Trinity said no to a loan. Kells isn't asking for one.

Yes. The Book of Kells should come home to Kells, Co. Meath, for good. Trinity College Dublin refused to lend it to the town in 2000 and again in 2011, but Made in Kells is not asking for a loan. We are asking for a return.

What Trinity said in 2000

In June 2000, Kells Urban District Council asked Trinity to lend the manuscript for an exhibition in the town's newly finished heritage centre. On 22 June 2000 The Irish Times reported that the Board of Trinity College had announced, "Regretfully", that it would decline the request from the people of Kells for a loan.

Bill Simpson, Trinity's head librarian, said the decision had been taken "on the grounds of security and environmental concerns".

Kells had already agreed to everything Trinity asked for. Brian Reilly, chairman of Kells UDC, put it plainly: "Given that we had said 'yes' to all of Trinity College's requirements and specifications, I can't understand why they have said 'no'."

The same report noted that the Book had been on display around Europe, and earlier that year in Canberra. It could go to Australia. It could not go 69 km up the road to the county "where it was written", in The Irish Times' own words. Noel Dempsey, then Minister for the Environment and Local Government, said he was disappointed too and called on Trinity to think again.

What Trinity said in 2011

In August 2011, council and tourism leaders in Kells tried again. Trinity said no again, citing the preservation, safety and security of the manuscript, the Irish Examiner reported on 31 August 2011. Trinity's statement said: "Its display and storage are subject to very careful environmental controls and security."

Trinity has also said that since 2000 its Board has declined loan requests on security, environmental and preservation grounds.

A loan is not a return

Read those statements closely. Every one of them is about lending. In 2000 the request was, in The Irish Times' words, "for a loan". The Board's policy since 2000 is a policy on loan requests.

A loan means the Book leaves its case, travels, goes on show for a season and travels back. That's two journeys, a return date, and the whole risk run again the next time someone asks. Trinity refused that.

A return home is a different request. The Book comes back to Kells once, permanently, to a home built to the conservation standards Trinity itself applies. It makes one journey and never has to go back. Trinity says preservation comes first. We agree. A permanent home in Kells, designed around the manuscript, is how you put preservation first and still put the Book where it belongs.

Nothing has been agreed. That is why the campaign exists.

Why Kells

The manuscript carries the town's name. Made in Kells holds that the Book was created here, in the monastery of St Colmcille's community at Kells. It stayed in Kells for centuries. In 1653 it was sent to Dublin for safekeeping during the Cromwellian wars, and in 1661 Henry Jones gave it to Trinity. Read what really happened in 1653. Safekeeping in wartime is not a gift.

People still come to see it. Fáilte Ireland recorded 968,666 visitors to the Book of Kells in Dublin in 2024. Every one of them saw it in Dublin, 69 km from the town it is named for.

What you can do

Start with our FAQ, which covers the questions we get asked most. Then plan a day in Kells. The original isn't here yet, but the Round Tower, the high crosses and St Colmcille's House are.

If you want to write to your TD or councillor asking for a return home, email ColmTheKiller@MadeInKells.Com for a short template letter. You can also join Friends of the Return.