Nora Niland
Nora Niland | |
|---|---|
| Born | 21 March 1912 Ballinastack, Tuam, County Galway, Ireland |
| Died | 29 December 1988 Dublin, Ireland |
| Occupation(s) | Librarian, arts administrator |
Nora Niland (21 March 1912 – 29 December 1988)[1] was the County Librarian of Sligo and the founder of the Sligo municipal art collection.
Biography
[edit]Niland was born in 1912, the eighth child of the six sons and three daughters of John Niland and Elizabeth Loughlin of Ballinastack, Tuam, County Galway. She earned a bachelor's degree at University College Galway in 1943.[1]
Niland worked in the Galway public library system from 1933 to 1943. In 1945 she became Sligo County Librarian.[1] She oversaw the expansion of the library when it moved into three buildings on Stephen Street in the 1950s. She opened the Sligo County Museum in 1955, and added works by Jack B. Yeats to the collection in 1957.[1] In 1956 she traveled in the eastern United States assessing library collections for Irish literature holdings.[2] She helped to organize the first International Yeats Summer School in Sligo in 1959,[3] and was a founding member of the Yeats Society Sligo.[4]
Upon her retirement she returned to live in Ballinastack. She died at St. James's Hospital, Dublin, in 1988, at the age of 76.[1]
Niland Collection
[edit]The Niland Collection is the name of Sligo's Municipal Art Collection. Named after Niland, who began the collection in the 1950s, it has since grown to over 300 works and is cared for by, and displayed at, The Model in Sligo, Ireland. The collection was begun by Niland when she borrowed five works by Jack Butler Yeats to exhibit for the duration of the first Yeats Summer School in 1959. She built the collection over the years, with "vision, energy, forceful diplomacy, and abounding love of Sligo",[5] and often with donations.[6][7]
In 1998, on the tenth anniversary of her death, the gallery was renamed in her honor (though this decision was criticized)[8] and moved to what had been the Model School on the Mall, Sligo.[9] In 2023, there was a exhibit titled "Nora Niland: A Collector's Eye" held at the gallery.[10][11] The 2023 exhibit included a new portrait of Niland.[12] The Yeats Society Sligo hosts an annual Nora Niland Lecture.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Boylan, Shaun. "Niland, Nora". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Royal Irish Academy. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- ^ Murphy, Eugene (14 July 1956). "She Looked in Vain; Visiting Librarian Laments the Sparsity of Irish Writings on U.S. Book Shelves". The Record. p. 25. Retrieved 27 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Organising Yeats Summer School". Irish Independent. 18 July 1960. p. 7. Retrieved 27 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "The Nora Niland lecture 2023". Yeats Society Sligo. 2 October 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
- ^ "Success of Yeats exhibition". Irish Independent. 12 August 1963. p. 8. Retrieved 27 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Paintings by Yeats for Sligo". Irish Independent. 4 March 1965. p. 13. Retrieved 27 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Rushe, Desmond (1 March 1972). "Tatler's Parade: Yeats Room". Irish Independent. p. 12. Retrieved 27 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Arnold, Bruce (15 August 2009). "Re-naming of Sligo Gallery is Absurd". Irish Independent. pp. T24–01. Retrieved 27 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Guidera, Anita (25 April 2001). "Treasures of Jack Yeats secure new gallery home". Irish Independent. p. 6. Retrieved 27 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Nora Niland; A Collectors Eye". The Model, Sligo. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
- ^ "Nora Niland; Portrait of a Collector". The Model, Sligo. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
- ^ "Sligo's Niland Gallery unveils new portrait of Nora Niland as part of new exhibition". Irish Independent. 20 March 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
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