Ireland Guide
Down and Armagh
The public library
Address: Just down the hill from the Church of Ireland Cathedral
Website: www.armaghrobinsonlibrary.org
Opening time: Mon– Fri 10am–1pm & 2–4pm
Price: Free, donations welcomed
The public library (known locally as Robinson's) has, among many rare tomes, a first edition of Gulliver's Travels annotated by Swift himself, and an early edition of Raleigh's History of the World (1614), as well as a collection of engravings, including some by Hogarth. The library was founded in 1771 by Archbishop Richard Robinson, who was described as converting Armagh "from mud to stone" and who is responsible for almost all the older buildings in the city – the nearby infirmary was one of his, too, though it's now occupied by the university.