{"id":218689,"date":"2024-03-05T12:32:28","date_gmt":"2024-03-05T10:32:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monaco-tribune.com\/?p=218689"},"modified":"2024-03-12T17:20:14","modified_gmt":"2024-03-12T15:20:14","slug":"princess-grace-irish-library-whats-the-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monaco-tribune.com\/en\/2024\/03\/princess-grace-irish-library-whats-the-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Princess Grace Irish Library – “What’s the story?”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you aren\u2019t specifically looking for the Princess Grace Irish Library, you might easily walk past it. And yet behind its unimposing exterior on rue Princesse Marie-de-Lorraine lies a veritable cultural hub that is very much part of Monaco life. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Library was founded in 1984 by Prince Rainier III in memory of his late wife, Princess Grace. Grace Kelly, as she was known before she married the Prince, was the grand-daughter of John Henry Kelly, who emigrated from County Mayo, Ireland to Philadelphia in the United States. The Library was created to honour Princess Grace\u2019s attachment to her Irish origins, and is home to her personal collection of books and Irish-American sheet music, as well as beautiful reference books (including many rare first editions) and items of historical value, photos and art works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its Director since January 2021, Paula Farquharson<\/a>, took us on a tour and shared a bit of craic*<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monaco Tribune: <\/strong>Your website mentions over 12,000 books, many of which are from Princess Grace\u2019s personal collection. Can you describe the kinds of books you have?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paula Farquharson:<\/strong> We have a wide variety, from the latest best sellers by Irish authors back to a first edition of Ulysses by James Joyce dated 1922, and some even older volumes, such as the \u2018Atlas Hibernia\u2019 from 1654! I\u2019d say we have 1500 to 2000 reference works out of the 12000 total. New books are added each year especially for the children\u2019s section as they are voracious readers!  We have contemporary poetry, fiction and drama, scholarly monographs, and general works, including key reference works and leading illustrated publications, so that we can cater to modern readers as well as scholarly researchers. Our pride and joy is, of course, Princess Grace\u2019s personal collection, not only of books but also artwork and sheet music she acquired during her lifetime, as well as beautiful objects from her family in Ireland. Our book catalogue is now available online<\/a>, free of charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What sets you apart from, say, Monaco\u2019s <\/em>m\u00e9diath\u00e8que (media library), which has an English-language section?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think the clue\u2019s in our name! (smiles) We are specifically an Irish Library rather than a library with books in English. Our readers are often interested in Irish authors in particular, others want to learn about other aspects of Ireland and its culture. Sometimes people don\u2019t realise that some famous writers were Irish such as Oscar Wilde or F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby or Bram Stoker, author of Dracula!  For many parents there\u2019s a desire to have their children experience an English-speaking environment from a language or cultural point of view. There is a big English-speaking community in Monaco, whether \u2018first generation\u2019 or otherwise, including by marriage, so all sorts of nationalities come through the door!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What kind of relationship do you have with the <\/em>m\u00e9diath\u00e8que?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A positive and constructive one! Monaco\u2019s M\u00e9diath\u00e8que<\/em> is very supportive of our events and promotes them. In fact, we\u2019ve organised authors\u2019 readings in English on their premises in the past. And for St Patrick\u2019s Day last year, we co-organised an event, with the guest musician performing at the Sonoth\u00e8que<\/em> Jos\u00e9 Notari<\/a>, the M\u00e9diath\u00e8que\u2019s<\/em> music venue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we have a bigger collection of English-language books, the M\u00e9diath\u00e8que<\/em> points readers in our direction when appropriate. And if we know they have a specific item that we don\u2019t, we do the same. Monaco is certainly \u2018big enough for the both of us\u2019. They have also kindly shared access to the hundreds of magazines and newspapers that they subscribe to so the PGIL members can enjoy them. We\u2019re both about promoting reading and we\u2019re very complementary in terms of publications and readership. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How many Library cardholders do you have?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I gave you a number, you would probably find it pretty negligible. We\u2019ve come to realise just how widespread our guests are. Borrowing a book creates an obligation to return it. And it\u2019s easy to spend a couple of hours trying to get in and out of Monaco depending on where you live, so guests are a little wary about taking out a card they might not make full use of. Plus, given that we\u2019re such a small team, \u2018chasing\u2019 lapsed cardholders takes time that\u2019s hard to find. The cardholder number isn\u2019t very indicative of our overall activity. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Paula
Paula Farquharson holding the first edition of Ulysses, a masterpiece by James Joyce \/ Aliz\u00e9e Mosconi<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Not just about books<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For sure, even a cursory glance at your website tells us you\u2019re \u2018not just about books\u2019. How important is the cultural side of your activities?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our mission is to foster a love of Ireland, its culture, history and present day, through learning and creative thought, by engaging audiences, locally in Monaco and internationally. So, sharing the literary legacy, and having young readers discover Irish authors and illustrators, is certainly a big part of that. Classes from the lyc\u00e9es attend lectures and are very lucky to meet one-on-one with award-winning Irish authors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we also organise a raft of cultural events, whether it\u2019s readings, talks, symposia, musical evenings\u2026 Obviously when people think about Irish Culture, St Patrick\u2019s Day is high on the list, and we do try to push the boat out and the Prince\u2019s Palace is lit up in green<\/a>. However, we have a busy calendar of events all year round especially this year since it is our 40th<\/sup> birthday<\/a> and people can drop in anytime to read or watch an Irish film. This year we\u2019re screening from time to time \u201cHer name was Grace Kelly\u201d an insightful documentary with testimonials from family members, friends and those who knew her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you engage with the local community, to \u2018get people through the door\u2019?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through articles like yours! (laughs) More seriously, the local media and radio are important to us in that regard. We have our Facebook pages, one of which is specifically for young readers. The content is mostly event-driven, whether it\u2019s about new publications in the Library or upcoming talks or concerts.  We also work with local schools for workshops and book readings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I often say Irish people are chatty, and word-of-mouth certainly can be effective in a small community like Monaco. The British and American associations help us get the word out too, and people can join our mailing list to receive our Newsletter \u2013 nearly 880 recipients and counting. The popularity of our events is evident as we\u2019re often sold out! We had a full house for our most recent talk (on February 21, by author Neal Doherty about county Mayo in the west of Ireland, where Princess Grace\u2019s grandfather was born) and the upcoming one on March 13th, by writer-in-residence Flor MacCarthy, is sold out! Hence why we\u2019ve just announced another date for Flor\u2019s talk on March 20th.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Princess\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Princess Grace Irish Library \u00a9 Eric Mathon <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Members of the Princely Family visit when they can, and there\u2019s usually quite a lot of publicity around those times, which certainly helps our notoriety. But more than that, we\u2019re in the privileged position of being able to welcome \u2018home\u2019 Princess Grace\u2019s family with a \u2018direct line\u2019 to their Irish heritage. It\u2019s quite unique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How are you funded?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We rely on donations, and the Prince\u2019s family via the Fondation Princesse Grace<\/em><\/a> to support our mission. There are also the fees paid by our cardholders, and ticket sales to our events. Along with The Ireland Funds Monaco Bursaries<\/a>, which enables us to host academics- and writers-in-residence and the Irish writers, academics and musicians we manage to have a rich programme of events, residencies and symposia, which I mentioned earlier. We have also established a number of partnerships with sponsors that \u2018make sense\u2019, in other words where there\u2019s an Irish connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Having our own premises is such a blessing<\/p>\nPaula Farquharson<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Why aren\u2019t you open at the weekend?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like I said, we\u2019re a small team! We need some time off! (laughs) Joking aside, members of the local community are often elsewhere at the weekend. We noticed a much better turnout for our mid-week events. Of course, that means liaising with other organisations such as the American Club and British Association to make sure our events don\u2019t clash! But having our own premises is such a blessing, and it means we can host events on behalf of others, such as the Monaco Ireland Arts Society. These are great opportunities for meeting people, sharing ideas, and creating new connections.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Monaco Tribune scoop!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Paula is hoping to be able to convince film director Frank Mannion to do a talk, and organise a screening of his latest documentary, \u2018Quintessentially Irish\u2019 when he comes to Cannes this year. Watch this space! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quintessentially Irish: Prince Albert stars in new documentary <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know the Irish have always been travellers, but there\u2019s also a very strong sense of home. I think the Irish have a natural sense of belonging, and we\u2019re good at making friends. People need that, there\u2019s a lot of \u2018fake\u2019 out there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, if you\u2019re from the Emerald Isle and feeling homesick, or you\u2019re looking for a community to belong to, \u2018come into the parlour\u2019 at 9 rue Princess Marie de Lorraine, where C\u00e9ad M\u00edle F\u00e1ilte<\/em>** await you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 * craic<\/em>: pronounced crack, is commonly used in Irish slang to describe a good time, a fun experience, or a friendly conversation.
** C\u00e9ad M\u00edle F\u00e1ilte<\/em> : a hundred thousand welcomes in Irish gaelic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Practical details:\u00a0<\/strong>
9 rue Princesse Marie-de-Lorraine, Monaco-Ville
Tel + 377 93 50 12 25<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Socials:<\/strong>\u00a0Facebook<\/a> and Princess Grace Irish Library Young Readers<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Membership Fees: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n