Soiscél Molaisse

The Soiscél Molaisse (/ˈsiːʃˌkɛl ˌmɒˈlæʃ/ SEESH-kel mo-LASH; 'Gospel of St. Molaisse') is an Irish cumdach (a type of ornamented metal reliquary box or carrying case for a holy book) that originated from an 8th-century wooden core embellished in the 11th and 15th centuries with metal plates decorated in the Insular style. Until the late 18th century, the shrine held a now-lost companion text, presumed to be a small illuminated gospel book associated with Saint Laisrén mac Nad Froích (d. 564 or 571), also known as Molaisse or "Mo Laisse". In the 6th century, Molaisse founded a church on Devenish Island in the southern part of Lough Erne in County Fermanagh, with which the cumdach is associated.

The shrine was constructed in three phases. The 8th-century original wooden box was embellished sometime between 1001 and 1025 with a silver frame under the direction of Cennefaelad, abbot of Devenish. This included embossed silver plates, a front piece depicting a cross, the figures and symbols of the evangelists, and series of Latin inscriptions. These additions form the bulk of the remaining object. A third phase, dated to the 15th century, incorporates further silver elements, although most have been lost. The Soiscél Molaisse is the earliest surviving cumdach, and with a height of just 14.75 centimetres (5+13⁄16 in), also the smallest.

The small size of the Soiscél Molaisse suggests that its companion text was meant to be carried as a pocket gospel book. That book was assumed to have been transcribed by Molaisse until the 19th century. The cumdach was held by the hereditary keepers O'Meehan family of Ballaghameehan, County Leitrim until the mid-19th century, and was acquired by the Royal Irish Academy in 1861, an acquisition supported by Lord Dunraven and George Petrie. It is now in the collection of the archaeology branch of the National Museum of Ireland on Kildare Street, Dublin.