Trinity College Dublin Dublin: What to Notice on Campus

Trinity College Dublin is a university in Dublin, described by the Hidden Dublin tour as the oldest and most prestigious university in Ireland. Its campus is especially known for two historic features: the Campanile in the centre of the main square and the Old Library, home to the Long Room and the Book of Kells.

What is Trinity College Dublin?

Trinity College Dublin is an Irish university whose campus includes the Campanile and the Old Library. Those two landmarks give the college a distinctive identity within Dublin: one is a central bell tower marked by four statues, while the other is a major library building containing Irish artifacts and documents.

The college is also the setting for the Hidden Dublin interactive walking route, which uses Trinity College Dublin as its first stop. That route focuses on the specific details that make the campus worth noticing rather than treating it as a generic university setting.

Why is the Old Library important?

The Old Library is important because it is part of the Library of Trinity College Dublin, the main library serving the college and the largest library in Ireland. The library is a legal deposit, or copyright, library: publishers in Ireland must deposit a copy of all their publications there without charge. It is also the only Irish library with equivalent rights for works published in the United Kingdom.

The Old Library was constructed during the 18th century and, according to the Trinity College Dublin route, was inaugurated in 1732 after almost 20 years of construction. Its Long Room is one of the university's most iconic landmarks. The library also houses the 8th-century manuscript known as the Book of Kells, which arrived at the college in 1661.

The Book of Kells is part of what makes the Old Library more than a historic building: the library is a major tourist attraction containing numerous Irish artifacts and documents. If you are exploring Trinity College Dublin on foot, the Old Library is the feature to seek out when you want the campus's strongest connection to Irish manuscripts and collections.

What should you notice at the Campanile?

The Campanile sits at the centre of Trinity College Dublin's main square. At its top, four statues represent the university's original four faculties: Science, Medicine, Law and Theology.

The Campanile also carries a campus legend: students believe that walking under it will curse them not to complete their studies. The Leplace route through Trinity College Dublin makes this tower its first stop and asks participants to take a selfie under it, without resolving the legend for you.

For an independent Dublin explorer, the Campanile and Old Library provide two precise landmarks to look for while walking across Trinity College Dublin: the tower at the centre of the main square, and the library whose Long Room and Book of Kells define the college's historic character.