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All Ireland Dublin The Long Room Library at Trinity College

The Long Room Library at Trinity College

The gorgeous library at Trinity College is home to remarkable treasures of Irish identity.

Dublin, Ireland

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  Hannes Ambrosch/Flickr
  Hannes Ambrosch/Flickr
The Long Room.   Kerry Wolfe / Atlas Obscura User
  Steve Cadman/Flickr
One is the many busts lining the Long Room   pennylemonade / Atlas Obscura User
  https://www.flickr.com/photos/lazzo13/
  https://www.flickr.com/photos/lazzo13/
The Long Hall  
  DMMitch / Atlas Obscura User
  Julius Spada / Atlas Obscura User
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The Long Library in October, 2022.   Kergin / Atlas Obscura User
The Trinity College Harp, which serves as the basis for a lot of Irish symbols.   Kergin / Atlas Obscura User
What a ladder and library.   Julius Spada / Atlas Obscura User
Trinity college   krisztahorvath77 / Atlas Obscura User
  pennylemonade / Atlas Obscura User
  Kristen / Atlas Obscura User
The Long Room Library at Trinity College   Matthew H Ward / Atlas Obscura User
Trinity College   Matthew H Ward / Atlas Obscura User
Trinity College   Matthew H Ward / Atlas Obscura User
A page from The Book of Kells   spadaadjusting / Atlas Obscura User
  shaw95 / Atlas Obscura User
  shaw95 / Atlas Obscura User
Books in the Biblioteca section of the library.   shaw95 / Atlas Obscura User
The harp that was the basis of the national symbol of Ireland.   shaw95 / Atlas Obscura User
An original copy of the Irish proclomation of independence on display in The Long Room   shaw95 / Atlas Obscura User
  Xavixavir / Atlas Obscura User
The patched floor and scratches from the ladder… all tell a story.   learncreateeducate / Atlas Obscura User
Each self was built to hold specific books. All measured, all custom… look at the evidence of the books that have occupied the shelf for centuries.   learncreateeducate / Atlas Obscura User
The books were removed for cleaning and to renovate the library. A large rotating globe was placed in the center as a temporary installation.   learncreateeducate / Atlas Obscura User
Sculpture Outside Trinity College Library   jonlinolathe / Atlas Obscura User
  Kristen / Atlas Obscura User
The Long Room Library at Trinity College   Matthew H Ward / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Built between 1712 and 1732, the Long Room at Trinity College's Old Library holds the collection's 200,000 oldest books.

The distinctive and beautiful barrel ceiling was added in 1860 to allow space for more works when the existing shelves became full. Marble busts of famous philosophers and writers, created by sculptor Peter Schemakers beginning in 1743, line the central walkway of the nearly 200-foot-long room.

The enormous collection housed in the long room includes a rare copy of the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic and the 15th-century wooden harp in the library which is the model for the emblem of Ireland.

By far its most famous holding, however, is an extraordinary illuminated manuscript known as the Book of Kells. Decorated with lavish Celtic and Christian iconography, its distinctive designs have become firmly rooted in Irish identity. Thought to have been created around 800 AD by Christian monks on the Isle of Iona in Scotland, it is composed of the four gospels, hand-transcribed on vellum in a script style known as "insular majuscule" or "insular script" which flourished in Ireland and Scotland between 600 and 850. It is named for the monastery at Kells, County Meath where the monks took refuge after a Viking raid and which became the manuscript's home for centuries.

The Book of Kells came to Trinity College in Dublin in 1661, for safekeeping after the Cromwellian raids on religious institutions. It has been on display since the 19th century.

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Repositories Of Knowledge Libraries

Community Contributors

Edited By

Martin, DAndrews, bradhooker, Allison...

  • Martin
  • DAndrews
  • bradhooker
  • Allison
  • TravelTourist
  • Kergin
  • shaw95
  • Kerry Wolfe
  • jonlinolathe
  • pennylemonade
  • haddon
  • Xavixavir
  • spadaadjusting
  • Matthew H Ward
  • krisztahorvath77
  • AdventureBro
  • amanda 342ff10f
  • Kristen
  • Julius Spada
  • DMMitch
  • learncreateeducate
  • benjaminbrown2384

Published

December 22, 2012

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  • https://www.tcd.ie/Library/manuscripts/book-of-kells.php
The Long Room Library at Trinity College
Old Library
Trinity College
Dublin
Ireland
53.343974, -6.256714
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