Annals of Inisfallen on display in Cork thanks to University of Oxford

A fascinating insight into ancient Gaelic history is on offer from a priceless medieval manuscript which is going on display in Ireland for the first time thanks to the University of Oxford.

The Annals of Inisfallen – believed to have been created in a monastery in Lismore, Co Waterford in the 11th Century and hailed as “an Irish treasure” – offers a stunning insight into history ranging from the mythical Tuatha Dé Danann to St Patrick and from the first terrifying Viking raids along the coast to the conquest of the country by the Normans.

University College Cork (UCC) will now host the first public Irish exhibition of the Annals of Inisfallen at its Glucksman Gallery until November 1.

The manuscript ranks as one of the most important records of medieval and prehistory Ireland – and of the dramatic changes in European civilisation over almost 1,000 years.

For almost 250 years the Annals of Inisfallen have been in the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford where they have been carefully preserved and studied by generations of scholars.

Now, the Irish public will get a remarkable chance to view ancient history first hand.

Written in both Irish and Latin, the 57 leaves of the annals are written on vellum – and involve the contributions and records of around 30 monastic scribes.

Events recorded in annals date from the late 11th to the 14th centuries are contemporary with the writing period of the book.

Later additions extend the historical record into the 15th century.

In total, the annals cover over 1,000 years of Irish history.

While created in Lismore, the annals were copied from older records created in the monasteries of Clonmacnoise in Co Offaly and Emly in Co Tipperary.

In the 12th century, the manuscript was brought to west Munster, likely to the island monastery of Inisfallen.

For almost two centuries the annals vanished from history but, in the 1600s, they came into the possession of the Irish historian James Ware, who died in 1666, but who had the manuscript rebound before his death. 

The annals eventually went to collector Richard Rawlinson who then gave it by bequest to the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford.

UCC’s Modern Irish Professor Pádraig Ó Macháin said the exhibition offered a remarkable opportunity to view one of the most famous manuscripts in Irish history.

“This powerful, all-action history book is a monument to the work of a multitude of scribes who facilitated the transition from Latin to Irish as the language of record and scholarship, a language that, remarkably, is still very much with us,” he said.

UCC’s exhibition is entitled: ‘Recording the Past: The Annals of Inisfallen and the Making of Irish History.’

Irish academics have hailed the shared commitment of both UCC and the University of Oxford to promote research, co-operation and the preservation of cultural heritage.

The exhibition was enabled by the support of Fexco’s Brian McCarthy, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the National Monuments Service.

UCC President Prof John O’Halloran said it was an unique opportunity for people to view one of the most famous Irish manuscripts ever created.

“The Annals of Inisfallen is one of the great treasures of Ireland’s written heritage,” he said.

“This exhibition offers visitors an opportunity to engage with a manuscript that has shaped our understanding of medieval Ireland. By bringing together scholarship, interpretation and digital access, we hope to inspire new audiences to discover the richness of our shared history and the extraordinary work of the scribes who preserved it.”

University of Oxford and Bodleian Library officials, Richard Ovenden and Helen Hamlyn, said the exhibition was a wonderful collaboration between the two institutions.

“The Bodleian is delighted to collaborate with UCC to exhibit the Annals of Inisfallen in Ireland for the first time,” Mr Ovenden said.

“Giving the public a chance to view and get up close with this much treasured manuscript will help support greater understanding and appreciation of the medieval period, the role of manuscripts in preserving knowledge, and allow us to celebrate the shared responsibilities of libraries like the Bodleian and the University College Cork Library in preserving the past for the benefit of the present and the future.”

The annals are famed as one of the earliest attempts to record Irish history.

Amongst the unusual events recorded – but which were considered of major importance – was the sighting of comets, an exceptional snowfall in 1047 (19 years before the Battle of Hastings) and the gift of a camel from the King of Scotland to the great grandson of High King Brian Boru in 1105.

The precise origins of the Annals of Inisfallen remain unclear.

The late Prof Brian Ó Cuív, who catalogued the manuscript over 30 years ago, believed the first scribe was writing either at a church-monastery in either Emly or Lismore.

Work on the annals commenced around 1092 in Munster but it is believed to have included material from a much older manuscript.