Chester Beatty Library

About

The Chester Beatty Library (Irish: Leabharlann Chester Beatty), now known as the Chester Beatty, is a museum and library in the grounds of Dublin Castle, Ireland. It was established in 1953 at 20 Shewsbury Road, Dublin 4, to house the collections of mining magnate, Sir Alfred Chester Beatty. The present museum opened on 7 February 2000, the 125th anniversary of Beatty's birth and was named European Museum of the Year in 2002.

The Chester Beatty is one of the premier sources for scholarship in both the Old and New Testaments and is home to one of the most significant collections of historical artefacts and manuscripts from all over the world. The museum also offers numerous temporary exhibitions, many of which include works of art on loan from foreign institutions and collections. The museum contains a number of priceless objects, including one of the surviving volumes of the first illustrated Life of the Prophet and the Gospel of Mani, one of the last surviving Manichaean scriptures. Many manuscripts from the Medinet Madi library are currently held at the Chester Beatty Library.