Don't miss: The Book of Kells at Trinity College Library, Dublin - Ireland's Finest National Treasure

The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was transcribed by Celtic monks ca. 800. The text of the Gospels is largely drawn from the Vulgate, although it also includes several passages drawn from the earlier versions of the Bible known as the Vetus Latina. It is a masterwork of Western calligraphy and represents the pinnacle of Insular illumination. It is also widely regarded as Ireland's finest national treasure. The illustrations and ornamentation of the Book of Kells surpass that of other Insular Gospels in extravagance and complexity. The decoration combines traditional Christian iconography with the ornate swirling motifs typical of Insular art. Figures of humans, animals and mythical beasts, together with Celtic knots and interlacing patterns in vibrant colours, enliven the manuscript's pages. Many of these minor decorative elements are imbued with Christian symbolism and so further emphasise the themes of the major illustrations. The manuscript today comprises 340 folios and, since 1953, has been bound in four volumes. The leaves are on high-quality calf vellum, and the unprecedentedly elaborate ornamentation that covers them includes ten full-page illustrations and text pages that are vibrant with historiated initials and interlinear miniatures and mark the furthest extension of the anti-classical and energetic qualities of Insular art. The Insular majuscule script of the text itself appears to be the work of at least three different scribes. The lettering is in iron-gall ink, and the colours used were derived from a wide range of substances, many of which were imports from distant lands. The manuscript takes its name from the Abbey of Kells that was its home for centuries. Today, it is on permanent display at the Trinity College Library, Dublin. The library usually displays two of the current four volumes at a time, one showing a major illustration and the other showing typical text pages.

The pictures are from the official website www.bookofkells.ie.

Sightseeing-Highlight: The Trinity College Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", and is the only constituent college of the University of Dublin. It is Ireland's oldest university. Originally established outside the city walls of Dublin in the buildings of the dissolved Augustinian monastery of All Hallows, Trinity was set up partly to consolidate the rule of the Tudor monarchy in Ireland, and it was seen as the university of the Protestant Ascendancy for much of its history; although Roman Catholics had been permitted to enter as early as 1753, certain restrictions on their membership of the college remained until 1873, and the Catholic Church in Ireland forbade its adherents from attending until the late 20th century. Women were first admitted to the college as full members in 1904. Trinity is now surrounded by Dublin and is located on College Green, opposite the former Irish Houses of Parliament. The college proper occupies 190,000 square meter (47 acres), with many of its buildings ranged around large quadrangles and two playing fields. Academically, Trinity is divided into three faculties comprising 24 schools, offering degree and diploma courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. It is consistently ranked as the best university in Ireland, and as the 43rd best worldwide in the 2009 THES - QS World University Rankings of universities. The Library of Trinity College is a legal deposit library for Ireland and the United Kingdom, containing over 4.5 million printed volumes and significant quantities of manuscripts including the Book of Kells, maps and music.

WWC meet the Galway Gospel Choir

Have a look at their website while we finalize the details for your upcoming exchange concert. Here you go:
http://www.galwaygospelchoir.com/

City Facts about Galway

 

The Washington Women's Chorus is going to visit beautiful Galway with Incantato Tours for the first two days of their Ireland Performance Tour.

Here are some interesting facts about the city:

• Galway (Irish: Gaillimh) the third largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland and the only city in the province of Connacht. It is located on the west coast of Ireland. In Irish, Galway is also called Cathair na Gaillimhe (City of Galway). 
• The population of Galway city is approximately 72,400.  
• Approximately 78 per cent of the population of Galway is white Irish, descended from native Gaelic peoples and Norman settlers. A further 5 per cent are foreign-born Irish. Following an influx of immigrants to Galway during the 2000s, as Europe's fastest growing city of its size, approximately 17 per cent of the population is today non-Irish. 
• Galway is nicknamed Ireland's Cultural Heart and is renowned for its vibrant lifestyle and numerous festivals, celebrations and events. Every July, Galway hosts the Galway Arts Festival which is known for its famous Macnas parade.
• Galway city has a reputation amongst Irish cities for being associated with the Irish language, music, song and dancing traditions - it is sometimes referred to as the 'Bilingual Capital of Ireland', although like all other cities in the Republic of Ireland, the vast bulk of the city's inhabitants converse mostly in English.

Updated Flight Information

Hello WWC Travelers! We would like to, again, take a moment to update all of you with the newest flight information received from Air Lingus. You will notice the changes are in flight times, and are marked in bold.

Travel to Ireland
Sunday, June 20
US Airways Flight US 2036 DCA (Washington National) to BOS (Boston Logan) depart at 2:30 pm arrive at 3:51 pm
Air Lingus Flight EI 132 BOS (Boston Logan) to SNN (Shannon, Ireland) depart at 7:15 pm and arrive at 6:10 am the next day Monday, June 21.

Return to the US
Wednesday, June 30
Air Lingus Flight EI 133 DUB (Dublin) to BOS (Boston Logan) depart at 10:40 am, arrive at 2:25 pm.
Clear immigrations and customs, re-check your bags. Continue on US Airways Flight US 2047 BOS (Boston Logan) to DCA (Washington National) depart at 7:00 pm arrive at 8:34 pm.

Incantato Insider Ireland: "The Church" Restaurant in Dublin

A must-stop when visiting Dublin, the capital city of Ireland is the former place of workship, now stunning restaurant fittingly named "The Church".

Incantato Concert Venues: St. Nicholas Church in Galway

The Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas is the largest medieval parish church in Ireland in continuous use as a place of worship at the heart of Galway's life. A tour through the Church will allow you to glimpse the part of its rich history. You will see signs of the iconoclasm of the soldiers of Oliver Cromwell. But by contrast, should you visit during one of the many acts of worship you will see and hear the present day richness of the liturgy where sound and colour fill the delightful medieval building. Perhaps such present day liturgies are not that far removed from the sights, sounds and perfumes that graced St Nicholas centuries ago.
Have a look at the church's website for more information.