Launch of visitor’s guide to Knowth at Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre

The latest book in our collection of publications on the Knowth passage tomb cemetery was launched on 21 August

‘The clarity and simplicity of language and authorship … makes it extraordinarily readable’.

Knowth, located in the heart of the Boyne Valley in Co. Meath, has been a place of ritual and settlement from the beginning of the Neolithic to the modern era. It is a national monument and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Property: the ancient Brú na Bóinne passage tomb complex that also includes Dowth and Newgrange. Our newly published book, called simply Knowth, distils the research, knowledge and expertise from our seven-volume Excavations at Knowth series of monographs into ‘a stunningly elegant, simple and beautiful book’, in the view of Michael MacDonagh, Chief Archaeologist at the National Monuments Service. He also stated that ‘the clarity and simplicity of language and authorship … makes it extraordinarily readable’.

Knowth is edited by RIA Senior Editor Helena King, and contains contributions on the archaeology, megalithic art and history of Knowth from Kerri Cleary, Elizabeth Shee Twohig, Edel Bhreathnach, respectively, and on the place of Knowth within the Brú na Bóinne UNESCO World Heritage Property by Claire Breen and Patrizia La Piscopia. It is lavishly illustrated and includes photographs and drawings by Ken Williams and Steve Doogan, among others, and also contains a useful map of the site, all combining to create an accessible guide for those curious to learn about Knowth. Thanking the contributors for their input, Helena pointed out ‘Everyone involved brought their individual expertise to it, but we all had the same focus and goal—to produce a book that offers a general overview of what Knowth is all about and that explains its importance’.

Professor Pat Guiry, president of the Royal Irish Academy commented ‘Our efforts and involvement in this project over the years wonderfully showcase the RIA’s mission of fostering excellence and scholarship to enrich society. … This current publication is a particularly apt example of several of our current strategic priorities: to recognise and nurture excellence; create, convene and share knowledge for the public good; and preserve and promote Irish cultural heritage and language.’

‘We see the value of genuine heritage partnership, working together to deliver something quite brilliant.’

On launching the book, Michael MacDonagh further noted that ‘this book … brought so many separate bodies together to work together — local authority, National Museum, Heritage Council, academia, third-level, the Discovery Programme, the [Royal Irish] Academy, OPW and ourselves in NMS. Here we see the value of genuine heritage partnership, working together to deliver something quite brilliant. I feel we should all learn from such partnership as nurtured by the Academy that we see here, and we should indeed do it more often.’

 

Pictured: Helena King, Pat Guiry, Michael MacDonagh.

All photos on this page © Photographic Archive, National Monuments Service

Knowth is available to order online or from bookshops nationwide.