Trinity College

My first day in Dublin consisted of walking around the city until I could check into my hostel. I was extremely sleep deprived having just arrived and not been able to sleep on my overnight flight at all. So after walking through Temple Bar, getting a latte, and still having a few hours to kill before check in, the next closest place Trinity College. After walking all the way around the exterior of campus (because I had no clue that a wall surrounded the entire thing) I finally walked through the lovely grounds.


I worked at my university’s art gallery and being located in supposedly the “oldest standing church in Denver,” I interacted with my fair share of tourists, but I cannot imagine what Trinity students have to deal with on a daily basis. Getting to class on time is hard enough when campus is busy, but adding tourists and tour groups to that is crazy. 

 I decided to wait to go to the Old Library until I had the mental capacity to appreciate it, a few days later. 

 The library was amazing. I wasn’t thrilled that I had to buy a ticket but once I entered the library I thought it was worth it. The €14 price includes a gallery about the Book of Kells so the ticket does include some interesting historical information and artifacts. I could have cared less about that. I just wanted to see the damn books.


There are some pretty interesting facts about the Old Library. Well, I found them to be interesting. The main part of the library is actually on the 1st floor (2nd in US terms) and the ground floor used to be an open arcade that has since been filled in and now serves as the gift shop and gallery. 

 When the library started to get full, the second set of shelves were added and the ceiling was vaulted (it didn’t always look this cool). Each shelf has a doorway that leads to the next cut right into it. 

 The library has 200,000 books, due in part to being able to claim a free copy of every book published in Britain and Ireland. 

Only people who work at the library or have special permission can use the library for research. Lame. 


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