While Visiting Dublin You've Got to See...

When our family lived outside of Paris a few years ago, we would visit various cities in Europe. One time we flew to Dublin, Ireland. We followed our usual habit, not doing a lot of research before traveling, but discovering the city and its environs while we were there. There is much to see in and around Dublin.

Anyone who is interested in old manuscripts cannot miss the references around the city to the Book of Kells, a beautifully illustrated parchment manuscript of the four Gospels in Latin, located in the Trinity College Library in Dublin. It was produced around 800 AD by Celtic monks. It is open to display to the general public. It is stunningly beautiful.

As we walked about Dublin, we visited the Dublin Castle, and to the side I was surprised to see a sign pointing to the Chester Beatty Library. For some reason, I was not expecting to see this. I told my wife and kids that we HAVE to see this. They were puzzled, they had never heard of the place before. The Chester Beatty Library has one of the best collections of ancient New Testament manuscripts in the world. For instance, it has a Greek papyrus manuscript (copied sometime around 180 - 200 AD) of Paul's letter to the Romans. It has one of the earilest complete Greek manuscripts of Relevation, copied around 250 AD.

The Chester Beatty Library is open to the public, the displays are beautiful and well organized. To me, that was the highlight of my entire visit to Dublin. I must admit, however, Chester Beatty is not the typical or most popular visitor site in Dublin, but it is one of the most significant places you can see.