Trinity College Library – the Book of Kells

Overview

As a legal-deposit institution, Trinity College Library is entitled to a copy of every book published in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom – the only Irish library with that UK right, granted in 1801. It is the largest library in the country. Most people come for two things: the illuminated 9th-century gospel known as the Book of Kells, and the Long Room, a 65-metre gallery in the Old Library lined with 200,000 of the collection’s oldest volumes. The same building holds Ireland’s national harp – the Brian Boru harp – and a 1916 Proclamation.

The Book of Kells exhibition is small and almost always busy. Book a timed slot online before you arrive, and go for the first entry of the day if you want to see the manuscript without a scrum. One thing to know in advance: the restoration has stripped the Long Room’s 200,000 books from their shelves for conservation, so for now the gallery is its architecture, marble busts and the Gaia globe rather than the full wall of spines from the postcards.

History

The library was founded with the college in 1592, and the Book of Kells arrived in 1661 as a gift from Henry Jones. Thomas Burgh’s Old Library took twenty years to build, finishing in 1732, its limestone quarried at Palmerstown. The Long Room you walk through today is taller than the original: a raised roof and upper gallery were added in 1860 to take the growing collection.

Marble busts run down the central aisle. Peter Scheemakers carved 14 of the originals, philosophers and writers among them. Four busts of women – Rosalind Franklin, Ada Lovelace, Augusta Gregory and Mary Wollstonecraft – were added in 2020, the first such additions in over a century.

A €90 million restoration began in 2022, prompted in part by the 2019 Notre-Dame fire, to overhaul climate control and fire protection. The work meant removing the books from the shelves for conservation. In 2023 Luke Jerram’s illuminated globe sculpture, Gaia, was installed under the vault.

What to see

• The Book of Kells – A rotating selection of pages from the gospel, dated to around 800 AD, with displays explaining how the manuscript was made and conserved.
• The Long Room – The barrel-vaulted hall, its oak shelves and the busts of Jonathan Swift, Aristotle and the four women scholars.
• Brian Boru harp – The oldest surviving Gaelic harp, from the 15th century, in a glass case in the Long Room.
• 1916 Proclamation – One of the few surviving copies of the declaration, shown alongside the harp.
• Gaia – Jerram’s illuminated globe, a deliberate modern note against the 18th-century timber.

The surrounding Trinity grounds, including the 1853 Campanile and Fellows’ Square, are free to walk through.

Getting there

The library is on College Green in the centre of Dublin, a short walk from Grafton Street and Temple Bar. The Luas Green Line stops at Dawson and Westmoreland, and bus routes 46A, 145 and 145A stop nearby. There is no useful parking in the immediate area, so walk or take public transport.

Practical information

Opening hours

Admission fees (2026 prices) – all tickets are sold online via the official visitor portal.

Contact

• Phone: +353 1 896 1000
• Website: Trinity College Library

Accessibility – The Old Library and Book of Kells exhibition are wheelchair-accessible, with ramps and a lift to the Long Room gallery. Audio guides are available.

Nearby attractions

Within walking distance of College Green:

• Abbey Theatre – Ireland’s national theatre.
• Arthur Guinness Heritage Bar – a pub on Dublin’s brewing history.
• Blessington Street Basin – a Victorian reservoir turned public park, good for a quiet half-hour.

Further afield, Aviva Stadium hosts rugby, football and concerts, and a short train north reaches the coastal town of Balbriggan.

Awards

In 2025 the library was ranked first in the global literary-tourism initiative ‘1000 Libraries’ and was voted Europe’s Leading Academic Tourist Attraction at the World Travel Awards 2025.