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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The Manuscript of the Week is RIA MS 23 M 70, Leabhar Gabhála/Book of Invasions. This is not the name of a specific manuscript but of an origin legend of the Irish people that exists in variant versions, traced to the 7th C. This copy was produced in 1631 by the scholars known as the Four Masters.

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Dr Nina Cnockaert-Guillou @ninacnock.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Really happy with this piece now published in the magazine "Istor Breizh" (in French), about the Irish manuscript tradition from the 11th to the 19th century. Many thanks to @rialibrary.bsky.social for allowing me to reproduce pictures of the manuscripts! istorbreizh.bzh/produit/nume...

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Investing in Dublin: Tontines, Women, and Financial Life in 19th century Ireland. 1pm, Wed 7 Oct. How did Dubliners use tontines to pay for community projects? How did women help to fund the Dublin-Drogheda railway? Join us for a Library Lunchtime Lecture @ria.ie . www.ria.ie/events/inves...

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

The Manuscript of the Week is RIA MS D ii 1. The manuscript now known as the Book of Uí Mhaine was written in Irish in the late 14th C. The contents of the Book of Uí Mhaine are described in a marginal note as ‘bolg an tsolathair’ (bag of mixed content/miscellany).

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Don't forget the Library is closed tomorrow, but that we will be open from 5-9pm for @culturenightdub.bsky.social! We're excited to welcome visitors to our beautiful reading room to see the Cathach of Columcille and to meet our colleagues from RIA's research departments! www.ria.ie/work/public-...

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Read our latest blog by Halldóra Kristinsdóttir (National and University Library of Iceland). She describes an Icelandic manuscript in the RIA collection, recently added to Handrit.is. Images were provided by our colleagues at @dias-isos.bsky.social. www.ria.ie/blog/iceland...

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The Manuscript of the Week is RIA MS 23 P 10(iii). This 15th century medical manuscript contains a translation of the major part of Book 1 of the Rosa Anglica of John of Gaddesden, with occasional pieces from Bernard of Gordon and Gilbert the Englishman interspersed.

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

The Manuscript of the Week is RIA MS C iii 1, the Annals of Connacht. This manuscript records episodes in the history of Gaelic Ireland from AD 1224 to AD 1544, with one later entry (in different ink) for the year 1562. There are short gaps in the text where a pair of leaves may have been lost.

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

The Manuscript of the Week is RIA MS 23 E 29, the Book of Fermoy. This compilation of texts dates from between 14th-16th century. It includes material relating to the medieval Roche family and a duanaire (poembook) containing poems attributed to Gearóid Iarla, 3rd earl of Desmond (1338-1398).

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Come visit us in the Library on Culture Night! You can see the Cathach of Columcille on display and learn how to write your name in Ogham! www.ria.ie/2026/08/13/c... You'll also get a chance to meet our colleagues and find out about the research that goes on in the Royal Irish Academy!

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Culture Night in the Library - Royal Irish Academy

Experience the atmosphere of a Victorian library and see the oldest known example of Irish writing, the Cathach of Colum Cille. One night for all, Friday, 18 September from 17:00-21:00.

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

The Dublin Festival of History programme launched today! Join us in RIA Library for our Lunchtime lecture- Investing in Dublin: Tontines, Women, and Financial Life in Nineteenth Century Ireland! www.eventbrite.ie/e/investing-... or a Tour of the Royal Irish Academy www.eventbrite.ie/e/guided-tou...

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

The Manuscript of the Week is RIA MS 23 F 16, the Book of O’Gara. This important collection of poetry, compiled in the 1650s in continental Europe, preserves earlier material from sources that have since been lost.

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

We are delighted that RIA MS 23 N 17 is the LEIGHEAS project Manuscript of the Month! Our colleagues at @ceilteachomn.bsky.social are advancing knowledge of medical learning in the premodern Gaelic world! Read their latest blog: leigheas.maynoothuniversity.ie/leigheas-man...

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Thank you to everyone who visited the Library for National Heritage Week today to try our family-friendly history trail, see the 'Ink & Innovation' exhibition, and take away special print souvenirs from the National Print Museum team! 📖🎉

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Join us tomorrow afternoon for ‘Ink & Innovation: A Family Printing Workshop’ for #HeritageWeek2026 with a children’s trail and press activity with the National Print Museum! www.heritageweek.ie/event-listin...

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

The manuscript of the week is RIA MS 23 P 16, Leabhar Breac. It was written in the 15th century in Irish by Murchadh Riabach Ó Cuindlis at Cluain Lethan and Lothra (Lorrha) in Múscraige Tíre, in north Co. Tipperary. It is the largest Irish vellum manuscript by one scribe.

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

TFW you're wearing PPE and a book vacuum cleaner on your back while it's heading for 28°C outside. #Stocktaking #AnnualCleaning RIA HT (Box) 478a/1

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Total eclipse of the heart! Did you know we hold two copies of only three known Irish translations of Messahalah's De orbibus coelestibus? Our astronomical tracts date from the 14th or early 15th century, and the third copy is held by our friends at @marshslibrary.bsky.social 🌘🔭

Lunar eclipse diagram, from RIA MS B ii 2, p. 12

Lunar eclipse diagrams, from RIA MS 23 F 13, p. 314

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

A reminder that the library will be closed for the next two weeks for our annual stock take, Monday 3 August to Friday 14 August.

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

It is the last Friday of the month, which means the Cathach will be on display today from 10am to 12.15pm, as the library will be closed this afternoon for a staff event.

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

A reminder that the library will be closed tomorrow afternoon for a staff event. If you plan to view the Cathach, please come before 12.00 so we can ensure access!

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

The manuscript of the week is RIA MS 23 P 7, the Annals of the Four Masters. Two full sets of the annals were prepared by the Four Masters and are now divided into multi-volume sets. www.isos.dias.ie/RIA/RIA_MS_2...

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MS 23 P 7 (The Annals of the Four Masters) (Royal Irish Academy)

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Two printing blocks; almost 150 years apart! In 1827, this block was used to print a facsimile of a handwritten statement by Fr Thomas Maguire, authenticating the published report of his public debate with Rev. Richard Pope on the doctrines of the Catholic Church. 1/2

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

The manuscript of the week is RIA MS 23 E 25, Lebor na hUidre/Book of the Dun Cow. It was written in Irish at Clonmacnoise before 1106 A.D. In 2012, with @ceilteachomn.bsky.social, we held a conference on the book. The papers were published as Codices Hibernenses Eximii I & recordings are available.

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Wonderful to see the Kinahan Collection highlighted here in this article about Peadar McArdle's recent book. Peadar worked his way through the extensive diary collection of Henry and Harriette Kinahan, housed here in the Royal Irish Academy @ria.ie

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

We're delighted to announce that images of an Icelandic manuscript in the Royal Irish Academy collection have been added to handrit.is. Handrit is a joint electronic catalogue of Icelandic manuscripts preserved in Iceland and abroad. It is a project of the National and University Library of Iceland.

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

A Member with a great sense of humour! Harold G. Leask MRIA (1882-1962) was an architectural historian and archaeologist. We are updating records for a set of offprints of his work. Leask had them bound in four volumes, which carry his rather wonderful bookplate!

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Dr Alison Ray @liber-ray.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

I’m on a boat! Excited to head to Wales for our @amarc.bsky.social Summer Meeting at Bangor University, and here’s an image of Noah’s Ark from the Book of Ballymote to celebrate, @rialibrary.bsky.social MS 23 P 12, f. i-v 🚢🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🎉

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

The manuscript of the week is RIA MS 23 O 48(b), Liber Fergus Fergusiorum. The manuscript is of Connacht provenance and from the names of places mentioned, written in Co. Roscommon.

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

The manuscript of the week is RIA MS 23 O 48(b), Liber Fergus Fergusiorum. The manuscript is of Connacht provenance and from the names of places mentioned, written in Co. Roscommon.

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

It is, indeed, a heartache. 😞 Rest in peace, Bonnie. (Solar eclipse, glass plate, 1905, photographer: Aidan Liddell. Royal Irish Academy)

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Thank you to everyone who braved the heatwave to join us for @liber-ray.bsky.social's Curator's talk and tour of Ink & Innovation!

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

What links this 1496 astronomical tract and the first President of Ireland? 📖🔎 Come find out tomorrow at our lunchtime Curator's Talk and Tour of the 'Ink & Innovation' exhibition by @liber-ray.bsky.social! Last few tickets available through the link below: www.tickettailor.com/events/royal...

Woodcut detail of an armillary sphere with a scene of philosophers debating underneath, from a 1496 edition of Johannes Regiomontanus's Epitome on Ptolemy's Almagest, now RIA 24 F 19

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

The manuscript of the week is RIA MS 23 D 17, the Ó Cléirigh Genealogies. The scribe of this mid-17th C genealogical manuscript was Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh, one of the compilers of the Annals of the Four Masters.

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Admittedly, the positioning of the RIA Library stamps in the past was not always ideal... but the effort made by someone to remove them from this book seems excessive!

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

A reminder to researchers and visitors that the Reading Room and the "Ink & Innovation" exhibition is closed today. They will both be closed on Thursday also, due to staff events and training. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

The Manuscript of the Week is RIA MS 23 P 10(ii), the Book of O’Lees. This medical manuscript contains a translation from Latin into Irish of a highly organised medical treatise, with 44 tables outlining details of diseases, each divided into 99 compartments, across, aslant, and vertical.

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

🥵 So hot even the earth is wearing a sun hat! Les Terres du Ciel (Paris, 1884) by Camille Flammarion. A renowned French astronomer, many of Flammarion's works were deposited by J.E. Gore MRIA, his English language translator. This section criticises Pope Clement VIII's suppression of heliocentrism.

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Here is a beautiful baby binding, and also, we are on 1,399 followers. 🫡

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Dr Alison Ray gave a curator's tour of our exhibition, Ink & Innovation, during Re-mediating the Early Book Pasts and Futures (REBPAF) conference today. The conference is taking place over three days at the Royal Irish Academy. We're delighted to share our wonderful incunables with the conference!

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

The Manuscript of the Week is RIA MS 23 P 26, the Book of Fenagh. Written in Irish in 1516 for Tadhg Ó Rodaighe, hereditary comharb of St Caillín in Fenagh. It is written on good quality vellum and contains prose and verse. The writing is in double columns and some capital letters are filled in red.

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Working very hard on important reshelving work this Thursday afternoon... and definitely not getting distracted by enormous colour engravings of corpse flowers. Transactions of the Linnean Society, Vol. 13.

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Reposted by Library of the Royal Irish Academy

David Stifter 🍵📄🦊 @davidstifter.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

For an in-depth recent study of the Stowe Missal, see the PhD (2021) done in the Dept of Early Irish @ceilteachomn.bsky.social @maynoothuniversity.ie by my former student Lars Nooij. And: www.ria.ie/blog/bringin... Lars also recorded this video for @ria.ie: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V_P...

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Bringing the Stowe Missal to life - Royal Irish Academy

This month’s Library Blog post looks at the Stowe Missal. Thank you to our guest writer Lars Nooij for bringing this wonderful manuscript to life.

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

The Manuscript of the Week is RIA MS D ii 3, the Stowe Missal. Written in Latin between A.D. 792-803, the Stowe Missal is a Mass-book of the early Irish Church, small enough to be carried around for the use of a priest on his travels.

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Royal Irish Academy @ria.ie · 11/06/2026

This exhibition will be on display at the Royal Irish Academy until December, 2026. Opening hours are 10:00 – 17:00, Monday – Friday. Drop-in visits are welcome but, to avoid disappointment, we strongly advise visitors to contact  library@ria.ie or 01 609 0601 to ensure the room will be available.

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Royal Irish Academy @ria.ie · 11/06/2026

Ink & Innovation - visit the @rialibrary.bsky.social exhibition showcasing some of the earliest printed books produced in Europe. Find out about ground-breaking developments in printing technology and the development of the profession in the 15th century: www.ria.ie/library/libr...

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Today is the feast day of St Columba (Colum Cille), who according to tradition, wrote the Cathach (RIA MS 12 R 33) as a copy of a Latin psalter belonging to St Finnian in a single night. A dispute arose about the ownership of the copy leading to the battle of Cúl Dreimne in AD 561.

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

The Manuscript of the Week is RIA MS 23 P 2, the Book of Lecan. The manuscript is an early 15th-century compilation of Irish genealogical, historical, biblical and hagiographical material.

A left side page of the Book of Lecan. Irish text is handwritten in two columns on vellum. There are multiple paragraphs. The first line of each paragraph is in larger bold text with yellow and vermillion illumination.

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Library of the Royal Irish Academy @rialibrary.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

The issue is now resolved, but please do reach out with any queries about the tour!

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