How to visit Trinity College Dublin. Ireland’s first university

Visiting Trinity College is one of the main things to do in Dublin.

It is the first university in Ireland and one of the most prestigious in the world. It is located in the heart of the city of Dublin and is a must if you go to this city. It is a huge enclosure with different points of interest, both outdoors and within its walls.

In its Library is the famous Book of Kells.

A little history of Trinity College

This prestigious university, which was built outside the city walls but is now in the very center, was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I.

It currently has an area of ​​19 hectares and important personalities have passed through it, who were later relevant, such as Oscar Wilde or Bram Stoker, among others.

The university was initially reserved for male Protestant students and it was not until 1793 that Catholics were able to study and it was not until 1903 that women were accepted.

Of course, it was one of the first British universities in which the girls could study.

The land where it is located belonged to an old Augustinian monastery and the first building built, in Elizabethan style, can no longer be admired as it was replaced by another Georgian style in the 17th century.

What to see at Trinity College

After entering the main entrance of Trinity College, which is located opposite the old Irish Houses of Parliament, you will find people offering to give you a guided tour of the university.

These are students of the same, who know it perfectly and who will tell you stories from every corner.

As soon as we enter we will be in a beautiful square where the famous Bell Tower is located, one of the most interesting monuments.

It is a 30-meter tower with a lower arch that dates back to 1853 and stands on the site where the old monastery is believed to have stood.

Behind the tower is the Library Square, a small green esplanade surrounded by buildings, one of them the spectacular Library, which we will talk about later.

At the end of this square there is a red building that is the oldest in the university, from 1690 to be exact, although it has undergone subsequent renovations.

Behind this building we find another small square where you can relax if the weather is good and there are not too many people.

There you can admire the facade of the modern Berkeley Library, at the entrance of which is one of the most famous sculptures on campus, the Sphere within a Sphere, by Commodore

Other places to highlight when visiting Trinity College are the Dining Hall, the Douglas Hyde Gallery, where you can see free exhibitions of contemporary art, the Zoological Museum or the Science Gallery, where both children and adults will enjoy science.

By the way, if you are interested you can stay in the summer months at Trinity College as a hostel and at a fairly cheap price. But yes, it is quite popular and it is very difficult to get a place.

But if you get one of the 800 places you will feel like just another student.

Trinity College Library and the Book of Kells

Without a doubt, the Library is the main point of interest of Trinity College and a must-see.

It houses the largest collection of books and manuscripts in Ireland and you will lose yourself among its shelves.

It currently has more than 4 million books and every year since 1801 it receives a copy of each of the works published in Great Britain and Ireland, so it is always growing. In fact, it receives about 100,000 each year.

The building where it is located dates back to 1732 and its main room is the Long Room, a spectacular 65 meter long room where we can find more than 200,000 books.

It is one of the most magical places in Dublin where the smell of wood that accompanies the characteristic smell of books is a delight for the senses. There is also the oldest surviving harp in Ireland.

But the library gem is the Book of Kells. It is a book written in Latin with the four gospels and is believed to have been written by some monks at the beginning of the 9th century who had to move to Kells after the Vikings invaded the island of Iona, in Scotland, where they lived. in an abbey

The book survived and arrived at Trinity College in 1661. Today we can admire it together with an exhibition that explains its content.

You can find more information on the official website of Trinity College Dublin.