Every year more than a million people visit the Book of Kells Experience at Trinity College. In 2023, the revenue from the experience increased by 21 per cent to over €20 million. It is an important part of Irish tourism, but it is also central to Irish cultural life. James Joyce described the Book of Kells as “the most purely Irish thing we have”. It may be profoundly nativist to question its Irishness given that it has been in the country since the 11th century but how Irish is it? “I don’t think that Joyce is wrong in his description of…

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