Trinity College and the Book of Kells

Trinity College was founded in 1592 by Elizabeth I. Since 1801 its library has been entitled to a copy of everything published in Ireland and the United Kingdom: which is what explains the size of the collection.

The Book of Kells is an illuminated gospel book from the early ninth century, the work of Irish monks, and one of the major pieces of European medieval art. The Long Room, sixty-five metres long, holds two hundred thousand early volumes — it is undergoing a full conservation clean, and some of the shelving is empty.