Thousand-year-old manuscript returns to Ireland for UCC exhibition

One of Ireland’s most significant medieval manuscripts will go on display at University College Cork (UCC) from today until November. Close to a thousand years old and handwritten in Irish and Latin, the 57 vellum leaves of The Annals of Inisfallen document the history of Ireland both before and after the arrival of St Patrick. The annals, which were last on exhibit in Ireland in 1983, present a continuous, year-by-year narrative of death, conflict, dramatic weather events and unusual occurrences. They chronicle events such as Viking raids on Skellig Michael off the Co Kerry coast in 823; the arrival of a group believed to be Ireland’s first Jews in 1079 and the life spans of kings and poets. READ MORESome unusual occurrences captured include comets, the great snow of 1047 and the gift of a camel from the King of Scotland to the great grandson of Brian Boru in the year 1105.The events which are recorded in the annals from the late 11th to the 14th century are contemporary with the writing of the book, involving contributions from a succession of thirty scribes. Later additions extend the historical record into the 15th century.Invasions of Ireland from the mythical Tuatha Dé Danann and the coming of the Normans are all detailed in the manuscript. Much of the later, contemporary section relates to west Munster. The manuscript is thought to have been initially copied in the monastery of Lismore in Co Waterford from materials created in the monasteries of Clonmacnoise in Co Offaly and Emly in Co Tipperary. In the 12th century, the manuscript was brought to west Munster, most likely to the monastery on Inisfallen Island in Killarney, Co Kerry where the annual records were continued. Its pages preserve a unique record of Ireland’s political, ecclesiastical and cultural life across generations.Pádraig Ó Macháin, professor of modern Irish at UCC, said this “powerful, all-action history book is a monument to the work of a multitude of scribes who facilitated the transition from Latin to Irish as the language of record and scholarship, a language that, remarkably, is still very much with us.”Close to a thousand years old and handwritten in Irish and Latin, the 57 vellum leaves of the Annals of Inisfallen document the history of Ireland both before and after the arrival of St Patrick. [ The ‘Wikipedia of the age’: Restored 900-year-old Book of Leinster manuscript goes on first public display in DublinOpens in new window ]The manuscript entered the collection of the 17th century Irish historian James Ware before passing through subsequent collectors to Richard Rawlinson, whose bequest brought it to the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford, where it has been preserved for more than 250 years.The exhibition - Recording the Past: The Annals of Inisfallen and the Making of Irish History - will remain on display at the Glucksman Gallery in UCC until November 1st. The president of UCC professor John O’Halloran said the Annals of Inisfallen is one of the great treasures of Ireland’s written heritage. “This exhibition offers visitors an opportunity to engage with a manuscript that has shaped our understanding of medieval Ireland. “By bringing together scholarship, interpretation and digital access, we hope to inspire new audiences to discover the richness of our shared history and the extraordinary work of the scribes who preserved it.”Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s librarian and the Helen Hamlyn director of university libraries, said the Bodleian is delighted to collaborate with UCC to exhibit the Annals of Inisfallen in Ireland. The Annals of Inisfallen present a continuous, year-by-year narrative of death, conflict, dramatic weather events and unusual occurrences. “Giving the public a chance to view and get up close with this much treasured manuscript will help support greater understanding and appreciation of the medieval period, the role of manuscripts in preserving knowledge, and allow us to celebrate the shared responsibilities of libraries like the Bodleian and the University College Cork Library in preserving the past for the benefit of the present and the future.”The exhibition is enabled by the support of Brian McCarthy of Fexco, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the National Monuments Service, Kerry County Council and Cork University Foundation. The annals were last on display in Ireland in 1983 when a return was arranged to mark the 50th anniversary of the opening of Killarney National Park. [ ‘It belongs with the books of Kells and Durrow.’ Illuminated manuscripts back in Ireland for the first time in more than 1,000 yearsOpens in new window ]