Birr Community Online

Birr Historical Society has organised a Seminar on the Faddenmore Psalter in Dooly’s Hotel, Birr on 11 October next beginning at 9.30 am.

‘The most important archaeological find in Ireland since the Ardagh Chalice.’ So declared Pat Wallace, Director of the National Museum of Ireland referring to the manuscript found by Eddie Fogarty in the bucket of a digging machine at Faddenmore Bog near Birr but in North Tipperary on 20 July 2006. Eddie, together with Kevin and the late Padraig Leonard ‘knew what to do’ with the precious object: they placed it carefully on a fertiliser bag, covered it with wet peat and phoned the museum.

Why was the manuscript in the bog? When was it made? When was it lost? . The nearest monastery known to have a scriptorium was that at Birr where the Macregol Gospels were made about 800 AD but the tentative date for the Psalter may be earlier. The panel of experts from the museum will narrate the shock awaiting them, the enquiries they made and the research they carried out to help them undertake a conservation project never before undertaken, the experiments they made, the challenges, the possible blunders, the progress. They will show images of the procedure at every stage.

John Gillis, in charge of conservation, will explain how much of the manuscript has dissolved into a kind of gelatinised mass. The letters in oakgall ink formed a chemical bond with the vellum base, many floated free and were lost but thousands were retrieved in a dish in what looks like ‘alphapet soup’. A decision was taken to clean and preserve the manuscript without the use of any chemical that would remain in the vellum and to find a drying method that would involve the least shrinkage. Many experiments were carried out and the process eventually chosen involved the use of industrial methylated spirits, deionised water and a vacuum machine. The cover or folder found with the book is described as being equally important and is also unique.

Other speakers are Pat Wallace, Director of the National Museum of Ireland, Eamonn Kelly, Keeper of Antiquities at the Museum; Rolly Read, Head of Conservation at the Museum; Raghnall O’Floinn, Head of Collections at the Museum; Dr Bernard Meehan, Keeper of Manuscripts at TCD and Daibhi O’Croinin of NUIG.

All lectures at this exciting seminar will be well illustrated and of interest to local people, to those who are fascinated by history, manuscripts, ancient objects, leather, technical or scientific procedures, conservation challenges - or even anyone who likes a great detective story!

Please book by sending 20 euro to Mrs Bridget Sullivan, Hon. Treas., ‘Orville’, Burke’s Hill, Birr. Further details at www.birrhistsoc.com

Birr Historical Society will officially hand over the facsimile of the Gospel Book of Macregol of Birr to Offaly County Council at a reception in Birr Library on Wednesday 5 December at 8 pm. The facsimile is already an attractive addition to the superb new library where it will be displayed free of charge as a reminder of the ancient monastic heritage of the town.

At the same event the Birr 1300 Committee will officially hand over the manuscript copy of Cáin Adomnáin produced by Margaret Maher and the bronze-coated iron bell produced by Dan Edwards in 1997 to commemorate the promulgation of Cáin Adomnáin at Birr in 697 AD.

How surprised would be Macregol of Birr and Adomnán of Iona to see that Birr people take such an interest in their work after so many generations and so many centuries had passed.

This week is Heritage Week and Birr Historical Society have invited Caimin O’Brien, well-know archaeologist, native of Birr and author of Stories from a Sacred Landscape to give a short illustrated presentation in Birr Library at 2.05 pm on Saturday 1 September followed by a guided walking tour of the town. Caimin’s topic will be ‘The evolution of the medieval town of Birr’ when he will bring his expertise to bear on how and why Birr developed as it did in very early times. Also in Birr Library will be an exhibition on ‘The mapping of Birr’ and the Macregol Gospels and Cáin Adomnáin manuscripts will be on display as usual.

The Birr Historical Society launched it’s new updated website today, February 19th, 2007. The website contains details of past and future activities of the society and contains a wealth of informative articles on the history of Birr.