Yeats poem was inspiration behind Sligo student's work at unique medieval exhibition in Dublin
The exhibition explores early medieval Ireland's cultural impact on Europe and includes the largest-ever loan of manuscripts from the Abbey Library of St. Gall in Switzerland—many of them contemporaries of the Book of Kells.
As part of its legacy element, students from Ireland and Switzerland took part in a collaborative schools project, working with calligrapher Tim O'Neill and museum staff to create manuscripts using traditional techniques such as insular script and handmade dyes.
An important legacy of the exhibition is an international school project led by the National Museum of Ireland and the Abbey of St. Gall involving second-level students from Irish schools (Eureka Secondary School, Kells, Co. Meath, Coláiste Muire, Ballymote, Co. Sligo and St Gallen/Gallen Community School, Offaly) as well as the Catholic Cantonal Secondary School 'flade' in St. Gallen.
Students produced their own manuscripts inspired by the world today, using the techniques of the past through a process of creating dyes, materials, and insular script and art. They were all instructed by attended workshops online, in their classrooms and at the museum, with calligraphy expert, Tim O'Neill, and museum staff, and their work will feature in the exhibition.
Shauna said: 'W.B. Yeats' 'The Wild Swans at Coole' was the inspiration for my piece. I was captivated by the symbolism of partnership evident in Yeats' portrayal of the swans and their sultry vitality as they remain free-spirited amidst the constant hustle and bustle of life.'
The exhibition was launched by the President of the Swiss Confederation, Karin Keller-Sutter and Minister for Arts, Culture, Communications, Media and Sport, Patrick O'Donovan TD.
Words on the Wave: Ireland and St. Gallen in Early Medieval Europe focuses on early medieval Ireland and its profound impact on ideas in Europe. At the exhibition's heart are 17 manuscripts on loan from the Abbey Library of St. Gall in Switzerland, a seventh-century library - in a city named after the Irish monk, St. Gall - that is home to one of the world's most significant collections of early medieval manuscripts. This exhibition is a world-first, marking the largest-ever loan of these manuscripts.
New research commissioned by the National Museum of Ireland for the exhibition, using advanced scientific techniques, has provided evidence for the first time that the four most decorated manuscripts on loan from the Abbey Library of St. Gall were made using the hides of Irish cattle. While the role of Irish monks in writing the manuscripts was already known, this research reveals that that the books travelled from Ireland to St. Gallen with them, on their journey over a thousand years ago.
Employing techniques such as X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and multispectral imaging in both ultraviolet and infrared spectrums, researchers working with University College Cork's Inks and Skins project were able to identify elemental components of the inks, pigments, and parchment—many of which are not visible to the naked eye.
The analysis revealed that the manuscripts were written with iron gall ink made from the nests of wasps in oak trees, a distinctive and well-documented feature of Irish manuscript production during the early medieval period. Furthermore, the method by which the animal skins were prepared, along with the presence of specific chemical elements such as sulphur and potassium, closely aligns with known Irish techniques of parchment manufacture. The Inks and
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Skins project team also collected surface DNA samples from the manuscripts to identify the genomes in the skins of the cattle used in their production.
These priceless, handmade manuscripts reflect the journeys of Irish monks like St. Gall and St. Columbanus, who travelled to Europe seeking exile, refuge, and learning.
Their journeys involved not only the movement of people but also ideas and artistic traditions, connecting the small island of Ireland to a much larger continent. It mirrors a 1,400-year-old connection between Switzerland and Ireland that started with the arrival of St. Gall in St. Gallen in 612.
Scientific analysis of this DNA conducted by the School of Genetics in Trinity College Dublin, indicates that the cattle were of Irish origin. Using a technique pioneered by the team in 2017— a non-invasive genetic analysis of the parchment on which the manuscripts are written in which
DNA is gently extracted from the surface of manuscripts using a rubber eraser—the team successfully recovered genetic material from the animal skins used in manuscript production.
The results, interpreted using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), demonstrates that the cattle, from whose skin the parchment was made, were of Irish origin.
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