What Happened Ireland’s Medieval Manuscripts?

It is commonly believed that the chronic indigenous violence of early medieval Irish society and the ravages of the Viking wars account for the destruction of most medieval Irish manuscripts. This may not be quite so. Ireland is unlikely to have been more violent than many other European countries that preserve very large numbers of medieval manuscripts. The argument is made here that the loss of much of Ireland’s medieval manuscript heritage was a consequence of English conquest and colonialism in the early-modern period, greatly exacerbated by religious conflict.