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The library holds a number of collections of historical interest, originally privately collected or belonging to orchestral and choral societies active in Dublin in the 18th and 19th centuries.

These include:

• The collections of the Sons of Handel and the Antient Concerts Society, who maintained a continuous choral tradition from 1790 – 1863 that was at the centre of musical life in Dublin.
• The collection of the Anacreontic Society, an orchestral society active in Dublin from 1740 – 1865.
• The Hudleston Collection of solo and chamber music for guitar, collected by Josiah Andrew Hudleston (1799-1865) and which features c. 1,100 works by Giuliani, Sor and Carulli and many others, in original and contemporary editions.
• The Joan Trimble Collection

 The library also holds most of the published works of Michele Esposito (1855-1929), a Neapolitan composer, conductor and musician who was a key figure in the RIAM from 1882 to 1928.  There are also printed and manuscript works by other RIAM composers such as Robert Stewart and Joseph Robinson.

For more information about the Special Collections and access to these, please contact the librarian at philipshields@riam.ie or +353-1-6325318.

A detailed listing of special collections in Irish libraries, including those for music and musicians , is listed on Research and Special Collections Available Locally (RASCAL). This is a collection-level database which allows users to see what collections of manuscripts or papers are kept in which libraries in Ireland, using keyword searches under names or subjects, e.g. Hamilton Harty, Arnold Bax, Sean O Riada etc.