We had heard from a friend that you only get to see the Book of Kells for a few moments before you are told to move on. That was not our experience, as there were only a few people in the room when we came so we had enough time to really look. And while the Book of Kells is the big draw, the library was amazing! They were currently in the process of cleaning, cataloging and organizing the books (something which was previously done by book size), there were still quite a few full shelves with a staggering amount of books to see, as well as some wonderful bust sculptures of well known authors.

First I was here to the Old Library. This to me was the best part ( though most of the book are gone). Loved the architecture, smell, and feeling of the room and what it ment to have access to this much much knowledge . As for the book of Kells, it was fine. I liked the info about how it was made, the art, and coloring used for it. Out side of that info, the rest of the exhibit was just fluff. For what it was, would say the price was a bit steep.

Seeing the Long Hall makes the Old Library worth a visit. Very impressive and a great photo opportunity. The Book of Kells was more, take it or leave it for me. The story behind the book of Kells (finding it in a bog) is more interesting that seeing the book. The room is very dark, which is understandable given the need to preserve the book. But it makes it very hard to see the book itself.

The old library was amazing. Many of the books are currently being cleaned/preserved so there’s a warning on their website that many have been removed. It didn’t matter. It was still gorgeous. And the Book of Kells and display were so interesting and beautiful. Definitely a must.

Humbling to see the legendary Book of Kells. The long library was amazing. We bought the times entry first slot of the day and pretty much gas the library to ourselves. Spectacular.

Based on comments from others here, we made reservations for first thing in the morning. Indeed the crowds were not bad then. Bring your cell phone and download the Trinity College app to get the audio tour - very helpful. The history was interesting. Do not worry about the library undergoing maintenance - although most books have been removed, enough still remain to allow one to get a feel for the true ambiance. Enjoyed this more than I anticipated!

The Old Library was worth the trip. They were about half way through removing all books from the library for some repairs and cleaning. It was an amazing room to behold. The Book of Kells was a bit of a let down. I did not realize we would only see two pages of an open book. They “turn the page” every 8 weeks to preserve its integrity.

We did the Campus tour and then Book of Kells / Long Library. The campus tour was wonderful and learned a lot about the history of Dublin and the campus. NOTE that they are moving the book of Kells into a new display area while they work on the library sometime in 2024 for a few years. The Kells display info before you see the book was quite full of information - we didn't do the self guided tour because we forgot earphones but all the info was also printed in the display area. The book itself depends on what page it is on at that time but was still impressive to see it. They have moved most of the books out of the Long Library (3 sections left) as they are doing cataloging, cleaning, restoration and then they will restore and fireproof the library itself, but hearing about that process was very interesting and even without the books it was breathtaking. A must see if you are a book nerd of any level

We booked a tour with Get Your Guide to visit the Book of Kells. You need a reservation in advance since this was packed. Our tour was the last one of the day, so the crowds were thinning out by that time. However, since they close at 5:00 p.m. we were rushed out when we arrived at the souvenir store, so we only had time to do a quick walk through. I would suggest booking the first tour of the day or towards the end of the day so you can get a better view of the exhibition and library.

Nicely designed centre explaining the history of this impressive book. The explanations and details are very good, building to actually seeing the pages of the book on display in a darkened room. Moving on to the Old Library is wonderful - it's an mazing structure, and with some very good videos of how they are cleaning, indexing and preserving the contents. I was braced for disappointment, having read earlier reviews, but didn't feel at all let down - it was excellent, stunning - and it's encouraging to see the effort being taken to preserve the books. The whole visit was excellent though in some ways, seeing the book itself is just one element.