Words on the Wave: Ireland and St. Gallen in Early Medieval Europe

There is of course no real way of knowing exactly how the largest and earliest of Ireland’s book shrines or cumhdaigh ended up in the waters of Lough Kinale, Co. Longford close to a crannóg or island settlement. This ornate 9th-century shrine is the earliest of only eight early medieval book shrines from Ireland and the only one not to be modified in the later Middle Ages. Book shrines were elaborate containers for sacred books, particularly those associated with a particular saint. They embodied the power of the original book. The shrine was recovered by divers in 1986, and the National Museum of Ireland launched an extensive follow-up investigation. It has been under conservation since then and will be displayed in its entirety for the first time in Words on the Wave: Ireland and St. Gallen in Early Medieval Europe.  

Free admission