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Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
New café at Bray's Mermaid Arts Centre to create hub for local produce
The new venture is the result of a partnership between the Mermaid and Críoch Catering, which was founded in 2019 by Arklow chef Tadgh Byrne, who is a member of Wicklow Naturally and specialises in sustainable, fresh, locally sourced food, paired with warm and friendly customer service. Críoch Café will initially serve coffee and light bites over the summer, from 8am to 3pm Monday to Friday, with a theatre bar service on performance evenings, and come September, there will be a broader menu and longer opening hours. No stranger to the arts, in 2024 Tadgh collaborated with Dublin Filmmaker, Max Barry, on a documentary exploring how Ireland will eat in 2050 – looking at issues such as how technology will change farming, food security, robot chefs, drone deliveries and sustainability in the food supply chain. The word 'Críoch' originates from Middle Irish and means territory or land and reflects Tadgh's deep connection to County Wicklow and sustainable produce, with the catering company's decisions guided by the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and the EU's Farm-to-Fork Strategy. Críoch Catering has recently been nominated as a finalist in the Gold Medal Catering Awards in three categories: Menu Provenance of the Year, Public Sector Food Service of the Year and Ireland's Event Caterer – 100 Guests or Less category. 'Our mission is to make the world a better place through healthy, sustainable and ethical food and memorable experiences,' chef Tadgh said. ''Our vision is for Mermaid to become a food hub, as well as an arts hub, and we are looking forward to showcasing local produce. We will open for coffee and snacks until September and then broaden our offering. 'We want to take this time to finish decorating, hire the right people and fine tune our provenance-driven menu.' Speaking on behalf of the board at Mermaid, chair Anne Ferris said: 'The café at Mermaid has always been a vibrant and core part of our offering, and we are delighted to welcome Tadgh Byrne to deliver his vision of high-quality, locally sourced food and drinks. We wish him every success.' Artistic director and Mermaid CEO Aoife Demel added: 'Welcoming Tadgh and the team at Críoch Café on board is very exciting for the team at Mermaid, our artists and our audiences. One of Mermaid's core goals is to work sustainably, and Críoch's focus on locally sourced high-quality ingredients aligns with our vision. 'We look forward to working with Tadgh and his dedicated team to build a buzzing, sustainable café.'
The Journal
21-05-2025
- General
- The Journal
Medieval manuscript the Book of Leinster goes on public display in Trinity College
PAGES FROM THE Book of Leinster, a medieval manuscript written in Irish, has gone on display in the library at Trinity College today following a major restoration project. Written in Old and Middle Irish in the 12th century, the Book of Leinster, or Leabhar Laighean, is an important source of Irish literature and history from the medieval period. A rich text, the manuscript contains historical and genealogical information, mainly related to Leinster kings and heroes, mythological and historical accounts of invasions and battles, descriptive prose and verse and the history and etymology of nearly 200 place-names. The book came to Trinity in 1786 as a collection of loose vellum pages and until now, its fragile condition meant it could not be displayed to the public. Now that the manuscript has been cleaned, repaired and had its different sections re-assembled, it has been put on display in an exhibition titled 'The Book of Leinster − Preserving for the Future', which will run until 12 August. The restoration project was supported by funding from Bank of America. Other significant Irish-language medieval manuscripts, including Brehon law texts and the Yellow Book of Lecan (Leabhar Buidhe Leacáin), are also on display. Dr John Gillis, the chief manuscript conservator, who has led the project, said that over the past two years, the team had undertaken 'meticulous conservation of this extremely fragile and important manuscript'. Advertisement 'This involved replacing losses where necessary with new vellum, particularly the vulnerable backfolds, and reinforcing weakened areas and tears in the manuscript with a form of thin collagen,' he said. Caoimhe Ní Ghormáin, the curator of manuscripts and archives at the library, said the book 'provides us with an unparalleled snapshot of the Middle Ages in Ireland'. 'It includes a significant version of the famous Irish saga Táin Bó Cúailnge, or the Cattle Raid of Cooley, which is the story of the warrior Cú Chulainn,' she said. 'Most famously, it contains the Irish 'Book of Genesis', Lebor Gabála Érenn, which establishes Ireland, the Irish people and their language in a biblical world setting. 'According to the manuscript, the Irish language was created after the confusion at the Tower of Babel, thus avoiding all the shortcomings of other languages. 'This origin story was particularly relevant in medieval times when Irish was threatened by the enormous prestige of Latin.' Mícheál Hoyne, assistant professor at the Department of Irish and Celtic Languages added: 'The Book of Leinster was rescued from possible oblivion by the Welsh scholar Edward Lhwyd at the end of the 17th century.' 'At that time the native schools of history, poetry and law had collapsed and traditional Irish learning was in danger of being forgotten altogether. The manuscript then spent most of the 18th century inaccessible to Irish scholars in an English nobleman's library. It was finally presented to Trinity College as a gift to the Irish people in 1786.' The Book of Leinster is on display as part of the Book of Kells Experience and tickets can be bought here . Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
RTÉ News
21-05-2025
- General
- RTÉ News
'Wikipedia' of the Middle Ages goes on display at Trinity
One of the most important surviving medieval manuscripts written in Irish goes on public display after a two-year long project to conserve it. The Book of Leinster, which was written in the 12th century in Old and Middle Irish is regarded as major source of Irish literature and history from the medieval period. It will be available to view until mid-August as part of a new exhibition that forms part of the Book of Kells Experience at Trinity College, Dublin. Having survived the for almost a millennium, in recent years the Book of Leinster was beginning to show its age, so the university embarked on a conservation project which took two years to complete. The 400-page manuscript on vellum, which came to Trinity in 1786 in an unbound state, was unable to be put on display to the public or researchers for some time due to its fragile condition. Dr John Gillis, Chief Manuscript Conservator at the Library in Trinity College Dublin carried out the conservation work by himself with a intricate and innovative toolkit that he has acquired and developed over decades of doing this specialised work. "A single folio from the initial examination stage through to the cleaning and then, if there's distortion, removing distortion from the vellum, to the repair, to the physical damage, could take three or four days," said Dr Gillis. "There's so much in it. It's like the Wikipedia of today." He said the meticulous conservation work also involved replacing part of the manuscript with new vellum and reinforcing weakened areas with a form of thin collagen. All of the work needs to be reversible to allow for any future changes in technology to restore the document but its improved condition now means it can once again be displayed and handled. 'Important source of Irish historical information' Caoimhe Ní Ghormáin, Curator of Manuscripts and Archives at the Library in Trinity College Dublin says the Book of Leinster is one of the most important surviving scripts written in Irish and the stories and it contains tell us about life in the time of the many scribes behind it, who penned it over a fifty-year period. "It's a very important source of Irish historical information and mythological information," she said. "It contains some really important texts, such as one of the most complete copies of the Táin Bó Cúailnge, or the Cattle Raid of Cooley, which is the story of the warrior Cú Chulainn. "There's also lots of genealogical lists, myths and sagas, poetry. It's really a compendium of information. There's so much in it. It's like the Wikipedia of today. It's a real snapshot into the Middle Ages." It was by the man known as the prime historian of Leinster, Áed Úa Crimthainn, abbot of Tír-Dhá-Glas (Terryglass) monastery in Co Tipperary. It was formerly known as the Lebor na Nuachongbála or Book of Nuachongbáil, a monastic site known today as Oughaval in Co Laois where the document was discovered before it was brought to Trinity College in the 18th century. Other significant Irish language medieval manuscripts including the Yellow Book of Lecan and texts of Brehon law will go on display alongside the Book of Leinster in the exhibition which runs until 12 August.
