Two important lectures to be held at library in Offaly

BIRR Historical Society are delighted to note that two important lectures will be held in Birr Library on Friday 21st April from 7.30pm-9pm.

Dr Joseph Flahive, Assistant Editor, The Dictionary of Medieval Latin from Celtic Sources, The Royal Irish Academy will give a short presentation on the manuscripts produced in Birr and its Environs: Heartland of Insular Script (literature and art ‘of the Islands’ of Britain and Ireland). Dr Donncha MacGabhann, will give a talk on The MacRegol Gospels. In the course of researching Insular Manuscripts, Donncha visited Birr Library to consult the facsimile of the MacRegol Gospels and he spent a week at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, studying the original MacRegol Gospel manuscript.

The survival of early Irish Christian illuminated manuscripts associated with monasteries close to Birr, give us an insight into the richness of our local history and monastic heritage. For example, The Book of Durrow (Co. Offaly), dates c.700AD (written in Latin), site founded by Colum Cille. The Book of Dimma, (written Latin) an 8th century pocket Gospel Book from the Abbey of Roscrea, founded by St Cronan, The Stowe Missal (written in Latin with some Old Irish) late 8th century found hidden inside a stone wall at Lackeen Castle, near Lorrha in the 18th century. The most recent discovery of the Fadden More Psalter, (Latin) an 8thcentury manuscript wrapped in a leather cover was found buried in a bog about five miles from Birr on Thursday July 20th, 2006 by Eddie Fogarty who was harvesting turf.

Birr, located in the centre of Ireland, close to the Slieve Bloom mountains and the river Shannon, was the site of an important monastery founded by the cleric St Brendan the Elder in the mid sixth century. In the wider context of Christian political areas, monasteries such as Clonmacnoise, Durrow, Roscrea, Terryglass, Clonfert all formed part of the fabric of Irish society. It is interesting to note, in international history, that Birr was chosen by Adomnán, who was Abbott of Iona and Head of the Columban federation of churches in Ireland and Scotland as the location for a meeting with key leaders in 697AD to discuss and agree a law for the protection of women, children and non-combatants in warfare. This law is known as the Cáin Adomnáin.

In the early Christian history of Ireland, Birr would have been part of the focus on learning through art and writing. C. 800 AD, MacRegol, who was Bishop, Abbott and Scribe at Birr produced a beautiful illuminated manuscript, known as the MacRegol Gospels. It is the only known relic of the great monastery of St Brendan. In the tenth century, this book ended up in an English monastery at Harewood, on the borders of Northumbria and Mercia where two monks called Farman and Owun wrote in between the original Latin text, Anglo-Saxon. This gloss is one of the earliest surviving translations of the Gospels into the English language and it is an important source for students studying the origins of the English language. In the long history of this manuscrip, (surviving Viking raids and the dissolution of the monasteries) it was also known as the Rushworth Gospels. It was once owned by John Rushworth, who was a lawyer and politician who died in 1690. He donated the manuscript to the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

The acquisition of a facsimile of the MacRegol Gospel Manuscript is an outstanding achievement for Birr Historical Society and its dedicated project team comprising of Margaret Hogan, Rev. Irene Morrow, Teresa Ryan-Feehan and Bridget Sullivan. The production of the facsimile was made possible by 21st century digital technology. The original manuscript was digitally photographed in Oxford by James Allen, downloaded onto 60 CD’s and sent to Diarmuid Guinan, Brosna Press in Ferbane to be printed. The facsimile was bound by the Conservation book binder, Tony Cains in Dublin. The facsimile took many years to complete and one of the conditions for copying the manuscript, which was agreed with the Bodleian Library in Oxford, was that there would be one-only exhibition copy made for Birr, to be exhibited to the public free of charge and all copyright images be retained by the Bodleian Library. Birr is a beautiful heritage town and the facsimile of the MacRegol Gospels are exhibited in the 19th century Pugin-designed Convent (formerly the Sisters of Mercy) Building on Wilmer Road.

In September 2006, The MacRegol Gospel Facsimile Conference was held in Birr. Key speakers included Dr Pat Wallace, Director of the National Museum of Ireland, Bernard Meehan, Head of Manuscripts from Trinity College, Dublin. Dr Wallace spoke about the Fadden More Psalter miraculously discovered in a bog a few weeks previously outside Birr. Dr Bernard Meehan spoke about the challenge of conserving the Psalter. There were several lectures which included talks on the early medieval church in Offaly, abandoning one’s homeland for Christ, writing in the life of the early Irish monastery, the lives of the saints, Irish monks, illumination and their meaning, calligraphy in the MacRegol Gospels, art history, the site of the Birr Monastery and the making of the facsimile. The MacRegol Conference symbolised the wonderful community spirit present in Birr and celebrated this unique manuscript. It is inspiring to know, that our early Christian books continue to be studied and academic research continues to explore our early Christian heritage. The talks on the 21 April 2023 in the Birr Library will be of great local interest. Admission free.