                           https://www.irishcatholic.com/celebrating-the-heritage-of-all-hallows/

Williams, F. (2022). Woodlock Hall Library by Mullarkey Pedersen Architects. Architects' Journal. 
                          https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/buildings/woodlock-hall-library