Trinity College Dublin

Trinity College Dublin occupies 47 acres in the centre of the city, founded by Elizabeth I in 1592, and the contrast between crossing through the Front Gate on College Green and being inside the campus is immediate – cobbled squares, Georgian buildings, the Campanile at the centre of Parliament Square – while the commercial noise of Dame Street continues thirty metres away. The college is open to the public without admission for the grounds; only the Old Library requires a ticket.

The Book of Kells and Old Library

Most visitors come for the Book of Kells: an illuminated manuscript of the four Gospels produced by Celtic monks around 800 CE, almost certainly at Iona before being brought to Kells in County Meath for safekeeping from Viking raids. The decoration at close range – geometric interlace, human figures, animals – is at a scale requiring magnification to fully appreciate. The display shows two volumes open at a time; the pages are changed periodically and you rarely see the most famous images on any given visit.

The Old Library’s Long Room is the more architecturally extraordinary space: 65 metres long, lined with two tiers of dark oak shelving carrying 200,000 of the library’s oldest books, with marble busts of scholars along the lower level. The barrel-vaulted ceiling was added in the 18th century when the shelving was raised to accommodate the growing collection. The Brian Boru Harp on display – 12th or 14th century, scholars disagree on the date – is the model for the Irish state symbol that appears on every euro coin minted in Ireland.

Tickets cost 16 euros; book online as timed entry fills quickly in summer. The queue without a booking can run an hour or more. Midweek mornings are least crowded.

The Campus

Trinity’s Science Gallery on the Pearse Street side has rotating exhibitions on science and culture; entry is free and the programming is consistently interesting. The Douglas Hyde Gallery in the Arts Building shows contemporary art. Student-led campus tours are available in summer from the front entrance for about 13 euros and cover the history and famous alumni more thoroughly than walking around alone.

Notable alumni include Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett, and Bram Stoker. The college also contains the oldest surviving reflection telescope in Ireland (built in 1748) in the campus museum – a detail that gets overlooked in favour of the literary heritage.

Eating and Around

The Buttery inside the campus serves basic food at student prices; the location is more interesting than the menu. Kehoe’s on South Anne Street (five minutes walk from the front gate) is one of the best-preserved Victorian pub interiors in Dublin with reliable pub food. Bewley’s Oriental Cafe on Grafton Street, immediately west of the college, has been operating since 1840 and retains its original stained glass and heavy timber fittings.

Getting There

Trinity is in the city centre. DART and mainline trains stop at Tara Street or Pearse Street, both five minutes on foot. The Luas cross-city tram stops directly in front of the college. From Dublin Airport, the Aircoach direct bus to the city centre stops on adjacent Westmoreland Street.