Irish Biblical Apocrypha

In 1988 an international project was initiated for the publication of Irish versions of Biblical apocrypha in the leading international series Corpus Christianorum. An Irish editorial board (including Prof. Máire Herbert [chairperson] and Prof. John Carey) was set up under the auspices of the Irish Biblical Association to work in association with AELAC (Association pour l'étude de la littérature apocryphe chrétienne, based in Lausanne, Geneva, and Paris (www2.unil.ch/aelac/). The editorial collaboration has involved scholars in Early and Medieval Irish from UCC, UCD, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Maynooth and Milltown Institute for Theology and Philosophy, along with biblical scholars Prof. Martin McNamara (TCD, Milltown Institute), Prof. J.-D. Kaestli (Lausanne), and Dr. Rita Beyers (Brussels).

The first volume, Evangelia Infantiae, was published in two parts in 2001 in the Corpus Christianorum Series Apocryphorum; and part 1 of the second volume, Apocalyptica (Prof. Carey’s edition of the text In Tenga Bithnua) was published in 2009. Part 2 is now in the final phases of preparation, and has entailed collaboration between AELAC, the Irish Biblical Association, and specialists in Early and Medieval Irish based in academic institutions in Dublin, Cork, Marburg, and Paris.