The National Gallery of Australia has said it would not have displayed a volume from the Book of Kells in its current exhibition had it been informed that there were "any doubts about the condition of the book" when it arrived in Canberra, writes Kevin Rafter, Political Reporter.
The Head Librarian of Trinity College Dublin, Mr Bill Simpson, told The Irish Times on Thursday that "some very minor damage" had been discovered on the 1,200-year-old manuscript after it arrived in Canberra in February.
The volume is the centerpiece of an exhibition in the National Gallery of Australia entitled "The Book of Kells and the Art of the Illumination".
However, the National Gallery of Australia last night said Mr Simpson - who attended the opening of the exhibition - had "never mentioned" to its Director, Dr Brian Kennedy, that "that there had been any damage to the Book of Kells".