Irish Literature - The Manuscript Tradition

The Manuscript Tradition

Well after the introduction of printing to Ireland, works in Irish continued to be disseminated in manuscript form.

Access to the printing press was hindered in the 1500s and the 1600s by official caution, although an Irish version of the Bible (known as Bedell's Bible after the Anglican clergyman who commissioned it) was published in the 17th century. A number of popular works in Irish, both devotional and secular, were available in print by the early 19th century, but the manuscript remained the most affordable means of transmission almost until the end of the century.

Manuscripts were collected by literate individuals (schoolmasters, farmers and others) and were copied and recopied. They might include material several centuries old. Access to them was not confined to the literate: the contents were read aloud at local gatherings, thus exposing even the illiterate to the riches of the literature. This was still the case in the late 19th century in Irish-speaking districts.

Manuscripts were often taken abroad, particularly to America. In the 19th century many of these were collected by individuals or cultural institutions.