Trinity College

Did you know that Trinity College has another name? It does. Trinity College is also known by University of Dublin. Since there is only one campus, the names Trinity College and University of Dublin are interchangeable.

Trinity College was established in 1692 and was modelled after Oxford and Cambridge, but only has one college whereas Oxford has 38 constituent colleges and Cambridge has 31. Trinity College is the oldest school in Ireland and was set up in part to consolidate the Tudor rule over Ireland. According to Wikipedia: Trinity College “was seen as the university of the Protestant Ascendancy for much of its history. 

Although Catholics and Dissenters had been permitted to enter as early as the end of the XVIII century (1793), certain restrictions on their membership of the college remained until 1873 (professorships, fellowships and scholarships were reserved for Protestants). From 1956 to 1970, the Catholic Church in Ireland forbade its adherents from attending Trinity College without permission from their archbishop. Women were first admitted to the college as full members in January 1904.” There are different ratings for Trinity College according who is doing the rating and, for the year 2015, was rated between 78 and 170 best in the world. It is rated as the best in Ireland.

You can read more about Trinity College and its history on Wikipedia.

Trinity College library is well known and is a legal depository library for Ireland and the United Kingdom, and contains over 4.5 million volumes, significant number of manuscripts, maps, and music. One of its most famous holdings is the Book of Kells.

The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin which contains the four gospels as well as various prefatory texts and tables. It is believed that the book was created approximately 800 AD at a Columban monastery in Ireland or that a number of Columban institutions across Britain and Ireland contributed to it. It is the most complex illuminated manuscript of its time. The illustrations are composed of human, animal, and celtic knots with a good variety of colour.

Today, the manuscript is composed of 340 folios in 4 volumes. The leaves are made with calf vellum and is worth making the trip to see. The name of the book comes from the Abbey of Kells which was its home for centuries.

If you make it to Dublin, you really should go to Trinity College and see the Book of Kells for yourself. There is a cost. The price ranges between €9 and €28, depending on your circumstances. Be ready to wait in line to get into the library. As a matter of fact, I would not be surprised that there is a long line every day, all day. The line does move fairly quickly. The first part of the display gives some history about the making of the Book, with static presentations on how the ink was made, how the vellum was prepared, and what life was like when this book was being created. After going through the displays, you then go upstairs to the room where the Book of Kells is kept. It is in a locked display cabinet where no one can touch it but you can see the superior workmanship that went into it. Before seeing it, my brother believed that we would be seeing a copy, and would not believe me when I told him that we would be seeing the original book. I don’t know what the security is like for this book, but I don’t think that I would like to be the person who trips the wire, so to speak. If you are planning to take some pictures with your camera, think again. Cameras cannot be used while viewing the displays and the Book.

When you are finished looking at the Book, your way out will take you through the Old Library Hall. And, yes, it looks the same as in the pictures. When I am surrounded by that many books, I have absolutely no idea where to start.

I did discover that there have been reproductions done on the Book of Kells. There were digital photographs taken that were put on CD and sold through the College gift shop. These are no longer available. However, those digital photographs can now be seen online at:

http://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/home/#folder_id=14&pidtopage=MS58_007v&entry_point=1

Enjoy!

Gaelic Roots, The Show

While we were on our way to Killarney, our bus driver told us about a show that had been running for about two weeks and would be continuing through the summer until the middle of October. The name of the show was Gaelic Roots, The Show.

This show is being held at the Killarney Avenue Hotel which is across the square from the Killarney Plaza Hotel. So it was a short walk for me to go to the show. There was a small number of people from our tour that opted to go that night. Those people who heard about it from us and wanted to go were out of luck as it was a night off for the cast on our second night in Killarney. As soon as I heard about it, I wanted to see it and not seeing it was not an option. So, I made sure that I was there in plenty of time to get in.

I arrived about 30 minutes early so that I could get a good seat. I first thought that the seats near the front would give me the view that I was looking for. After about ten or fifteen minutes, and with the help of other people sitting in front of me, I realized that I might not have picked the best seat to sit in. I looked further back and realized that some of the chairs were set up on risers. I headed back to get to the front of the last riser, and tripped and fell almost flat on my face at the first riser. I did a bit of damage to my ankle, but I knew that it would heal. There was not severe damage done except to my pride.

I found the seat that I wanted and had a very clear view of the show. It was a mixer of song, music, and dancing and you could tell that the cast was having fun with it.

The cast is a renown group of international Irish performers. The O’Neill Sisters were the singers and came in from New York to do this show for the summer. It is something that they believe in and they were happy to do so. Tomas O Se is a Kerry Minor football star and a world class Irish dancer who has danced with Riverdance. Kelly McDonnell is a world class Irish dancer who has danced with Michael Flatley. Tony Flaherty is a world renowned musician and plays with The Gaelic Roots Band. They cover a lot of instruments including the flute, the bodrhan, the fiddle, and more. There are also the Gaelic Roots Troop Dancers who have danced with Riverdance and other productions.

When the performance starts, it’s as if you are going back through the mists of time. The music is not just from the modern era, but also from further back in time. I think that maybe, “Danny Boy” is the only one that I have previous heard. I don’t know about the rest of the audience, but I was mesmerized for the entire performance. The show lasts for two hours and there is a fifteen-minute break about half way through. It gives you a chance to stretch your legs and come back to earth before continuing on in the world of fantasy. The cast received a well-deserved standing ovation.

Going back to the hotel, I chanced on some of my friends from the tour. One of them decided that I could not do the short trip back to our hotel by myself, but needed someone with me. I really didn’t but I decided to humour her.

Would I go to Gaelic Roots, The Show again? With a resounding yes, I would go again if I have the chance. I love the Irish music and dancing and don’t have much chance to see the dancing.