Should the book of Kells be moved from Trinity college

beerguts

HI all

Just wondering if anyone shares the same opinion as me that the book of Kells should be moved to the National Museum of Ireland - Archaeology.

These recent gaza protests where a bunch of students have held the college to ransom for their political views have made me fear for our most important historical item. What if one of those nutters believes that the only way for them to get publicity for their cause is to damage or deface it.

Also another point is that why are we allowing trinity to profit from the book. It should be in the correct location where it is free for all.

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058350655/should-the-book-of-kells-be-moved-from-trinity-college

Agreed.

wanderer 22

Absolutely agree, we've seen cultural items across the world have paint etc thrown on them, I would feel this is a real possibility here.

granturismo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122106776#Comment_122106776

Have you seen the book of Kells? Its a replica in a glass case. The real book is in storage.

Agreed, the replica it should be moved to Kells or put in the National Museum and the original stored securely in the National Museum.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058350655/should-the-book-of-kells-be-moved-from-trinity-college

Damage or deface it how exactly ?

Sadly Trinity own the manuscript so we are not "letting them" do anything.

wanderer 22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122106802#Comment_122106802

Well I'm not going to go brainstorming ideas if that's what you are asking :-)

SEPT 23 1989

it’s not glass and would take time even with a sledgehammer to get at it

Hopefully by that stage the hippies would be beaten within an inch of their lives

cnocbui

Disagree. It's a book and it's in a library, which is entirely appropriate. My mother got to actually touch it and turn it's pages. Also, it's origin seems to actually be Scottish, being from Iona, so…

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122106802#Comment_122106802

How much did the replica cost?

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122106844#Comment_122106844

That's really cool about your mam! was she a conservationist?

LambshankRedemption

Hopefully by that stage the hippies would be beaten within an inch of their lives

Welcome to Ireland. Clearly you are new here.

endacl

bout 3 fiddy

StormForce13

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122106844#Comment_122106844

So because mammy got to turn "it's" pages it should be left where it is. Impressive logic.

cnocbui

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122106860#Comment_122106860

No, just good looking. ;-)

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058350655/should-the-book-of-kells-be-moved-from-trinity-college

what makes you think security in the museum is higher than the Library in Trinity?

beerguts

Well the national museum belongs to the people and I agree that no where is particularly safe but trinity has the issues of student protests on occasion.

A

Thanks to the poster that clarified that trinity owns the manuscript, I didn't know that. Should be gifted to the state and moved in my opinion but we all have one of those.

AMKC

Totally agree. Move it to the national museum because I sure as hell will never set foot in Trinity Collage yuk. Hell would have to freeze over before I ever did that. And it would be safer away from all them hippy students too.

tinytobe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122106798#Comment_122106798

That surprises me that it's a replica behind the glass.

Last time I was there there was a security man barking at those who took photos, or tried to take photos.

So why would he do that, if it's only a replica?

Sleepy

It's actually about to be moved soon. There's some major fire-proofing work being carried out on the library building it's kept in and all the books from the long hall are being taken off-site for the duration of the works.

dxhound2005

I have a First Edition signed by the author. Would that be worth much?

Danzy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122107099#Comment_122107099

Replica could still be worth a fortune.

Strumms

Identify them on CCTV, kick them off their course, arrest a few of them if appropriate and witness the rest of them scurry off into the shadows. ie. D E T E R them. Without a deterrent this is what you are seeing. They know there are zero consequences.

Be some craic, all that studying in Irelands most revered seat of learning and all they might leave with is a criminal conviction … instead of a guaranteed pathway towards employment they’d have earned themselves in many cases a blockade from it.

granturismo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122107099#Comment_122107099

Your post prompted me to check. There was a copy on display when I saw it in 2015. We were told the display was a copy and the original was kept in storage. There was a copy on display in 2019/2020 for preservation work - my mistake. The original is generally on display.

https://universitytimes.ie/2019/10/book-of-kells-to-be-replaced-with-replica-until-march-2020/

cnocbui

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122106865#Comment_122106865

Maybe my having worked in an academic library in the past has made me biased.

It's not the only valuable and impressive book in the world and for all the others, libraries are most often where they are kept. Plimpton 322 is a Babylonian clay tablet that is 3,700 years old and contains the earliest trigonometry table known, and it predates Pythagoras and the Greeks by at least 1,300 years and is more accurate mathmatically. It is part of a collection of many Babylonian tablets that are held in Columbia University library.

So given Libraries are traditionally places where books and historically important texts are usually kept to make them accessable to schollars for research, I think it's the most appropriate place for the book of kells.

Don't know why I even bothered with the "It's a book and it's in a library, which is entirely appropriate."

ELM327

Yes I agree it should be moved. Historical artifacts should not be left in a place where they are at risk due to pro terror activists

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122107184#Comment_122107184

They haven't done anything illegal.

I'm in full support of their protest.

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122107342#Comment_122107342

Have any of the protesters threatened to damage the Book of Kells?

No.

Just some rabble rousing wild fantasy from the OP.

cnocbui

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122107342#Comment_122107342

So historically important paintings should be moved from art galleries to museums because they are at risk from climate activists throwing stuff over them?

What objective proof do you have that a museum would provide more security than exists at present? Trinity seem to have had adequate security for the past 320 or so years they have had it.

The climate activists would be of greater concern to me than the anti-genocide protesters you fear.

ELM327

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122107507#Comment_122107507

They don't have to threaten to damage it, their wild socialist uprising has already endangered it enough. Ironically, despite all the blue haired they thems, TCD is no longer a safe space for the book.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122107522#Comment_122107522

I would argue there is merit in that discussion. Climate activists are also wild morons that we need to guard against, we can agree on that for sure.

nachouser

So, now we're to be afraid of students of Trinity f*cking College? Jfc.

laketreeroger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122107592#Comment_122107592

hahaa just lunatics on here

beerguts

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122107507#Comment_122107507

Its not a rabble rousing attempt. As you can tell by my post history I don't add my views very often. But I was in Dublin at the weekend and went to the national museum of archaeology and the national gallery. Absolutely loved both and they are fantastic places to visit.

I was going to go to see the book of Kells experience and I witnessed the protest by the students. Now these students seemed to be well behaved and the worst they were doing was been loud. However as I said in my first post there is a risk of a fanatic (be it far right, religious or leftist) attempting to disrupt the exhibit or worse attempt damage or destroy because they are fanatics to whatever cause.

I genuinely believe taking it out of a location that had more possibilities of protests and putting it into the national gallery makes more sense and also stops trinity using an Irish treasure (A pox on the poster that said it was produced in Iona😊, joking!!) as a revenue stream

John_Rambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122107184#Comment_122107184

This is Ireland in 2024 not Germany in 1943 or North Korea. We have certain freedoms here. Protest, like freedom of expression is a fundamental part of our democracy.

ceadaoin.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122106798#Comment_122106798

What? I went there last year, now I feel totally ripped off and want a refund lol

Gary_dunne

The students are more than entitled to protest against their university, that they contribute towards, if they don't agree with the organisations that it does business with.

There has been no threat to the Book of Kells. As shown previously in the photo put in this thread it would take some amount of work to even get into it in the first place and doing this would completely undermine their protest. Blocking some tourists from going to see it is not the end of the world.

ELM327

Additionally, the irony of Trinity College students protesting against oppression I hope is not lost on them. As a former TCD student (albeit a dropout!) myself.

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122107675#Comment_122107675

I would prefer it moved so people can enjoy it for free.

There's as much chance of a fanatic walking into the History Museum from the street and doing damage, as a fanatic paying to enter the Trinity Museum and damaging the book.

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122107728#Comment_122107728

You're going to have to explain that one to me, can only the oppressed protest about being oppressed?

Montage of Feck

TCD should be turned over to Hamas, as their European base of operations.

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122107490#Comment_122107490

if they’ve been instructed to leave and they refuse, that’s illegal.

tinytobe

I have actually taken a photo of the book of Kells when I was there. I wasn't supposed to but did it anyway. The security guy didn't see it.

Why is photography forbidden? I didn't use flash either.

Boardnashea

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122107546#Comment_122107546

I don't agree that climate activists are "wild morons". I think we could listen to accepted science, and think why climate activists are doing what they are doing.

Trinity students protesting about their university's economic involvement in Israel is a reasonable protest. They are not trying to damage the Book of Kells. They are trying to effect change in University policies, by blocking access to the Book of Kells.

Hey, they have just added another layer of protection to this valuable piece of our history!

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122107184#Comment_122107184

OK, but these are imaginary punishments for imaginary crimes as the protesters haven't tried to do anything to the book of Kells.

Immaginary beating for imaginary crimes seems appropriate. But why are you fantasising about beating people for things they haven't done?

dxhound2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122107865#Comment_122107865

If you find out why no photos I would like to know as well.

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122107863#Comment_122107863

No it's not. They have a right to be there.

silliussoddius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122107697#Comment_122107697

Unfortunately freedom of expression/speech is wasted on the attention seekers/professionally annoyed who make the headlines. I think there should be a nuisance clause added to account for these types.

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122108065#Comment_122108065

if they are behaving in a manner not in adherence to the code of conduct set out by the college, which they signed up to, then they don’t :)

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122108193#Comment_122108193

Then if that rule applies, it's up to the university to enforce it. I suspect that will not be enforced in this case.

whisky_galore

A replica? I want my money back!

Feel cheated.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058350655/should-the-book-of-kells-be-moved-from-trinity-college

First of all it is privately owned and second there is absolutely nothing to suggest the national museum have any special knowledge, facilities or experience in preserving such a work.

Mind you if you are that concerned you should visit your local TDs office, discuss the matter with them and propose tax payer funded security for it and see how that goes, because posting it on here is going to make no difference.

boetstark

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122107490#Comment_122107490

Why are the Palestinian wannabe crusties wearing masks.