Can I take the Bible from a B&B?

Ask! If you are in a B&B, ask your host. S/he may say "yes" in which case you can keep it. If s/he says "no" then it gives you the chance to ask where to buy one of your own & possibly find more books that tickle your linguistic delight.

You are asking us if it is okay to steal a bible? Huh? (Or maybe you are asking if Ireland has the equivalent of the Gideons?)

Agree with the previous poster: Ask the host. I would suggest asking if you could purchase that copy or (alternatively) is she knows where you could purchase a similar one......explaining just how much it would mean to you. She may choose to give it to you, but you would not put her on the spot.

Is it a Gideon placed bible?
https://www.quora.com/Can-you-take-a-Gideon-bible-from-a-hotel-room

If you go to a book store in Dingle, I am sure you will find bibles in the Irish language. Leave the B&B one for the next guest. I am shocked that you would consider taking it without asking. Being a linguist gives you a special interest but not permission to stick it in your luggage.

Remember the 10 commandments?

Stunned anyone would ask on a public forum if it was okay to steal anything, anytime, anywhere!

Would you like it if a guest in your home stole something from your home?

Am I right in assuming you didn’t travel as planned during the Easter holiday in 2016 as a previous post of yours noted.

Or you did and enjoyed Ireland so much you returned.

Ask your host or look for one in a bookstore and PAY for it if having one is so important to you.

I have got to give katrinawilkins the benefit of the doubt -- anything else is just too ironically awful to consider. This has got to be a question as to whether Ireland has the equivalent of the Gideons or a tradition of giving away Bibles in hotel rooms. It's funny because so many people do not know that you can take the Gideon Bible that one finds in a hotel room. The Gideons International is, you guessed it, an international society and places Bibles in places all around the world and Bibles placed by its members indicate that they are placed by the Gideons. They are freely taken because they are freely given. It is the Society's intent that the Bibles be read and taken if so desired. If the Bible in the B&B does not indicate that it was left by the Gideons then you should assume that it is like a towel and taking it as a memento is stealing and ask the host where to buy one.

It seems the Gideon bibles are only in English, I learn after a quick bit of research. Therefore the Irish language bible under discussion should be left with the owners of the B&B. I find it strange that the OP has not returned to explain or defend herself.

Thank you for your helpful replies. To clarify, I was not contemplating stealing a Bible. But many religious organizations place these kinds of materials with hotels or in airports, etc., with the intention of giving the material away to anyone who might be interested—similar to the Gideon Bibles and even the Book of Mormon in the United States; over the years, I have also received copies of the Dao De Jing and the Baghavad Gita in this manner. So I wondered whether this might be a similar situation; hence my question. (If I were really intent on stealing a Bible, I would have simply taken it.)

But upon reading your responses, I realize that the simplest solution, indeed, is simply to ask the host about it—not sure why that didn't occur to me before, and can only suppose that I am over-tired from my travels.

PS - In response to Claudia: I did not make it to Ireland for Easter 2016, as I had hoped; but I attended a conference in Cork this weekend and am taking the opportunity to see a little more of the country.

Alrighty, then ....

This is supposed to be the nice forum...so many assumptions in these replies. :(

OP never said she wanted to steal anything - just wondering if there was the equivalent of Gideons in Ireland. Sometimes the obvious answer eludes. A simple answer of just ask the B&B.

Owning a B&B for 10 years we were surprised what people would take!

Quote from the OP's post: " ....... I would love to take the bible as a memento and a learning tool."

hey K be sure to let us know what the B&B owner says after you ask..it's all good!

Quote from the OP's post: " ....... I would love to take the bible as a memento and a learning tool."

One can "take" the Bible from the Gideons and that is not stealing. One can "take" the toiletries from hotel rooms and that is not stealing.

I just don't think the OP intended to "steal" anything.

Gideon bible is not the subject of the post. Gideon bibles are in English only. Had the OP written "..... I would love to HAVE this copy of the bible ....." this debate would not have begun.

You can easily purchase an Irish Bible from Amazon US when you get back home:
http://a.co/0yQOZII

Yeah Michael, but I'll bet it's much cheaper buying one in Ireland.

Had the OP written "..... I would love to HAVE this copy of the bible ....." this debate would not have begun

I don't know. I think some people must have stopped reading before they got to her last sentence where she states, "But I'm not familiar with the custom about Bibles in this country. Is it ok for me to do so?"

No need to assume the worst of someone. That's a sad way to live. It was an honest question from an honest person who sought information. Wish I had the aptitude for linguistic study...my wife does...but what little brain power I have left sadly flows in other directions because studying an Irish Bible sounds fascinating.

Goodness! I had no intention of sparking off such a heated debate. Long story short: I got distracted on my final morning and never did ask the host about the Bible. But I found an Irish-language copy at one of the bookstores in town and bought it to take home (€20).

Somebody stole my Gideon bible.