The Linen Hall Library is the only Northern Ireland charity chosen to receive this exceptional grant. The programme will match every £1 raised by the Linen Hall Library with £1 up to a value of £1million over a four-year period; thus the Library has the potential to raise £2million to secure its future.

This comes at a particularly poignant moment in the Library’s history as it is poised to celebrate its 225th birthday in May 2013.

George Priestley OBE, President of the Linen Hall Library Board of Governors, said: “On behalf of the Board of Governors and the staff of the Linen Hall Library, I am delighted that we have been awarded a place on the Catalyst Endowment programme. The award is tangible proof of the continued support of the Heritage Lottery Fund for the work of the Library.”

Paul Mullan, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund Northern Ireland, said: “The Linen Hall Library was chosen as a recipient of the award because it is one of the premier cultural institutions in Northern Ireland, if not the whole of the United Kingdom. The Library holds unique international resources about Ireland, and this award gives it the opportunity to protect and promote these treasures internationally.”

DCAL Minister Carál Ní Chuilín said: “I am very pleased that the board and management of the Library are working closely with others to secure its position in the future. The Heritage Lottery Fund aims to give people a better opportunity to experience, enjoy, care for and protect our heritage and I believe this award will help the Linen Hall Library achieve that.”

The Catalyst Endowment programme is a joint initiative between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Arts Council England (ACE) and the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).  Designed to bring new money into the cultural sector, the programme offers match-funding to help arts and heritage organisations secure their financial stability by building a new endowment fund or developing an existing one. The organisations will use the grants of between £500,000 and £5million to attract money from private philanthropic sources. 

Find out more about Linen Hall Library. Visit the Catalyst Endowment page for further details about this programme.

Notes to editors

The Heritage Lottery Fund has today announced Catalyst Endowments totalling £27.5 million in Northern Ireland, England and Scotland. The Heritage Lottery Fund will run a second round of Catalyst Endowments in the autumn, with awards to be announced in Spring 2013.

The Linen Hall Library is open free to the public, Monday to Friday 9.30am – 5.30pm and Saturday 9.30am – 4pm.

Further information

Please contact Rachel Wetherall, Marketing and PR Officer at the Linen Hall Library, on 07798 814 696 / 028 9032 1707 or email r.wetherall@linenhall.com.