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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 9 May 1968

Vol. 234 No. 9

Chester Beatty Library Bill, 1968 [Seanad]: Second Stage.

I move that the Bill be now read a Second Time.

As I said on the Second Stage of this Bill in the Seanad yesterday, it is a short Bill which requires very little explanation. As Members of the House are aware, the world-renowned library at Shrewsbury Road, Dublin was built and endowed for the nation by the late Sir Alfred Chester Beatty as but one of the benefactions—all of outstanding value and importance—which the Irish people owe to this most generous and public-spirited friend of our country. To give effect to his intention that the Library should be maintained for the use of the public, Sir Chester Beatty by his will, bequeathed it to certain named Trustees and made provision for the appointment of additional Trustees, including one to be appointed by the President. In view of the terms of Article 12, section 1, and Article 13, section 10, of the Constitution, which relate to the powers and functions of the President, the Attorney General has advised that it is necessary to provide, by legislation, for the conferring upon the President of this power of appointment, which would, under the will, be a continuing function in regard to one particular Trusteeship. The President has indicated his agreement to the proposal.

On behalf of the Fine Gael Party, I take this opportunity, not merely of supporting the Bill but of expressing, on our behalf, our appreciation of the munificence of the late Sir Alfred Chester Beatty. It is not generally known, but it is nevertheless a fact, that in 1955, when we were considering certain possibilities of offering inducements in order to have our minerals developed, we got the very greatest help and assistance from Sir Alfred Chester Beatty. He arranged to have all the resources of Selection Trust Limited placed at our disposal to enable us to examine mining incentives in every part of the world. That unique opportunity of getting such an assessment of the position in every other country, even in countries in which we had no diplomatic representatives, was of very great value to us and helped considerably in the development of our mining resources. That examination was made available solely through the public spirit of the late Sir Alfred Chester Beatty.

So far as I am concerned, one of the memories I shall cherish most in regard to the period in which I was Minister for Finance is the memory of the opportunity that gave me to get to know Sir Alfred Chester Beatty better; that came about through his making these facilities available to Ireland, the country of his adoption. The manner in which he has so munificently endowed the nation with his Library is something of which no words could adequately express our appreciation. We support the Bill and we take this opportunity to pay tribute to a very great and noble-minded man.

We, in the Labour Party, also support this Bill. Whilst this is a very valuable Library and a worthwhile addition to the other libraries in Dublin, we should, if possible, ensure that the manuscripts in the Library are readily available; we should co-operate with the countries of origin of these precious manuscripts. We ourselves suffered in the past in having some of our treasures and heirlooms removed from the country. Undoubtedly, in the years ahead, the countries of origin of these manuscripts will look towards Dublin where their national manuscripts are stored. To avoid any possible ill-feeling in the future, I suggest that, whenever any of these countries which originally had these manuscripts, seek loans of the manuscripts for a period, we should co-operate in every possible way.

We know ourselves from our experience of the past what it is like to be a poor country culturally. When rich purchasers come to buy national manuscripts the traffic is one way. We know how annoyed we would feel had someone bought the Book of Kells and we now had to travel to Teheran to examine it in some library there. This may seem an exaggeration, but it does sum up the feeling of the inhabitants in many of these countries which have been, to some extent, despoiled of their treasures. We know the chief culprit in this; it is the United States of America. It should be possible for us to co-operate with the countries of origin of these manuscripts; it should be possible to arrange for lending the manuscripts for an extended period, if necessary.

This is an addition to the number of libraries we have in Dublin. It is a unique library and our Party have pleasure in supporting the Bill.

The tributes paid here are somewhat similar to those which were paid in the Seanad yesterday. I should like to acknowledge them on behalf of the Trustees, if I have the right to do so. I should like to bring a little stage further what Deputy Sweetman said about Sir Chester Beatty's assistance in the development of our mineral resources. After I became Minister for Industry and Commerce, when the mineral development in Avoca had got into certain difficulties, Sir Alfred came forward again and placed his experience and advice at my disposal and at the disposal of the officers of my Department. It was, indeed, very helpful at the time.

With regard to the point raised by Deputy O'Leary, I do not know to what extent the trusteeship would allow of the lending of manuscripts to other countries. That would, of course, be a matter for the Trustees. It is not something in which we could interfere because it is dependent entirely on either the terms of the will or on the terms of the trust deed. It should be known that already scholars are coming from all over the world, including from the countries of origin of some of these manuscripts, and they are given every facility. We shall, I think, have to spend some money ourselves on the full development of the Library in order to ensure the continuation of certain cataloguing, which has not been done, and to ensure as well the availability of expert advice which we would not have in our own resources. This may involve some expenditure on the Library in the near future for both current and capital purposes and that may come before the Dáil in the form of a Vote, or otherwise, in the next year or so.

Question put and agreed to.
Agreed to take remaining Stages to-day.
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