Nepedia
Back to Discover
Fluent Reader
📖

Trinity College Dublin

society Maturity 11-13 Next article →

Trinity College Dublin is a very famous school in Ireland.

Trinity College, Dublin front
Trinity College, Dublin front

It is the oldest university in the country that is still open today. The school was started in 1592 by a royal charter from Queen Elizabeth I. It was built on the site of an old place called the Priory of All Hallows. The first leader was a man named Adam Loftus. He named the college after Trinity College in Cambridge.

UK-2014-Oxford-Oriel College 01
UK-2014-Oxford-Oriel College 01

Today, the college is the main part of the University of Dublin. It is a very important place for learning and history.

For a long time, the college had strict rules about religion.

Trinity College Chapel, Dublin
Trinity College Chapel, Dublin

It was mostly for a small group called the Protestant Ascendancy. While Catholic students could attend, they faced many hard jobs. For example, they could not become professors or scholars for a long time. In 1845, a student named Denis Caulfield Heron even went to court about this. He was a great student but was told he could not join. Eventually, these unfair rules changed. By 1873, most of these religious tests were gone. This allowed more people to study and teach at the school.

The college campus has many beautiful and old buildings.

TCD Campanile (17143475289)
TCD Campanile (17143475289)

You can see the famous Campanile bell tower there. There is also a large area called Parliament Square. This square has many buildings made in a style called neoclassical. The school even has its own Botanic Gardens.

TCD Herb Garden, winter 2024
TCD Herb Garden, winter 2024

Inside the college, there is a very special library. It has a huge room called the Long Room. This room is part of the Old Library, which began in 1712. It is a very quiet and grand place to read.

The library holds some of the most amazing treasures in the world.

KellsFol007vMadonnaChild
KellsFol007vMadonnaChild

One treasure is the Book of Kells, which is a very old book. The library also keeps a famous harp from the year 1782. Another important item is a copy of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic from 1916.

Long Room Interior, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland - Diliff
Long Room Interior, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland - Diliff

Because it is so special, over two million people visit every year. Many people even use the college as a place to film movies. It is a major place for people to visit in Ireland.

Many smart people have studied at Trinity throughout history.

Bram Stoker1
Bram Stoker1

Famous writers like Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde went here. Some students even won the Nobel Prize for their great work. People from this school helped invent many things we use today. For instance, Francis Rynd invented the hypodermic needle in 1844. Sir Charles Algernon Parsons invented the steam turbine in 1884. Arthur Leared also made the binaural stethoscope in 1851. These discoveries changed how we live and how we stay healthy.

442 words

Where will your curiosity go next?

Keep exploring at your chosen reading level.

🖼️ Images & Media (26)
File:The entrance of the historic Trinity College (Unsplash).jpg
The entrance of the historic Trinity...
File:KellsFol007vMadonnaChild.jpg
KellsFol007vMadonnaChild.jpg
File:DUBLIN(1837) p041 TRINITY COLLEGE.jpg
DUBLIN(1837) p041 TRINITY COLLEGE.jpg
File:Bram Stoker1.jpg
Bram Stoker1.jpg
File:A pictorial and descriptive guide to Dublin and the Wicklow tours (1919) (14763653831).jpg
A pictorial and descriptive guide to...
File:Trinity College library.jpg
Trinity College library.jpg
File:Science Gallery Dublin on Pearse Street at Night.jpg
Science Gallery Dublin on Pearse Street...
File:Trinity College, Dublin front.jpg
Trinity College, Dublin front.jpg
File:Trinity College - Parliament Square - October 2023.jpg
Trinity College - Parliament Square -...
File:Trinity College Chapel, Dublin.jpg
Trinity College Chapel, Dublin.jpg
File:Long Room Interior, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland - Diliff.jpg
Long Room Interior, Trinity College...
File:Arnaldo Pomodoro's 'Sfera con Sfera' at The Berkeley Library, Trinity College Dublin.JPG
Arnaldo Pomodoro's 'Sfera con Sfera' at...

+ 14 more

More to explore

What is Nepedia?

A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.