Artefacts

As well as being a library and archive, the Linen Hall Library is also an accredited museum. The Northern Ireland Political Collection was one of three collections to be granted museum accreditation in 2016, housing varied and fascinating artefacts and objects of national and international significance. This collection represents a selection of these contemporary and historic artefacts – material expressions of the roles that women played in their communities, and the ways that they were perceived.

The collection contains badges, postcards, political cartoons, textiles, rosettes, sculptures, trophies, photographs, press passes, stickers, t-shirts, and other miscellanea. Some notable artefacts include embroidered t-shirts containing quotes from oral histories collected during the Linen Hall Library extraORDINARYwomen project; photographs of Dame Mary Peters upon her return to Belfast after winning gold at the Munich Olympics in 1972; ‘House-After Louise Bourgeois,’ a porcelain sculpture by Irish artist Ursula Burke; trophies awarded to Charmaine Jones for her contributions to community relations and peace-building; and various badges from women’s organisations.