From my ancestral homeland, the Book of Kells is now digitized for your browsing pleasure (link may take a sec to load up – big, robust images) courtesy of the Trinity College online collection

The ancient masterpiece is a stunning example of Hiberno-Saxon style, thought to have been composed on the Scottish island of Iona in 806, then transferred to the monastery of Kells in County Meath after a Viking raid (a story told in the marvelous animated film The Secret of Kells). Consisting mainly of copies of the four gospels, as well as indexes called canon tables, the manuscript is believed to have been made primarily for display, not reading aloud, which is why the images are elaborate and detailed while the text is carelessly copied with entire words missing or long passages being repeated.

I was over in Dublin last April and absolutely fell in love with Ireland and Dublin. Through a mix up, I unfortunately did not see the Book of Kells in person at Trinity College Dublin. So I guess that just means I need to go back to Dublin to see them for real.