Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith

The David Whiteley Library is Britain’s only Irish public lending library specialising in Irish books, fiction and non-fiction, about Ireland or by Irish authors.

The Library originates from a large collection of approximately 800 Irish books, which had belonged to the late David Whiteley. David was a school teacher in the borough when education was run by the GLC. During his life, David’s collection of Irish books was used by the GLC.

When David became aware that he was terminally ill with cancer, he chose to denote his wonderful collection to the borough so that it might be used as a resource by the Irish community. After his untimely death (in his mid 30’s), David’s wife, Anne, gave permission for the collection to be passed to the newly built Hammersmith and Fulham Irish Centre which opened in 1995.

Since then, this unique collection of books has continued to grow through continued donations. The collection is now estimated at approximately 3,500 books.

We are currently in the process, thanks to a number of dedicated volunteeers, of updating our listings of all titles. Opening Hours to be confirmed for September 2010.