Dublin - Old Library

Must-see attractions nearby: Trinity College Four Courts Bank of Ireland Phoenix Park King's Inns St Patrick's Cathedral National Musuem of Ireland

On the ground floor, the so-called Colonnades, the Book of Kells (eighth century) is displayed. This book, containing the four Gospels, has some 340 richly decorated pages, one of which is on show each day; the beginnings of the Gospels and of individual chapters have particularly elaborate decoration.

Other especially valuable treasures are the "Book of Durrow" (seventh century), the "Book of Dimma" (eighth C.), and the "Book of Armagh" (ninth century, with an 11th C. leather binding). From the ground floor a handsome staircase by Cassels leads up to the Long Room, 200ft/60m long with a timber barrel-vaulted roof. Here can be seen marble busts of famous members of the university and an Irish harp, one of the oldest instruments of its kind.