The week in Kells to 1 November 2026: still 69 km from home
A straight answer on 1653, All Saints in the parish, the Samhain Festival on the way, and the same silence from Dublin. No return has been agreed.
News from Kells
Campaign news from Kells · Today’s puzzle
Updates, analysis, and sharp writing from the campaign for the Book’s return home — not a loan.
Also: Daily puzzle · Ask Colm
Do residents and leaders really believe Trinity is minding their book?
26 years of councillors, campaigners and residents on the record, and what Trinity said back.
Kells kept the Book of Kells whole for 850 years. Trinity's binder took a knife to it
Trinity’s own catalogue says the Book’s 340 pages were “severely trimmed” in its care. Kells never cut a page.
Kells clubs and volunteers honoured at 2026 Pride of Place awards
Hinterland won Culture and Heritage, Cherryhill took the Innovation Award and Angela Ryan was named Volunteer of the Year.
Free guided tours open at the new Kells Printing Works
Weekly one-hour tours of the Church Lane print works and its historic cast-iron presses run every Friday to 18 December. Booking is required.
Book of Kells now timed-entry only as Old Library closure nears
Book of Kells visits are now timed-entry only. The Old Library is due to close in 2027, with the Book moving to Trinity’s Printing House until 2030.
Meath schools shut in pay strike; next strike suspended
Schools closed and council services curtailed in Meath on 14 October. Unions have suspended the 21 October strike while talks are set up.
New Gardaí for Ashbourne and Navan; none listed for Kells
Of 23 new Gardaí allocated to Ashbourne, Drogheda and Navan, 13 go to Ashbourne and 4 to Navan. No allocation to Kells was reported.
R147 Dublin Road works in Navan enter final stages
The Martha's Bridge to Circular Road cycle and pedestrian scheme on the R147 in Navan is in its final weeks. No Kells stretch of the road is involved.
Meath finals: camogie titles and SFC final in Ashbourne
Na Fianna and Dunderry won Saturday's camogie finals. Donaghmore/Ashbourne meet Wolfe Tones in the Meath SFC final in Ashbourne on Sunday at 2pm.
Every Letter of the Book Was Written by Hand in Kells. Now It's Your Turn.
Brother Ultan takes on two small boys, loses an argument about the letter g, and finds the town's oldest habit: we make things here. The An Post Handwriting Competition is open, and every young hand in Kells should be in it.
The Ink Is Made From a Wasp's Mistake. The Book Is Made in Kells.
Brother Ultan boils oak galls, curses a goose, and keeps the black on the page steady, because every letter of the Book is being written here.
The Yellow That Bites: Brother Fergal's Colours for the Book of Kells
In the Colour Cellar, the pigment man grinds a gold that is really poison, chases a blue from a weed, and swears every colour on the page was mixed in Kells.
Every Fire in Ireland Was Lit From One Hill. Kells Knows What It Means to Lose the Flame.
As Samhain comes round again, Colm, the monk of Kells, walks out to Tlachtga in neighbouring Athboy and asks why the world carries Halloween home every year, but not the Book.
Afraid of the Book: Kells runs a book festival and won't say "Book" or "Kells"
For four years it was Hay Festival Kells. In 2017 the town's name came off the banner. Kells's own literature festival now hides both words.
Ask Colm: What We Put on a Wound Before There Were Pills
Willow bark, honey, plantain, and the garden beside the scriptorium. Colm on what monks put on a wound, and why a modern tablet is not a monastic poultice.
Trinity said no to a loan. Kells isn't asking for one.
Should the Book of Kells be returned to Kells? Trinity refused loans in 2000 and 2011. Kells asks for a permanent return home, not a loan.
The Book of Kells. It's in the Name.
Two small letters settle a question the experts have spent a century complicating. It is the Book of Kells.
Ask Colm: The Book of Kells. It's in the Name.
Two small letters, and an old monk who was there for all of it. Colm on why the name has always told the truth.
Ask Colm: The Quill, the Knife, and the Straight Line
Before a single letter is written, the scribe cuts a feather, sharpens a blade, and rules the page. Colm shows you how a line was made to hold the Word.
Ask Colm: Where the Colour Came From
The old monk of Kells opens his paint pots: oak galls, poisonous yellow, indigo, and the calf that gave its skin.
Where the Book lived: a walk through Kells
What to see in Kells, Co. Meath: Courthouse, Market Cross, Round Tower, high crosses, St Colmcille's House.
How the Book of Kells ended up in Trinity: 1653 to 1661
Sent away for safekeeping around 1653, handed to a college around 1661. The record, the dates, and why Kells wants it home.
Where was the Book of Kells made? What the record shows, and why Kells
Trinity’s own library says it cannot be known for sure. What the record shows, and why Made in Kells says Kells.
Why is the Book of Kells in Dublin and not Kells?
Sent for safety in 1653. Given to Trinity in 1661. Never sold. Kells wants it home.
Why is it called the Book of Kells if it is in Dublin?
The name is an address. Trinity holds the leaves; Kells holds the name.
Three concrete ways the diaspora can help bring the Book of Kells home
Share the fact. Write for a return home, not a loan. Visit and tell both halves.
Made in Kells publishes a visit guide: the original is in Dublin. The town is asking for it home.
Honest guide: original at Trinity, town walk in Kells, ask is a return home — not a loan.
1,000 Years Above Kells: The Round Tower’s Story Continues
Conservation done. Scaffolding gone. Cap long gone — silhouette back on the skyline.
What Really Happened in 1653 — and Why It Still Matters
Most people know the Book of Kells is in Dublin. Fewer know exactly how it got there.
What Would a Return Actually Look Like for Kells?
Is it realistic? Would it damage the manuscript? What would it mean for the town?
Why the Irish Diaspora Cares More Than You Might Expect
Irish communities in Boston and Melbourne answered within days.
Archive
27 Sep 2026 · HistoryThe Book of Kells. It's in the Name.
5 Oct 2026 · HistoryAsk Colm: What We Put on a Wound Before There Were Pills
27 Sep 2026 · HistoryAsk Colm: The Book of Kells. It's in the Name.
26 Sep 2026 · HistoryAsk Colm: The Quill, the Knife, and the Straight Line
25 Sep 2026 · HistoryAsk Colm: Where the Colour Came From
25 Sep 2026Where was the Book of Kells made?
1 Nov 2026The week in Kells to 1 November 2026
16 Sep 2026Three concrete ways the diaspora can help
10 Sep 20261,000 Years Above Kells — Round Tower
June 2026What Really Happened in 1653
April 2026Why the Irish Diaspora Cares
Some pieces use satire to show how ridiculous Trinity’s holding looks from Kells. The core story is not a joke: the Book was taken, and this site does not apologise for saying so.