The Book of Kells

A vrai dire, avant d’atterrir à Dublin, je n’avais jamais entendu parler de ce «Book of Kells».
Mais comme c’est l’attraction principale de Trinity College, on né pouvait pas passer à côté.
C’est un des plus beaux livres enluminés du Moyen-​Âge qui a pu traverser les siècles jusqu’à nous, réalisé par 4 scribes et plusieurs dessinateurs aux IXème siècle.
En fait, l’exposition tient en deux salles, la première expliquant sur de grands posters l’histoire de sa conception, ses techniques, ses détails et autres références bibliques. Les différents panneaux sont assez proches et la marche à suivre n’est pas indiqué. Il en résulte donc rapidement un certain fouillis, accentué par la foule de touristes entassés dans un si petit endroit.
Vous admirerez 4 pages du livre dans la deuxième salle. Les pages présentées ce jour n’étaient pas les plus belles, avec beaucoup de texte et quasiment pas d’enluminure. Peut-​être décevant pour l’amateur avisé, mais pour quelqu’un qui n’y connait rien comme moi, cette visite est très enrichissante.
Pour finir, vous traverserez «the long room», la magistrale bibliothèque sur deux étages, en toute sobriété de l’Université. L’effet visuel de voir tant de vieux livres alignés dans un unique couloir est juste grandiose.

Can be a long wait to get in as there’s pretty much always a line, though it’s worth the wait.
Book of Kells exhibit is very dry and sparse and itself was a little underwhelming. The Book itself is a bit of a let down — depends on with what kind of expectations you walk in. The Long Room of the Library is just spectacular though. Would recommend you go see it just for that if nothing else.

This excursion receives much more hype and recommendation than it deserves. The Book of Kells exhibit is mostly a museum of big poster signs. The book itself left everyone saying: «That was it?» There were one or two things that piqued my interest, but photos aren’t allowed, so that’s a giant buzzkill.
I actually preferred the Trinity College Library upstairs. Photos are allowed there, thankfully. Beautiful woodwork, books shelved two stories high lined the walls, and an interesting book exhibit ran down the middle. It was pretty cool!
We did wander around the campus a bit, and the architecture is gorgeous. The Book of Kells exhibit is definitely not worth the price of admission, though.

Cool room that goes down in points with the amount of people thatare in there all at once. First library I’ve ever been in where you pay a lot of money and can’t even touch a book.

The art, culture & history of Ireland encapsulated in a single document? Look no further. This beautiful manuscript is so richly adorned & given such a place of prominence in one of Ireland’s most respected & cherished institutions, that it would be utterly foolish to leave off the list of any itinerary. I do recommend going early, as lines can be long, & pray to whatever god you worship that you beat the tourist groups (or just walk fast). As you enter, you will go through a series of panel displays with text & images tracing the history of the book, similar works, how the book & ink were made & what they’re made of, the story behind it & other fascinating information as you are then led toward the room housing the Book of Kells itself. No photos, of course, as this is an ancient & fragile document, sensitive to light & you can only imagine how slow the line would move if tourists were allowed to take their precious selfies alongside it.
The book is split into two sections & you will see 4 pages, insert yourself into the viewing space wherever you can & then just kind of move with the flow of traffic. When you have gotten your fill, move on to the gift shop, to enjoy any number of related souvenirs.

Good history, I would shell out the extra 3 euro for the tour before.

Lots of history. Line moved very fast just make sure you beat all the tourist groups. Overall we loved it especially the second floor.

I remember studying about the Book of Kells when I was in school a long time ago so it was interesting to see it all in real life. The Long room was amazing to look at, but I didn’t find the books that interesting. I was expecting a lot more especially since it’s always so highly recommended by the tourist books and for the amount it costs to get in, but I wouldn’t say it’s a must-​see in Dublin unless you’re really into literature. However, the grounds of Trinity college are beautiful and they have a cool souvenir shop! We came on a weekday afternoon at first but there was a mile long queue as it was in the middle of summer and tourist season, so we just came back on a Friday morning when there weren’t as many people. The prices are around 9 euro for student and 10 euro for adult, although it’s slightly cheaper if you book online. I think about 2 hours is enough to see everything.

The Book of Kells is absolutely fascinating.
My hope that with time, the curators can learn from the «The Wonderful World of Guinness» across town, on how to make it more accessible to the public.
This is a No Tech, book in a glass case type offering. If you are interested, there is a detailed summary available at the iApp Store for $ 11.99.
The history of the Book of Kells is intertwined with St Colum Cille or Columba, who was a monastic. It was on the Island of Iona in the Hebrides where he chose to build an Abbey, to bring the Word of God to the Pics of Scotland in 565.
The Book of Kells is a beautifully illustrated version of the four Gospels in vulgate Latin. It, along with the Lindisfarne Gospel book, are believed to be oldest preserved writings in Christianity.
The narrative by Trinity College offers that: «Though small, Iona has enough arable land to support the needs of a sizable monastic community. Over the course of the next century, this monastery developed into the mother-​house of the Columban monasteries throughout Ireland, Scotland and England. Above all, it was the monastery that brought Irish scholarship, expertise and art to England and beyond. St Colum Cille died there in 597, and his remains were preserved as relics.
«Following repeated attacks at the hands of the Vikings, it was decided to move a part of the settlement to Kells in the 9^th century. Kells had previously been prominent as a pre-​historic burial ground… the Annals of Ulster tell us that St Colum Cille’s shrine and relics were moved to Ireland in 878. It is possible that the Book of Kells was removed to Ireland for safekeeping.»
The exhibit is small and the gift shop might be slightly larger. Given the previous limitations, it’s still a must stop on any trip to Dublin.

This should be called «the book that kills.» The exhibits are lovely but so poorly organized that it is just a crush of chaos inside. The space is wholly inadequate for the amount of visitors. It has No flow or organization of any kind. They really need to scrap the whole plan and re-​do it from scratch. This place is just a mess. Better to watch a documentary than endure the hardship of this. Extremely poorly thought-​out. Ladies take note: You might die of old age before reaching the bathrooms.

The Book of Kells is an illuminated gospel book on display at the Trinity College Library. I wasn’t aware how treasured and famous The Book of Kells is until during my research of the popular attractions in Dublin. We arrived on a weekday morning, with a group of 40 – 50 students ahead of us, and we knew right away that it was going to be hectic unfortunately. When you first walk in you are taken through rooms that details the history of the book’s composition, the letters, composition, and different ways it is laid out. The details of some of the illustrations are incredible and the exhibits are both informative and interesting. Next you are taken to the viewing room which displays couple pages of the manuscript enclosed in glass. No photography is allowed.

It is an extremely old book, I get it!
Still much ado about very little. There is a rather pricey fee to see a book (like 9 euro). Oh sure there are a few other small display items, presented regarding medicine and they are okay, but they don’t justify the steep admission costs, or the long lines.
Finally, they go overboard with the security and preservation measures.
No pictures? A security guard nearly everywhere, and every few days they turn a page and expect patrons to come purchase another admission ticket. Seriously?
The saving grace here is the great souvenirs.
They are overpriced for sure, but if money is no object to you, you can find some beautiful, unique tokens of Ireland, The Book of Kells and Trinity College here.

An enjoyable stop. It’s certainly nothing mind blowing, but interesting to see the Book of Kells and library.
It is annoying that they do not allow pictures without a flash. I guess it’s due to the fact there are so many bozos that do not know how to turn the flash off.
In any case, I was able to sneak a picture… shhh don’t tell anyone!

Despite being from Dublin, this was my first time to visit the Book of Kells and the Long Room. The exhibition on the Book of Kells itself is nothing amazing and is looking a bit dated, The book is very beautiful and worth a close inspection. However, I think the presentation could be better, it looks like the display was a bit of an afterthought and it was stuck in a hallway.
The main highlight of a visit here is the Long Room. I had seen it in pictures and on TV, however, it is so much more beautiful in person. The library really is a stunning space and justifies the entry free (or, if you have a friend studying in Trinity, make them take you in for free).

Mixed bag of feelings about this well-​known tourist sight…
The Book of Kells itself was a bit underwhelming. There were big modern displays about the book construction — paper, binding, ink etc and then you enter a small room with a couple of books in a Chubb secured display box where you peer in and think «umm… is that it?!»
You then head up a short flight of stairs and lo and behold, the amazing Long Room library awaits you and also justifies your € 10 entry fee, in categories such as children’s fiction and Irish folklore.
A juicy factoid was told by a fellow Unilocaler — that interns dust every old book with a mini hoover and when they have done a round of the library, they will have to start with the first book again!

The Book of Kells. Worth a visit if you appreciate ancient history, books, and artistic symbols and want to get a glimpse of one of Ireland’s jewels. The enlarged pages and write-​ups make the build-​up to see the actual book really worthwhile.
Go earlier in the day and plan on at least 2 – 3 hours. Allow time to take in the Long Room and the extensive book collection. And leave a bit more time for the cool gift shop which has something for everyone.
Locals and tourists alike should make a visit to this gem of an exhibit a priority. It’s located right on the lovely Trinity College campus which makes the visit even richer.
Think about a time when prized books were carried in leather satchels which were hung on pegs when not in use. Makes you appreciate the accessibility of your plethora of paperbacks, e-​book readers, and IKEA bookcases! The written word has come a long way baby!
(Students: only eight euro admission)

Super lame.
I didnt understand why this was so important. There were like people weeping over the books and what not– too much for me. It was super boring. It was cool to be at Trinity College, but I could have lived without going to see the book of kells. super boring.

Apparently I am an uncultured swine, because I thought this was hellalame. I get it, it’s a national treasure, but to me it’s a book. A book that I can’t even turn the pages on because it is under glass, at that. I can appreciate history, but in this case I’d rather appreciate it reading about it on Wikipedia instead of standing in line to gaze upon this book.
Oh, and I can’t even take pictures to show my friends and pretend like I cared!

As a self-​professed lover of ‘The Secret of Kells’, I have to say I was disappointed in the lack of mystical elements surrounding the book. But muggleness aside, the book and the exhibition surrounding it are fascinating.
It’s 9 EUR for entry, and a walk through the exhibition, a viewing of the book and a pass through The Long Room should take around an hour. More if you love history, less if you only like it.
There are guided tours available every 30 minutes or so for an extra euro (10 EUR total) but then you don’t have the benefit of seeing everything at your own pace.

Yes, The Book of Kells is really quite breathtaking, and the Long Hall is jam packed with really, really old books and cool displays throughout the middle… but not worth the money if you ask me.
18 € for two people (1 € student discount) for a very boring, very tall display containing very basic descriptions left much to be desired. At one point we were frustrated with all of the hype and walked past the last displays directly to the book. From there, we sort of congregated into a small dark room where we were pushed, poked, sneezed on and frustrated with trying to sneak a peek at the book (s).
They do have audio tours which cost more money that we did not spring for because we were hoping for a live body to answer questions and/​or some sort of video. Instead we had three sentences on a billboard sized poster that reminded me of trying to stay awake during history class.
Not very kid friendly, long lines outside, starts in a gift shop, ends in a gift shop. I found my travel book to be more interesting and informative. Skip this for some of the free museums in the area.

Trinity College could take a page from the Guinness Storehouse playbook and make the Book of Kells a more engaging and interactive exhibit than it is now. It’s clearly the most precious medieval artifact in this part of the world and worthy of holographic razzmatazz that would enthrall visitors. As it is now, you enter the Book of Kells «Turning Darkness into Light» exhibition which does contain large reproductions of select pages in the book. That was helpful if only to appreciate the detail of the ornamentation in the book itself. Then you step into the Treasury where the actual Book of Kells and other related manuscripts are on view.
The room is darkened significantly, and you have to try your best to huddle around a dimly glass case to see the two pages chosen to be on display that day. It is amazing to consider that monks on a Scottish island produced these pages by hand in the 9^th century, but you barely get a glimpse because it is simply too crowded to linger for very long — at least if you go in the morning. The Long Room provides some daylight relief and a beautiful library at the end of the € 9 self-​guided walk. Yes, of course, you need to see the Book of Kells when you’re in Dublin, but definitely do it first upon your visit to Trinity College, so you can enjoy the rest of the lovely campus at a more leisurely pace.