Made in Kells Add your name
The Round Tower of Kells, its cap long gone, standing dark against a stormy amber sky

What was made in Kells?

The Book of Kells.

Made by monks in Kells around 800 AD. Kept in Dublin since the 1650s. Never brought home.

The true story
Illustration: a monk's hands cutting a quill by candlelight, closed book beside him.
Illustration. Generated image, colour-toned by Made in Kells.
A broken high cross in the churchyard at Kells, with St Columba’s Church and its spire behind
The churchyard at Kells, with St Columba’s Church. Photo: Nemoi, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and colour-toned by Made in Kells.
Carved panels on the shaft of the West Cross in Kells, close up
The West Cross, Kells: carved shaft. Photo: Nemoi, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and colour-toned by Made in Kells.
The Chi Rho page of the Book of Kells: a giant illuminated monogram packed with spirals, knotwork and tiny figures, shown in warm amber tones
The Chi Rho page, folio 34r of the Book of Kells. Scan: Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Colour-toned by Made in Kells.

The most famous book in Ireland

It is not called the Book of Dublin. It is the Book of Kells.

The four Gospels, hand-lettered and painted on vellum by the monks of St Colmcille. It carries the name of one small town in Co. Meath because that is where it was made and where it was kept for centuries. The name is an address.

The story in four parts

How it left home

01 · Made here

The monks came to Kells, and the Book was made here.

Around 806 AD, after a Viking raid on Iona killed 68 of their brothers, St Colmcille’s monks crossed to Ireland and built a new monastery at Ceanannas Mór, Kells. The Book of Kells was written and created here. Scholars still debate Iona or Kells; our campaign holds Kells.

It was the town’s great treasure for centuries. In 1007 the Annals of Ulster recorded its theft from the stone church at Kells. It was found buried months later, its golden cover gone, and the community kept it and cared for it.

02 · Taken for safekeeping

Sent to Dublin to be kept safe from a war.

During the Cromwellian wars, Charles Lambert, Earl of Cavan and Governor of Kells, sent the manuscript to Dublin for its safety. No source describes the town selling it. Kells did not give it away. It was put out of harm’s way.

03 · Never returned

The war ended. The Book never came back.

In 1661 Henry Jones, Bishop of Meath, handed it to the library of Trinity College Dublin. He had not held that office in 1653. Trinity has kept it ever since. Safekeeping in wartime is not a gift.

Trinity said no to a loan in 2000, and again in 2011. Kells isn’t asking for a loan. We are asking for the Book to come home, for good.

The barrel-vaulted Long Room of the Old Library at Trinity College Dublin, lined with tall bookcases and marble busts, in warm sepia tones
The Long Room, Trinity College Dublin, 69 km from Kells. Photo: Diliff, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Colour-toned by Made in Kells.

Loan refusals: The Irish Times, 22 June 2000; Irish Examiner, 31 August 2011.

04 · What it earns Dublin now

The world queues for it in Dublin. Kells gets none of it.

The Book of Kells is one of the most visited objects in Ireland, and every ticket is sold in Dublin, by Trinity. These are the checkable figures:

968,666visitors to the Book of Kells at Trinity College Dublin in 2024Source: Fáilte Ireland visitor attractions data, 2024
€19 to €65per ticket. Every visit is now a pre-booked timed slotSource: Dublin City Break, prices listed 7 Oct 2026
2027Trinity moves the Book to its Printing House, on the same campus, until 2030Source: The University Times, 8 Mar 2026
Our position It can move when it suits Trinity. It can make one more journey: 69 km home to Kells, to a home built to conservation standards. Not a loan. A return. No return has been agreed, and that is why we are asking.

Born here. Named after us. And one day, home again.

Coming to Ireland?

Come to where it was made.

If you are flying into Dublin to see the Book, give Kells a day too. The monastery that kept it for centuries is still standing, and you can walk it. For anyone whose family left Ireland, this is the town on the cover.

69 kmnorth of Trinity College Dublin. About an hour by road.
St Colmcille’s House in Kells, a 9th-century stone oratory with a steep stone roof, under a cloudy sky
St Colmcille’s House, Kells. Photo: August Schwerdfeger, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0. Colour-toned by Made in Kells.
The uncapped Round Tower of Kells rising above trees against a stormy sky
The Round Tower, Kells: about 26 m tall, cap missing. Photo: Jjm596, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA. Colour-toned by Made in Kells.

Give Kells a day: a half-day walk

  1. Kells Courthouse Tourism and Cultural Hub

    Headfort Place. Start here for the trail map and a facsimile of the Book, the closest you can get to it in Kells today.

  2. The Market Cross

    A 9th-century cross carved with scenes from the Old and New Testaments.

  3. The Round Tower

    Canon Street. About 26 m tall, cap missing. First recorded in 1076.

  4. The High Crosses

    Four high crosses survive. Three stand on the monastic site with the tower; the base of a fifth is in the grounds of St Columba’s Church.

  5. St Colmcille’s House

    A short walk from the churchyard. A 9th-century stone oratory and a National Monument.

Apart from the Courthouse, everything on this walk was standing when the Book was in Kells. Hours change, so check locally. Questions about visiting: visitKells@madeinkells.com

Plan your day in Kells Open the Kells map

The ask

Add your name. Bring it home.

Boston, Belfast or Ballarat: wherever you are, every name shows how many people want the Book of Kells home in the town that made it. It’s free and takes ten seconds.

Count me in

Goes to hello@madeinkells.com. We read every one.

Go raibh maith agat. Your name is on the list. We’ll be in touch.

We only use your details to contact you about the campaign. Rather email? hello@madeinkells.com

Straight answers

Fair questions

Isn’t it safer in Trinity?

It went to Dublin in 1653 to be kept safe from a war. That war is long over. Modern conservation lets manuscripts travel and be shown under strict controls, and the Book has been moved before. Trinity is moving it again in 2027. Fragility is a real concern and a solvable one. A return means a home in Kells built to conservation standards, not a glass case in a shop window.

Can I see it in Kells?

Not the original, not yet. It is on display at Trinity College Dublin, 69 km south. In Kells you can see a facsimile at the Courthouse Tourism and Cultural Hub and walk the monastery it is named for. Plan your visit.

Why not just a loan?

Because it is ours to have home, not to borrow. Trinity refused loans in 2000 and 2011 anyway. We are asking for a permanent return, not a season. Read the full FAQ.

Who are you?

Made in Kells is a community campaign from Kells, Co. Meath, the town that gave the Book its name. We are not connected to Trinity or to any tour or ticket seller. No return has been agreed; that is what we are campaigning for. About the campaign.