Pat Donlon, Ireland's first female national institution director, dies aged 83

Patricia Donlon, a pioneering librarian and academic who broke barriers as the first female director of a national institution in Ireland, has died at the age of 83. Donlon, known as Pat, served as the director of the National Library of Ireland (NLI) from 1989 to 1997. Her tenure was marked by significant initiatives, including the release of over two hundred letters from James Joyce, the acquisition of dramatist Hugh Leonard’s archive, and the digitization of the NLI's catalog.

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She had a particular sort of specialised interest in Irish children’s illustrators and she had actually amassed a large collection of Irish children’s books which is now part of the National Library collection.

Born in Dublin in 1943, Donlon's career in librarianship began after she returned to college to study Spanish at University College Dublin, eventually earning a PhD. She also completed a librarianship diploma and taught children’s literature. Her specialized interest in Irish children’s illustrators led her to amass a large collection of Irish children’s books, which is now part of the National Library’s collection.

During her time at the NLI, Donlon also focused on creating a collection of Irish children’s literature. She previously worked at the library of the Royal Irish Academy and was the curator of the Western Collection at the Chester Beatty Library. After her directorship at the NLI, she expressed sadness at leaving but pride in the difference she made, stating, “I want it to be worthy of the title of National Library.”

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I came in to make a difference and I did make a difference, but that difference was not as big as I would have liked it to be. I want it to be worthy of the title of National Library.

Donlon's contributions extended beyond the NLI. She was the first woman appointed Chief Herald of Ireland and presented a coat of arms to President Mary Robinson in 1997. She later became the director of the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, a workplace for artists. Her daughter Lorna recalled her mother's passion for researching and assessing material, and above all, the world of books.

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I love the business of researching and assessing material. Above all, I love the world of books.