Boilerplate: Made in Kells is a community campaign from Kells, Co. Meath. We believe the Book of Kells was written and created here. It was taken away. It simply needs to be returned home. Not a loan.
Press kit
Facts for Journalists
A one-page brief you can quote. Print this page or copy what you need. For interviews and images, email us.
c. 800
Written and created in Kells, we believe
806
Columban monks flee Viking massacre on Iona and settle in Ceanannas Mór
1653
Kept in Kells for centuries until it was sent to Dublin in 1653 (what happened)
1653
Sent to Dublin by Charles Lambert, Earl of Cavan, for safety — not sold
1661
Donated to Trinity College Dublin by Henry Jones, then Bishop of Meath
968,666
Visitors to the Book of Kells at Trinity College Dublin in 2024, all in Dublin, not in Kells. Source: Fáilte Ireland visitor attractions data, 2024.
69 km
Distance from Trinity College Library back to Kells
What we are asking for: the return of the Book of Kells to Kells — the town that named it. Our campaign holds that it was written and created here. Not a loan. A homecoming.
What we are not asking for: a half-measure that leaves the manuscript in Dublin. The people who took the glory need to answer why it is still there.
Key places in Kells today: Round Tower, four High Crosses and the base of a fifth, St Colmcille’s House, Courthouse hub: a National Monument landscape waiting for its manuscript.
Contact: hello@madeinkells.com · madeinkells.com · #BringItHomeToKells
Suggested pull-quote: “It is not called the Book of Dublin. It is not called the Book of Trinity. It is called the Book of Kells — and that name is not a coincidence. It is an address.”