Book of Kells produced the first facsimile of the Book of Kells. The majority of the pages were reproduced in black-and-white photographs, but the edition also featured forty-eight colour reproductions, including all the full-page decorations. Under licence from the Board of Trinity College Dublin, Thames and Hudson produced a second facsimile edition in 1974. This edition included all the full-page illustrations in the manuscript and a representative section of the ornamentation of the text pages, together with some enlarged details of the illustrations. The reproductions were all in full colour, with photography by John Kennedy, Green Studio, Dublin. In 1979, Swiss publisher Faksimile-Verlag
The Secret of Kells the Book of Iona, Brendan is curious about the mysterious illuminator and "the book that turns darkness into light" (the unfinished Book of Kells). Aidan arrives in Kells, accompanied by his white cat, Pangur Bán, after his own monastery is destroyed by a raid. After eavesdropping on a discussion between Cellach and Aidan, Brendan wanders to the scriptorium, where he finds the still-to-be-completed book. Pangur Bán guards the book, but when the cat sees that Brendan means no harm to the book, she accepts him. Aidan arrives and tells Brendan about the book. Seeing Brendan as a suitable apprentice, Aidan