The Book of Kells

Trinity College is Ireland’s most prestigious college and it’s probably the best university in Ireland.The college is best known for the Book of Kells, one of the most beautiful manuscripts in the world. It was written around 800AD by Irish monks and later buried in the ground for fear of the Vikings. After being rediscovered, it was deposited in Trinity College Dublin in 1653. The book contains a richly decorated copy of the four gospels in a Latin. The gospels are preceded by prefaces, summaries of the gospel narratives and concordances of gospel passages compiled in the 4th Century by Eusebius of Caesarea. In all, there are 680 pages.

The Book of Kells is held in the Long Room of Trinity’s Old Library. This room was actually the inspiration for a room called the Jedi Archives in “Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.”

Visitor Information

Trinity College

College Street

Dublin 1

Co. Dublin

Ireland

Telephone: +353(0)18962320

Web: www.tcd.ie/Library/bookofkells

Opening Hours

May – September: 9:30-5:00pm (Mon-Sat), 9:30, 4:30pm (Sun)