The Irish republic. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1867-18??, 1868-04-18

alluded in May last to small grant having been given
to the Royal Irish Academy which sure is better than
nothing but quite inadequate for the necessities of such an
institution The Irish Acadamy includes museum con-
tanning the valuable Celtic archaeological collection in
these countries the objects in which have been noticed and
illustrated in Sir W. Wdes admirable catalogue Here you
pass view the weapons of the sone bone and iron age
study the metaurgc and other arts of ancient Ireland and
review immense series of various objects which date
thousands years back Such materials in truth visible
history The library which numbers many thousand Volumes
all of which have been gifts the funds permitting the
purchase of books is chiefly archaeological and scientific
works general literature being Then there is Tom
Moores Library, the gift of his widow to which separate
has been allotted aud where trace in the marks
and notes of the poet the passages which suggested this
that subject image This collection amounts possibly to
couple of thousand volumes TWAS Moores practice when
writing of his books collect works the subject and
when he had done with them sell Them Hence there
few relating to Irish history All who have read
OCuys manuscript materials recollec the description of
Moores visit him and his seeing for the first time the
great of Irish history which OCuy transatng
Moore quite ignorant of those collections and hence his
history only valuable from the period he began to deal
with the English conquest. In his library there is fine
copy of ODonovans Annals of the Four Masters and is
amusing find that the leaves remain In several of
his books such asHerbeos Bibeoique Oriental and Others
has only follow the pencil marks find the origin of
numbers Laa Rookie, Loves Angels Evenings
in Greece Melodies and In this among other
portraits very Characteristic of the poet in his
manhood and in the decline of life and water color sketch
of Superior Cottage Of the most valuable part of
the Academy library the collection of ancient Irish
scripts Here you may the original copies of the Book of
Ballymoat the Book of Invasions the Leabhar Hendra
Book of the Gray Cow which among other ancient poems
includes the Tain Bo Cualagno. Those large books which
in strong and rich modern bindings written in double
columns vellum, yelowed and darkened with age the
last mentioned dates from the 18th century, and others
much older) but in which the cagraphy is in all parts
distinct Sometimes the skin wrttenupon exhibits the natural
form of the part of the animal from which it TAKEN
that it has irregular margin to whose the
writing is adapted, though generally speaking these books
evenly the edges The greater number of those
works have yet appeared in printed TRANSACTIONS
though parts of many of them exist in written TRANSACTIONS
and trancribers constantly employed in making
scripts This manuscript library is the most perfect and
valuable in the world regards Celtic historical works
ferrng the last 800 years. Other collections such that
of the British Museum, which numbers 147, and that Of
Oxford contain several important works connected with
earlier period Another important collection of MS in
the Royal Irish Academy library the Ordinance Survey of
Ireland which include great number of volumes and here
also Celtic philoogy largely represented well works
relating generally to Ireland.