AN attempt is under way to have one of the oldest manuscripts produced in Ireland returned here.
The 'Annals of Innisfallen', which date from the 12th Century, are housed in the Bodleian Library (inset) at Oxford University and have made only one return visit to Killarney, near where they were written, in 1983.
Arts and Heritage Minister Jimmy Deenihan said he would be making a request to have the annals returned to Kerry so that they can be housed at Killarney House, which is undergoing a complete refurbishment.
"We'll have the proper security at Killarney House to protect them, which we never had before," said Mr Deenihan.
"A request will be made by the Irish Government to have them returned. It would be a major tourist attraction to the area and it's fitting that they should be housed in Killarney near where they were written."
Inscribed on vellum by the monks of Innisfallen Abbey over a 300-year period, the annals chronicle the medieval history of Ireland.
Unlike the 'Book of Kells', which is in Latin, the 'Annals of Innisfallen' were inscribed in Irish and English and contain more than 2,500 entries spanning the years 433 and 1450.
In 1981, Killarney Urban Council and the Trustees of Muckross House wrote to Taoiseach Charles Haughey asking him to begin negotiations for their recovery.
Twenty years later, Fianna Fail councillor Brian O'Leary made another bid to have the annals housed at Muckross, but guaranteeing their security proved an issue.
A reproduction of the annals will be on display at Killarney library on Culture Night, September 20.