Trinity College, Dublin

Founded in 1592 by Elizabeth I, Trinity College, Dublin is Ireland's oldest university, and the only college in The University of Dublin[?]. It is located on College Green in Dublin, opposite the old House of Parliament. Trinity has approximately 11,000 undergraduates, 3,500 postgraduates and 1,700 staff. (2000/01 figures) The College is divided into six faculties: Arts (Humanities); Arts (Letters); Business, Economic and Social Studies; Engineering and Systems Sciences; Health Sciences; and Science.

Trinity's larger Dublin rival is University College Dublin.

Table of contents 1 History 2 The Library 3 Notable Alumni 4 External Links

History Trinity College juxta(near) Dublin was founded by royal charter from Queen Elizabeth I in 1592. The Corporation of Dublin granted the new university the lands of All Hallows monastry, a mile to the south east of the city walls. (Trinity College is today in the very centre of Dublin, as the city has moved eastwards.)

During its early life, Trinity was a university exclusively for the Protestant ascendency class of Dublin. Roman Catholics were first admitted in 1793, though they had to obtain the permission of the Bishop of Dublin to take up a place, well into the twentieth century. Women were admitted to Trinity College for the first time in 1904.

A more detailed history is at History of Trinity College (http://www.tcd.ie/Visitors/tcd_hist) on the TCD Website.

The Library The Library of Trinity College is the largest research library in Ireland. It is entitled legally to a copy of every book published in Britain and Ireland, and contains 4.25 million books. The Book of Kells, the Library's most famous book can be seen in the Long Room of the old Library. It is also believed that the Jedi Archives in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones was inspired by the Long Room.

Notable Alumni

• Jonathan Swift
• Oliver Goldsmith
• Oscar Wilde
• Samuel Beckett
• George Berkeley
• William Lecky[?]
• William Rowan Hamilton
• William Stokes[?]
• Denis Burkitt[?]
• George Francis FitzGerald[?]
• Nobel prize-winner Ernest Walton[?]

External Links

• Trinity College Dublin web site (http://www.tcd.ie/)
• Jedi Archives Clones Long Room (http://www.irish-architecture.com/onsite/jedi_archives/)