The Library and Archive of the Pontifical Irish College in Rome preserve a rich collection of books, manuscripts, historical documents and records that reflect the College’s history since its foundation in 1628.
Together, these collections offer valuable insights into the history of the Irish Church, the relationship between Ireland and Rome, and the intellectual and spiritual life of generations of students, clergy and scholars. They continue to support historical research and preserve an important part of Ireland’s ecclesiastical and cultural heritage.
Explore our collections
The Library
Discover historic books, rare volumes and the College’s library collections.
The Archive
Explore historical correspondence, manuscripts and records documenting the College’s history.
Search the catalogues
Explore the Library’s holdings and discover historical documents and archival resources preserved by the Pontifical Irish College.
Library Catalogue (Internal Link)
For access from the College’s internal network.
Library Catalogue (External Link)
Search the catalogue online.
Archive Catalogues
Browse archival inventories, correspondence and digitised resources.
The Library
History
The Library of the Pontifical Irish College was founded in 1639, when the College acquired its first permanent home on Via degli Ibernesi in Rome. In 1642, the College received the first of a series of book donations that formed the nucleus of its historic collection.
The Library experienced several periods of disruption and temporary closure. These included the suppression of the Jesuits in 1772, who administered the College, and the College’s closure following the Napoleonic invasion of Rome in 1798. After its refoundation in 1826, the College once again lacked a permanent home, and its books remained in storage. In 1836, it moved to the Church of Sant’Agata dei Goti on Via Mazzarino, where it remained until acquiring its present building on Via dei Santi Quattro in 1926.
Historic Books & Special Collections
The historic collection includes Latin volumes, mostly concerned with theology, drawn primarily from the private libraries of former students, including Fr Pietro Farnese and John Brennan.
The Library holds more than 15,000 volumes, including three incunabula, approximately 300 sixteenth-century books in good condition, and more than 700 publications from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
The Irish Room houses the most extensive collection of works on Irish history available in Rome.
The Library Today
The Library primarily serves the College’s staff and students, but in recent years it has increasingly welcomed visiting scholars and researchers.
Considerable work has been undertaken to improve the Library’s physical structure. The most significant development has been the creation of the Kirby Library, which houses the books and periodicals most frequently consulted by students and provides a comfortable space for reading and study. Further repair work remains necessary in other parts of the Library.
The Archive
The Archive of the Pontifical Irish College preserves records documenting the administration and life of the College in Rome. Its holdings include institutional and student records, material from the period of Jesuit administration, photographs and collections of historical documents relating to Irish history.
Our Holdings
The College’s archival holdings arise primarily from its administration and the work of its Rectors, including records created through their wider activities. The Archive also holds student records and material from the College’s period under Jesuit administration.
Manuscript Journals
Created by students each year, the manuscript journals provide a unique record of College life. They contain essays on religion, history, culture, literature, sport and other subjects, alongside photographs documenting visitors, trips, sporting events, College plays, study and ordinations. They also record important historical events, including the Liberation of Rome in 1944 and the opening of the Second Vatican Council in 1962.
The earliest journal dates from 1916, and journals survive for most years up to the present. An Irish-language equivalent, Irisleabhar na Gaeilge, was produced from 1917 to 1919.
Photographic Collection
The photographic collection includes late nineteenth-century cabinet cards, five albums containing approximately 280 items, and around 350 loose photographs dating from before 1939. The collection is being catalogued.
Other Historical Collections
The Archive also preserves three notable groups of material beyond the College’s institutional records:
Propaganda Fide transcripts: Seventy volumes of transcripts from seventeenth- and eighteenth-century documents selected for their relevance to Irish history.
Parchment manuscript fragments: Thirty medieval and later fragments, mainly from twelfth- to fourteenth-century liturgical manuscripts. Eight contain early chant notation dating from the tenth to seventeenth centuries.
Irish-language manuscripts: Five volumes of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century copies of Irish prose and poetry, including Geoffrey Keating’s Foras Feasa ar Éirinn. Four volumes are described by Pádraig Ó Fiannachta in a 1968 article in Studia Celtica.
Contact the Archivist
The College’s part-time archivist, Cezara, can assist with enquiries about the collections. Researchers wishing to consult particular materials or learn more about the holdings are encouraged to contact her in advance at cezara.petrina@irishcollege.org.