427 
that I may live long enough to see separate works executed, such as 
will enable the student of Irish to pursue his studies with the same fa- 
cility which he enjoys in translating most other languages. It has been 
said repeatedly, but I will declare it again from this chair, that without 
an Irish dictionary much superior in every respect to the existing ones, 
an ordinary scholar would find himself unequal to the task of translating 
the ancient documents preserved in our library. Once possessed of a 
copious and accurate Irish lexicon, we shall be far advanced on the way 
towards many objects aimed at by Irish scholars. Philologists in other 
countries will pursue the investigations which they have entered upon 
with greater facility and more abundant success ; and materials will be 
multiplied for the use of writers illustrating the early periods of Irish 
history. 
In close connexion with the projects already mentioned stands one 
by the execution of which the Academy would, I think, do much 
to promote Irish studies. We lately had upon our table a fac-simile 
of a part of Doomsday Book, executed by what is called the photozin- 
cographic process. Thecopy of MS. thus made is sometimes more legible 
than the original. It is atthe same time absolutely free from the errors 
introduced by the negligence, weariness, or mistakes of transcribers. I 
am also assured that copies can be produced by this process at a very 
moderate expense. If this be so, it would be a work worthy of the 
Academy to issue a series of fac-simile copies of our most ancient and 
curious Irish MSS. The advantages consequent on this step would be 
felt by persons engaged in various literary occupations. The philologist, 
the historian, the antiquary, the genealogist, the paleographer, would 
all rejoice in the possession of perfectly authentic materials upon which 
to work. The translation and elucidation of these documents would 
soon follow, and the public would obtain results which the most san- 
guine calculator must regard as very remote, if our present rate of pro- 
gress be not accelerated. 
We have long looked with curiosity upon the MS. of the Gospels pre- 
served in the Domnach Airgid—a MS. which Dr. Petrie has shown good 
reason to believe is of the time of St. Patrick. I trust that our men of 
science and our archeologists will cooperate in developing this remark- 
able MS. Itis now a solid mass of wrinkled folios agglutinated together ; 
but as two of the outer leaves have been detached, expanded, and read, 
it seems no very daring effort to continue the development. 
In counting up the accessions which have been made in recent 
times to our library, I ought not to leave unmentioned the precious 
collection of papers collected by the officers employed in the Ord- 
nance Survey of Ireland; we have to thank her Majesty’s Government 
for having authorised the grant of these documents to our library. 
They will be invaluable to persons seeking information on any mat- 
ters relating to the history or topography of Ireland. They contain, 
as you are aware, the antiquarian materials intended for use in the 
memoir with which it was proposed to accompany the ordnance map 
