Book of Kildare pages on exhibition from weekend

Josephine signing copies in Woodbine Books last March.

An exhibition of all 80 pages of The Book of Kildare, created by Josephine Hardiman, will open this weekend in Naas Library and Cultural Centre, writes Brian Byrne. It will be the first time that all pages will have been displayed together.

The book of illuminations, calligraphy, and stories of ancient Kildare, St Brigid, and the county's heritage is a modern masterpiece. The exhibition will launch on Thursday 30 January at 5.30pm, and will run through to 24 February. 

The book was inspired by the belief that there was an original Book of Kildare, now lost, of calligraphy, paintings, drawings, and illuminations, written and created by scribes and monks between the 6th and 9th centuries. Beginning in 2016, Josephine set out to produce a new book in the style. It was launched at the end of January 2024 and has been very well received. During the years of production, the artist exhibited and sold individual sets of pages to help fund the work to completion. The story of the work can be heard in our podcast link below.

Josephine will be conducting workshops during the course of the exhibition.

LISTEN: The Book of Kildare 

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