Living Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin

Where is it?

This area marks the centre of the tourist map of Dublin. Trinity College itself occupies several acres of land once occupied by a priory suppressed by Henry VIII. The front of the college face Dame Street, a broad avenue running along the south side of Temple Bar and leading up to Dublin Castle. To one side of the college is College Green, which will point you towards the river and O'Connell Street, to the other Grafton Street. At the rere is Merrion Square, Westland Row and Pearse mainline train station.

What's it about?

Not really an area in its own right, we've chosen it because it is the hub at which all other areas meet. Dame Street has some excellent restaurants, particularly of the Chinese/Italian varieties, and some magnificent architecture. Look up as you walk around.

The college itself is a must on every tourist itinerary. So . . .

What's there to do/see?

Facing Trinity College on College Green is The Bank of Ireland. Built in 1739, this windowless building was the original Parliament Building in Ireland, home to Grattan's parliament. The bank have done us all a service by opening an Arts Centre and museum at the rere of the building in Fosters Place. The museum focuses on the history of banking and finance in Dublin from the arrival of the Huguenots. It's one of those quirky specialist museums that is well worth a visit. Go inside the bank also and cash a travellers' cheque, if only to admire the high stuccoed ceilings and imagine the voices of the speakers that once resounded on these walls.

There is a statue of Tom Moore in the middle of College Green. He wa one of Ireland's most famous Victorian poets and, set to old Irish airs, his poems, such as Oft in the Stilly Night, were known as "Moore's Melodies" and were a staple of Victorian drawing-room parties. You can hear some of them in John Huston's film of James Joyce's The Dead. The railings below Tom's statue surround what used to be a public convenience (until most of them were closed down due to the difficulty of policing unsavoury elements). With typical Dublin wit and lack of respect, this spot was always known by the title of Moore's most famous work - The Meeting of the Waters.

Go and visit Trinity. You will anyway, but take one of the excellent guided tours and then go back and have a snoop round on your own. It received its charter in 1592 and 400 years of history is waiting for you underneath that arch. It has been the location for many films, including Educating Rita and The Great Train Robbery. Visit the Douglas Hyde Gallery of modern art and check out what's on in the Players' Theatre.

Oh and go to the library. Trinity Library is one of only three colleges (and the only one in Ireland) granted the Bodleian Charter. This means that they must receive, gratis, a copy of every publication published in the British Isles. Think of it. That means first editions of Playboy, Womans Way and Ireland's Own, as well as a complete set of Jeffrey Archer.

You won't get into the new library though, bout you can visit the old library, an impressive gothic-vaulted space at the centre of which resides one of Ireland's most treasured artefacts, the 1200 year old illuminated manuscript known as The Book of Kells.

Where to stay

The Westin on College Green is one of Dublin's newest and finest 5-star hotels. Nearby, The Trinity Capital provides deluxe three star accommodation. Dame Street has several good hotels, including The Adams Trinity Hotel, The Trinity Arch Hotel and, nearby, the Central Hotel.

For a lower budget, try The Earl of Kildare on Kildare Street.

For more information on Trinity College itself, visit www.tcd.ie.

© Living Dublin 2003-2005