Trinity College Dublin announces new Book of Kells Experience
Experience Ireland’s greatest cultural treasure like never before
October 17, 2023
- Visitors will see the Book of Kells on display and marvel at the Long Room, considered to be one of the world’s most beautiful libraries, before being immersed in a new world-class digital exhibition
- The new exhibition will be the first of its kind for Dublin, and will be located within the grounds of Trinity College Dublin, Ireland’s oldest university founded in 1592
- The Experience supports the Old Library Redevelopment Project, to safeguard the 18th century building and conserve its precious collections for future generations
- The Book of Kells Experience opening date will be announced soon
18 October 2023, Dublin: Trinity College Dublin today announced The Book of Kells Experience, a new world-class immersive exhibition that will digitally transport visitors into the illuminated pages of the 9th century manuscript and the globally renowned collections of the magnificent Old Library.
The new Experience will be set within a specially constructed pavilion in the historic grounds of Trinity, Ireland’s oldest university, marking the first opening of its kind for the city. Visitors will first view the Book of Kells in the Old Library, before marvelling at the Long Room, considered to be one of the world’s most beautiful libraries.
They will then embark on a 360° immersive journey in the pavilion; filled with stories, sights, and sounds inspired by the ancient manuscript and the Old Library’s precious collections, including a spectacularly innovative digital reconstruction of the Long Room.
The Book of Kells is one of Ireland’s top visitor attractions, with locals and tourists alike awed by the intricate and elaborate artistry and vibrant pigments that detail the medieval manuscript. Now visitors to the Experience will be able to follow the Book on its extraordinary journey from Iona in Scotland in 800AD, over the Irish Sea to Kells, and onwards to contemporary Dublin in present day, as 1,200 years of history and stories unfold before their eyes.
The Book of Kells Experience will also explore and showcase several of the books and manuscripts from the Old Library’s historically significant collections. Visitors will travel to 1916 to hear the Proclamation of the Irish Republic; interact with spirited sculptures including Ada Lovelace, Jonathan Swift, Rosalind Franklin and William Shakespeare; and witness the architectural evolution of the Long Room reimagined from 1732 to modern day.
The Experience is a key enabling project as part of the restoration works for the Old Library Redevelopment Project. The OLRP will safeguard the 18th century building and conserve its precious collections for future generations. Proceeds generated by ticket sales are reinvested back into Trinity College Dublin to support the academic mission of the university and fund development projects and conservation programmes.
The Book of Kells Experience will be coming soon to Trinity College Dublin. You can follow updates at visittrinity.ie/bookofkellsexperience.
Notes to Editors
The Book of Kells Experience
Trinity College Dublin
Open 7 days a week
@bookofkellsexperience
For all PR requests, please contact Camron:
bookofkellsexperience@camronglobal.com
+44 (0)20 7420 1700
About Trinity College Dublin
Trinity College Dublin, founded in 1592, is Ireland’s oldest university and today has a vibrant community of 22,000 students and 3,500 staff. Cutting edge research, technology and innovation places the university at the forefront of higher education in Ireland and globally. It encompasses all major academic fields, and is committed to world-class teaching and research across the range of disciplines in the arts and humanities, business, law, engineering, science, social and health sciences. Trinity is ranked 1st in Ireland and in the top 100 world universities by the QS World University Rankings.
About the Old Library Redevelopment Project
The Old Library's precious collections, spanning millennia, have been in our care for over 400 years. The Library now faces conservation challenges with pollution and dust accumulation taking their toll, and an urgent need to improve fire protection and environmental controls.
The Old Library Redevelopment Project draws on the best 21st century design and technology to safeguard the 18th century building and conserve its precious collections for future generations. You’ll see progress underway with the team decanting 200,000 early printed books from the Library shelves. One by one, each book is cleaned with a specialised vacuum, measured, electronically tagged and linked to a catalogue record, before being safely relocated to a climate-controlled storage facility. The collections will remain accessible in our interim study centre during this landmark conservation project.