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Monday 10am - 1pm 2pm - 5pm Tuesday 10am - 1pm 2pm - 5pm Wednesday 10am - 1pm 2pm - 5pm Thursday 10am - 1pm 2pm - 5pm

Royal Irish Academy Library

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Royal Irish Academy Library

A beautiful research library based in the Royal Irish Academy in the heart of Dublin city, founded 1785.

04/06/2026

The summer library newsletter is out now, just in time for some light lunch reading! 🥣📖

Take a look to discover more about our current exhibition, upcoming events, blogs, podcasts, and more!

🔗Check your inbox or read at the link in our bio.

*We are working on the issue with the Academy Tour link and will update once it is resolved*

02/06/2026

The Manuscript of the Week is RIA MS 23 P 6, The Annals of the Four Masters. This volume is one of a three volume set and covers the year A.D. 1170-1499. Each year’s entry is marked with a heading, “Aois Cr[íost]” or “Age of Christ” followed by the year denoted by Arabic numerals. Underneath, the year is repeated but written out in full in Irish. It’s a bit like filling out the amount of money on a cheque, if anyone remembers those!?

Read more about the manuscript and view the digital images, provided by Irish Script on Screen and copyright Royal Irish Academy Library, at the link in our bio.

The MS of the Week is on display in the Reading Room of the Library this week from 10.00-16.30, Monday-Thursday. The Cathach (RIA MS 12 R 33) goes on display on the last Friday of the month. No appointment or reader’s ticket is required to view the MS of the Week.

29/05/2026

It is the last Friday of the month, which means the Cathach of Columcille (RIA MS 12 R 33) is on display in the Reading Room from 10am - 4.30pm. The Cathach is the oldest extant Irish manuscript of the Psalter and very likely the earliest example of the form of Irish writing known as insular majuscule script.

We are delighted that an image of the Cathach has been included in an exhibition at , "Shaping Early Medieval Faith: the Hereford Gospels". Research has discovered three pages of palimpsest material in the Hereford Gospels, which means the parchment was used twice. Text from a psalter was erased from the parchment, which was then reused to produce the gospel book. The image of the Cathach has been included to show what that psalter may have looked like.

If you are in Hereford, don't miss the exhibition! If you are in Dublin, come and see the Cathach today!

Cathach image provided by and copyright

28/05/2026

Our wonderful colleague Rebecca Cairns is presenting her poster, The Birds of Ireland: Curating the Richard J. Ussher Collection, at today! Congratulations, Rebecca! 👏👏👏

26/05/2026

From the astronomical to the mathematical - we are enjoying diagrams this week! Read our latest blog by Dr Philip Beeley on an early edition of Euclid's 'Elements of Geometry' in the RIA Library collection. The book is currently displayed as part of our exhibition, 'Ink & Innovation'.

📖 Read the blog at the link in our bio!

25/05/2026

The Manuscript of the Week is RIA MS B ii 1, astronomical and medical tracts. The manuscript contains an Irish translation of medieval Latin texts. The astronomical tract is based on a medieval Latin version of a work by Messahalah, a Jew of Alexandria who wrote in Arabic c. 815. The medical treatise is the work of Petrus Musantinus.

Read more about the manuscript and view the digital images, provided by Irish Script on Screen and copyright Royal Irish Academy Library, at the link in our bio.

The MS of the Week is on display in the Reading Room of the Library this week from 10.00-16.30, Monday - Friday. No appointment or reader’s ticket is required to view the MS of the Week.

22/05/2026

To mark we are delighted announce the completion of a two-year project, funded by , to catalogue the Ussher Bird Notes collection. Selected items have been digitised and are available to browse on the .

This collection is comprised of the papers of ornithologist Richard J. Ussher MRIA (1841-1913). It consists of notes and correspondence relating to over 300 species of native and non-native birds recorded in Ireland at the turn of the twentieth century and is a significant resource for researchers, conservationists, and birding enthusiasts. We encourage researchers to browse highlights from the collection online, or to contact [email protected] to find out more about the
full listing and how to consult the physical collection.

Read more about the project at the link in our bio!

Image captions:

A feather of the Golden Eagle identified in Co. Mayo in 1912;

An early 20th century photograph of a specimen of the Glaucous Gull;

A table of occurrences of the cuckoo across Ireland, dated 1862-1900, from the Ussher Bird Notes Digital Archive (Royal Irish Academy)

18/05/2026

The Manuscript of the Week is RIA MS 23 P 12, the Book of Ballymote. It was compiled in AD 1391 at Ballymote, Co Sligo and contains genealogical, historical, topographical, biblical and hagiographical material. One of the most visually striking sections is a key to the Ogham alphabet, a script more commonly inscribed in stone and rarely found in manuscripts.

Read more about the manuscript and view the digital images, provided by Irish Script on Screen and copyright Royal Irish Academy Library, at the link in our bio.

The MS of the Week is on display in the Reading Room of the Library this week from 10.00-16.30, Monday - Friday. No appointment or reader’s ticket is required to view the MS of the Week.

11/05/2026

The Manuscript of the Week is RIA MS C vi 1, the Book of Knockninny. This Irish manuscript was compiled in 1718 for Brian Mág Uidhir of Knockninny, Co. Fermanagh. It contains a selection of historical poems and prose texts and is a reworking of an older compilation that had been made in 1638 for Brian Mac Cú Chonnacht Mág Uidhir.

Read more about the manuscript and listen to a series of lectures that took place in 2020 at the link in our bio. This manuscript has not yet been fully digitised, so all the more reason to drop in this week to view it!

The MS of the Week is on display in the Reading Room of the Library this week from 10.00-16.30, Monday - Friday. No appointment or reader’s ticket is required to view the MS of the Week.

05/05/2026

The Manuscript of the Week is RIA MS 23 M 70, Leabhar Gabhála/Book of Invasions. Leabhar Gabhála is not the name of a specific manuscript. Rather it is an origin legend of the Irish people that exists in many variant versions, in poetry and prose. The origins of the tradition can be traced to the seventh century, although the earliest surviving manuscripts are much later. This version was compiled for Brian Ruadh Mág Uidhir (Maguire), Baron of Enniskillen. It was written in Irish, in 1631, at the Franciscan convent of Lisgoole beside Lough Erne, in County Fermanagh.

Read more about the manuscript and view the digital images, provided by Irish Script on Screen and copyright Royal Irish Academy Library, at the link in our bio.

The MS of the Week is on display in the Reading Room of the Library this week from 10.00-16.30, Tuesday - Thursday. Please note the Reading Room is closed on Friday for a staff event. No appointment or reader’s ticket is required to view the MS of the Week.

Address

19 Dawson Street
Dublin
D02HH58

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 1pm
	2pm - 5pm
Tuesday	10am - 1pm
	2pm - 5pm
Wednesday	10am - 1pm
	2pm - 5pm
Thursday	10am - 1pm
	2pm - 5pm

Website

https://www.ria.ie/library

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