Thomas William Lyster

Thomas William Lyster (1855-1922) was director of the National Library of Ireland in Dublin between 1895 and his retirement in 1920.

Early life and family Thomas William Lyster, was born 17 December 1855 to parents Thomas Lyster of Rathdowney & Jane Lyster (nee’ Smith) of Roscrea. Born in Co. Kilkenny, Lyster and his family moved to Dublin in his youth where he remained throughout his entire life. After his initial schooling at Wesleyan, Lyster then attended Trinity College for further education. The admissions register of Trinity indicates Lyster enrolled into University in October 1872 at the age of 16. His enrolment was listed as “pensioner” which at the time was common and indicated he paid a set annual fee for his education and did not have any form of scholarship or fee assistance. By 1893 he had edited and published his first original work, an anthology of Poetry titled “English Poems for young students” which ended up becoming an intermediate certificate text.

Employment to the National Library In 1878, shortly after graduating university, Thomas Lyster officially joined the National Library of Ireland, and would be appointed assistant librarian at only twenty-three years of age.

Career in the National Library of Ireland During his time within the National Library, Lyster would become a strong advocate for the Dewey Classification System increasing accessibility of the libraries inventory to the public. Lyster would permit students to access the classified collection within the library, as well as making periodicals available at the library counter, increasing readership numbers dramatically. Furthermore, Lyster’s pragmatic and positive attitude would draw the attention of various readers from the library, many of whom would seek his advice and assistance. Renowned Irish author W.B. Yeats would remark that Thomas Lyster had initially encouraged him to write, and would describe him as the most zealous man he’d known. Lyster would later be elected as the organisation's vice-president in 1899, and begin a series of public lectures advocating for the expansion of the public library system. Thomas Lyster would continue to serve as director of the National Library of Ireland until his retirement from the organisation in 1920.

Later life In 1903 Thomas Lyster published his work called ‘The idea of a great public library’ in the Library Association Record, which was inspired by John Henry Newman and his work The idea of a university.

Death Thomas and Jane were married for just under two years when Lyster died on 12 December 1922 at his home, 10 Harcourt Terrace, Dublin.

Legacy Following his death Thomas William Lyster was remembered again in Oliver St John Gogarty's novel "As I Was Going Down Sackville Street". He was portrayed consistently in both this story and in James Joyce’s famed "Ulysses" as an enthusiastic and helpful character who was always called upon to help the people in the library. He is still known as "The Quaker Librarian" in Joyce's work, though Lyster was noted as being a member of the Church of Ireland, and is a benign and kind hearted figure in Joyce's tale. This trait is common between the two novels which indicate a passion for learning and spreading knowledge as a core virtue of his character.

A memorial plaque to him is in place at the National Library, which was presented in March 1926 by W. B. Yeats on behalf of the Friends of the National Library. The text of the plaque was also composed by Yeats, who was not only a prominent member of the society but also a close friend of Lyster, the two attending many library openings and events together. It describes Lyster as an enlightened book lover and one who was eager to help the library's visitors. The memorial, a bronze plaque with silver inscriptions by George Atkinson, was installed near the entry to the main reading room.

He is also still remembered through a portrait drawn by John Butler Yeats, father of W.B. Yeats, that is hung within the library and preserved in their archives.

His wife, Jane Robinson Lyster, established a bequest in 1946 in his memory within his alma mater Trinity College Dublin. This fund is one of the college's Moderatorship Prizes and is focused on the History discipline within the institution.

Works 1883: Heinrich Düntzer's Life of Goethe. London: Macmillan & Co. (translation) 1893: Select Poetry for Young Students; 2nd ed 1900: A series of volumes called English Poems for Young Students (editor) 1900: Observations on Shelf-classification. Chicago: H. Marshall & Son. (Author) Intermediate School Anthology