Trinity College, Libraries and a Museum DUBLIN, IRELAND
Chester Beatty Library Situated in the corner of the Dublin Castle Gardens, the Chester Beatty Library's collection of manuscripts, prints, icons, miniature paintings, early printed books and objects d'art open a window on the artistic treasures of the great cultures and religions of the world. 
Trinity College is probably Dublin’s most recognizable building. The student-led walking tour passes through the four historic squares of the campus providing a history of the university, its buildings and its historic context. The college, which was founded by England's Queen Elizabeth in 1592. Trinity College is best known for housing the Book of Kells which is Ireland’s greatest cultural treasure and is the world’s most famous medieval manuscript. The 9th Century book is a richly decorated copy of the four Gospels of the life of Jesus Christ. The Long Room, at 65 metres, is the longest library in the UK and Ireland and it is filled with 200,000 of the Library’s oldest books. Since 1801 the Library had been given the right to claim a free copy of every book published in Britain and Ireland. The Long Room is lined with marble busts of the great philosophers and writers of the western world and also of men connected with Trinity College. The harp in a glass case is the oldest of its kind in Ireland and probably dates from the 15th century. It is made of oak and willow with 29 brass strings. It is the model for the emblem of Ireland. The Long room was the inspiration for a room called the Jedi Archives in ‘Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones’.  Trinity College Tour + Book of Kells and Long Room - €12 Access to the campus is free and a stroll through the grounds is a very peaceful experience. Many visit to watch the students play sports.

Trinity College

Little Museum of Dublin €7 or free with the Dublin hop-on hop-off bus. The Little Museum tells the story of Dublin in the 20th Century. The museum was launched in 2011 with a public appeal for historic objects - there are over 5,000 artefacts in the collection. Named as “Dublin’s best museum experience” by the Irish Times, the Little Museum has been nominated for the European Museum of the Year Awards.
Fitzgerald Building, Trinity College G. F. Fitzgerald, a physicist famous in relativity theory and  professor of the School of Physics, campaigned for a dedicated Physics Building for Trinity College Dublin. It was the first purpose- built physics laboratory in Ireland and is complete with a striking Venetian window, lighting up the stair hall. Our tour, led by the Head Professor of Applied Physics, included the Fitzgerald library and very old Shrödinger lecture theatre.
Marsh’s Library €3. Commissioned by Narcissus Marsh, as Archbishop of Dublin, it houses important collections of European books and manuscripts from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries including more than 25,000 rare books. Archbishop Marsh purchased the collection for €2500. When it opened in 1707 it was the first public library in Ireland. Many of the collections in the Library are still kept on the shelves allocated to them by Marsh and by Elias Bouhéreau, the first librarian, when the Library was opened.
The Book of Kells
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