We have 1 ticket left for our Genealogy Tour on Tuesday 3rd November from 2:30pm - 3:30pm, £10.00. Come and explore The Linen Hall’s Genealogy Collection This collection consists of a wide range of resources including historic newspapers and indexes, ‘how-to’ guides, individual family histories, gravestone inscriptions and passenger lists. Highlights include the unique collection of handwritten family trees known as the Blackwood Pedigrees; Birth, Death & Marriage indexes for the Belfast News Letter; and Belfast Street directories ranging from the early nineteenth century through to the late twentieth century. Join our staff for an insight into one of The Linen Hall’s most popular collections. To book please visit our website via the link in our bio and check for upcoming tours. #LinenHall #OpeningMinds #Belfast #BelfastEvents

Something strange is happening at The Linen Hall… Books are floating off the shelves, and some of our readers are looking a little more skeletal than usual. 👻📚 Come in for a browse, if you dare 👀 This Halloween, explore the darkest corners of our collections, from Irish Witchcraft 🧙‍♀️ & Demonology 🧛‍♂️to Between Two Worlds and Paranormal Ireland 🧟‍♂️. There are ghost stories, strange encounters and plenty of unsettling reading just waiting to be discovered 🎃 For a treat that lasts beyond Halloween, become a member or give the gift of membership and help support The Linen Hall, so the ghosts of Belfast can continue reading for the next 200 years - web access included 🕸️🕷️ Join us in the library or online: linenhall.com/become-a-membe… 🦇 #LinenHall #OpeningMinds #Belfast #HalloweenReads #GhostStories

There are a few days left to visit our, ‘Hope is the Thing with Feathers’ art exhibition by Niamh Ferguson. All prints are available to purchase if you are interested in supporting local artists and giving beautiful artwork as Christmas gifts. This is a free exhibition which can be viewed in our Vertical Gallery from 09:30 to 17:30 until Friday. #LinenHall #OpeningMinds #BelfastEvents #Belfast #Belfastart

Come on Over: Mend, Make and Create with Us! Free, Fri 29 Oct, 11am - 1pm Join us for a free 2-hour workshop where you’ll learn about the Irish tradition of quilting by creating your own fabric tile using recycled materials. Working alongside other creative individuals, we’ll stitch together a community quilt that celebrates identity, sustainability, and togetherness. No previous crafting or quilting experience necessary. All materials provided on the day. To learn more and to book your free place, please visit: linenhall.com/event/come-on-… #LinenHall #OpeningMinds #BelfastEvents Image: Detail from a patchwork quilt made from nurses’ scrubs, created by NI Scrubs East Down. Part of the Northern Ireland Political Collection at The Linen Hall. Image © The Linen Hall.

KEEPING THE LINES OPEN: THE STORY OF THE PEACE TRAINS PANEL DISCUSSION £5, Friday 13 November, 1pm - 2pm This panel brings together key perspectives on the Peace Train Organisation, which ran trains between Belfast and Dublin from 1989 to 1995 to protest against paramilitary attacks on the Enterprise line. Attendees are welcome to share their own memories of the movement and interact with the panellists. To learn more and to book a ticket please visit: linenhall.com/event/keeping-… #LinenHall #OpeningMinds #BelfastEvents

The Political Collection Tour £10.00, Wed 21 Oct, 2:30 pm - 3:45 pm Come and explore The Linen Hall’s world-renowned political collection on a collections-based tour which explores the history of the recent past through the prism of the rare and unique artefacts and objects we have been collecting for over 50 years. Started in 1968 with one civil rights leaflet, this incredible collection now holds over 350,000 items; encompassing all shades of opinion, it is the definitive archive of the ‘Troubles’, peace process, and beyond. The tour is a not to be missed opportunity to engage with this rich and diverse collection and the authentic insights it gives into this momentous period of history. The capacity for this tour is 10. To book for larger groups, please email [email protected]. Booking essential. For more information please visit: linenhall.com/event/the-poli… #LinenHall #OpeningMinds #BelfastEvents

Good Relations Week Workshop Free, Friday 16 Oct, 1pm - 2pm To mark Good Relations Week, and its theme of Include, The Linen Hall is holding a workshop to showcase our collections and the ways in which they reflect the rich diversity and vibrant life of communities across Northern Ireland. Join our Collections team as they present a range of historic and contemporary items from our archives. To learn more and to book please visit: linenhall.com/event/good-rel… #LinenHall #OpeningMinds #BelfastEvents #GoodRelationsWeek #GRW26 #Include

Extraordinary Times Chapter 5 is now available to download. Extraordinary Times is a predictive novel by the Belfast writer Rosemary Jenkinson. Rosemary’s vision for this cutting-edge, literary thriller, is to release a new chapter of the book every year using The Linen Hall Digital Platform – unless what she describes in the novel actually happens. In that case, Rosemary’s plan is to release the entire book, comprising 32 chapters, there and then. The novel, set in an imagined future in Belfast on the eve of a referendum on Irish unity, wittily charts how six interconnected characters navigate the fortnight leading up to the historic referendum and are inadvertently caught up in a violent plan to disrupt the vote. Start your journey today by downloading the first 5 chapters for free from our website: linenhall.com/extraordinary-… #LinenHall #OpeningMinds #Belfast

The Political Collection Tour £10, Wednesday 21 October, 2:30 pm - 3:45 pm Come and explore The Linen Hall’s world-renowned political collection on a collections-based tour which explores the history of the recent past through the prism of the rare and unique artefacts and objects we have been collecting for over 50 years. Started in 1968 with one civil rights leaflet, this incredible collection now holds over 350,000 items; encompassing all shades of opinion, it is the definitive archive of the ‘Troubles’, peace process, and beyond. The tour is a not to be missed opportunity to engage with this rich and diverse collection and the authentic insights it gives into this momentous period of history. The capacity for this tour is 10. To book for larger groups, please email [email protected]. Booking essential. To learn more please visit: linenhall.com/event/the-poli… #LinenHall #OpeningMinds #BelfastEvents

New Online Exhibition Available We recently held an exhibition at The Linen Hall called, ‘All Children Together and the Story of Integrated Education in Northern Ireland’. This exhibition is now available online via our website and includes video of the main events as well as audio excerpts from oral history interviews with individuals connected to integrated education, including teachers, former pupils, prominent supporters, and politicians. To learn more please visit: linenhall.com/all-children-t… #LinenHall #OpeningMinds

📷 New Video If you were unable to attend the launch of our new Poetry Jukebox curation in response to the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence, it is now available to watch on our website. To view please visit: linenhall.com/liberty-usa-ni… The curation can be heard on the Poetry Jukebox on the ground floor of The Linen Hall. #LinenHall #OpeningMinds #BelfastEvents #HomeOfPoetry

Journalist Brian Rowan joins Agreement actors for Linen Hall fundraiser featuring unique artefacts from his reporting archive: newsletter.co.uk/your-world/…

SHARE YOUR BELFAST MUSIC MEMORY WITH US The Linen Hall invites you to share a memory for an upcoming exhibition exploring experiences of music in Belfast from the 1960s to the present day, supported by funding from Belfast City Council. We’d also love to hear from you if you have material that could help bring these stories to life. We’re looking for photographs, posters, tickets, programmes, magazines, fanzines, recordings and other objects relating to music in Belfast. To learn more, please visit: linenhall.com/share-your-bel… #LinenHall #OpeningMinds #Belfast #BelfastMusic

The Play For Peace Fundraiser for The Linen Hall £25, Tuesday 6th October, 7pm – 8:30pm All proceeds from ticket sales will fund The Linen Hall’s ongoing charity work. Actors Dan Gordon (John Hume) and Ruairi Conaghan (David Trimble) led the cast of ‘Agreement’, the recent award-winning political drama by Owen McCafferty exploring the negotiations that culminated in the Good Friday Agreement and highlighted the complexities and personalities of those involved. Dan and Ruairi will be ‘in conversation’ with journalist and author Brian Rowan discussing how they approached playing such well-known real-life characters; their research into the political minefield of the time; and the intersection between politics and personalities explored in ‘Agreement’. As authors, journalists and playwrights, they will also talk about how the conflict impacted and influenced their own writing. An exhibition drawn from Rowan’s reporting archive will be on display giving unique insight into the ongoing events of the period. Join us for what is sure to be a thought-provoking conversation. Doors open at 6:30pm and a bar will be available for guests prior to the event starting at 7pm. All proceeds from ticket sales will fund The Linen Hall’s ongoing charity work. To learn more and to book your ticket, please visit: linenhall.com/event/the-play… #Belfast #BelfastEvents #LinenHall #OpeningMinds

WE ARE HIRING! FACILITIES OFFICER £29,642 (pro rata) To ensure the safe, efficient, and effective maintenance of the library and museum buildings, grounds, equipment, and facilities. The postholder will support the preservation of collections by maintaining appropriate environmental conditions, carrying out routine repairs, overseeing contractors, and ensuring compliance with health and safety requirements. To learn more and to apply, please visit: linenhall.com/we-are-hiring-… #LinenHall #OpeningMinds #BelfastJobs

We are open until 7pm tonight for late night art. Come and explore our fantastic new exhibition, HOPE IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS by Niamh Ferguson. Niamh is a Belfast-based artist and printmaker whose work explores themes of capture, control, and freedom through the lens of Celtic mythology. Drawing inspiration from tales such as The Children of Lir and The Morrígan, Ferguson reimagines myth within contemporary urban landscapes shaped by conflict and division. Her etchings and printmaking examine the tension between harsh industrial environments and symbols of nature, memory, and transformation. Influenced by local political history, her work reflects on surveillance, barriers, and resilience. Through unresolved imagery and symbolic contrasts, Ferguson invites viewers to contemplate identity and the enduring struggle between captivity and transcendence. #LinenHall #OpeningMinds #BelfastEvents #Belfast #latenightart

Happy National Poetry Day 🎉 Come and celebrate with us today at 1pm as we listen to wonderful reading from Maureen Boyle, Deirdre Cartmill and Csilla Toldy. To learn more please visit: linenhall.com/event/wonder-r… #LinenHall #OpeningMinds #BelfastEvents #WonderfulWorldOfWonder #NationalPoetryDay