The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for
Trinity College Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
. It was founded in 1592 when
Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
El ...
issued a charter for Trinity College as "the mother of a university", thereby making it Ireland's oldest operating university. It was modelled after the
collegiate universities
A collegiate university is a university in which functions are divided between a central administration and a number of constituent colleges. Historically, the first collegiate university was the University of Paris and its first college was the C ...
of
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and of
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, but unlike these other
ancient universities
The ancient universities are British and Irish medieval universities and early modern universities founded before the year 1600. Four of these are located in Scotland, two in England, and one in Ireland. The ancient universities in Britain and I ...
, only one college was established; as such, the designations "Trinity College" and "University of Dublin" are usually synonymous for practical purposes.
The University of Dublin is one of the seven
ancient universities
The ancient universities are British and Irish medieval universities and early modern universities founded before the year 1600. Four of these are located in Scotland, two in England, and one in Ireland. The ancient universities in Britain and I ...
of
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
and Ireland. It is a member of the
Irish Universities Association
The Irish Universities’ Association (IUA) ( ga, Cumann Ollscoileanna Éireann) is the representative body of the eight universities within the Republic of Ireland and is based at NUI offices in Merrion Square, Dublin. It is a non-profit-making ...
,
Universities Ireland
Universities Ireland is an organisation that promotes collaboration and co-operation between universities in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It was launched in July 2003 by the nine university presidents on the island of Irel ...
, and the
Coimbra Group
The Coimbra Group (CG) is an international association of 41 universities in Europe. It was established in 1985. It works for the benefit of its members by promoting "internationalization, academic collaboration, excellence in learning and resear ...
.
History
The University of Dublin was modelled on the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
and the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
as a
collegiate university
A collegiate university is a university in which functions are divided between a central administration and a number of constituent colleges. Historically, the first collegiate university was the University of Paris and its first college was the C ...
, Trinity College being named by
Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
El ...
as the ''mater universitatis'' ("mother of the university"). The founding charter also conferred a general power on the college to make provision for university functions to be carried out. So, for example, the charter while naming the first provost of the college, the first fellows ("in place of many') and the first scholars, in addition named The 1st Baron Burghley to be the first
chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
of the university. No other college has ever been established, and Trinity remains the sole constituent college of the university. The project of establishing another college within the university was seriously considered on at least two occasions, but the required finance or endowment was never available.
The most recent authoritative statement of the position is in the Universities Act 1997. The section relating to interpretation specifies:
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
issued the
letters patent
Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...
in 1857 giving formal legal foundation to the senate, and other authorities specific to the university. Subsequently, in a remarkable High Court case of 1898, the provost, fellows and scholars of Trinity were the claimants and the chancellor, doctors and masters of the University of Dublin were among the defendants, and the court held that Trinity College and the University of Dublin "are one body".Dublin: The High Court of Justice of Ireland, as published by Trinity College Dublin in Volume II of ''Chartae et Statuta Collegii Sacrosanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin'', 1898, pages 507–536, in re ''The Provost, Fellows and Scholars of Trinity College, Dublin v. the Attorney General, the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin and the Trustees and Executors of the will of the late Richard Tuohill Reid'', holding that Trinity College and the University of Dublin "are one body." The judge noted pointedly (referring to the then recent founding of
University College Dublin
University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...
) that " e advisers of Queen Victoria knew how to incorporate a University when they meant to do so" and that the letters patent dealt with "not the incorporation of the University of Dublin but of its Senate merely".
Notwithstanding, the statutes of the university and the college grant the university separate corporate legal rights to own property, borrow money, employ staff, and also enable it to sue and be sued as occurred in the case referred to above. To date the other rights have not been exercised. Current officers of the university are either unpaid and purely honorary (chancellor, pro-chancellor), or have duties relating to the college also, for which they are paid, but by the college (the proctors, the registrar, the mace bearer).
Some of the legal definitions and differences between college and university were discussed in the reform of the university and college in the Charters and Letters Patent Amendment Bill, which later became law, but many of the college contributions to this were unclear or not comprehensive, possibly because it concerned an internal dispute within college as to outside interference and also as misconduct by college authorities in overseeing voting, which led to a
visitor
A visitor, in English and Welsh law and history, is an overseer of an autonomous ecclesiastical or eleemosynary institution, often a charitable institution set up for the perpetual distribution of the founder's alms and bounty, who can interve ...
's enquiry which in turn found problems with the voting procedures and ordered a repeat ballot. Further contributions on the relationship between college and university can be found in submissions to the Oireachtas on reform of
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house).
It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...
, the
upper house
An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...
of the Irish
Oireachtas
The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:
*The President of Ireland
*The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...
, since the university elects members to that body), and in particular the verbal submission of the provost.
Traditionally, sport clubs also use the name "Dublin University", rather than "Trinity College".
The coat of arms bearing the seal was officially assigned to the University Senate on 28 March 1862. The original seal contained the Latin text ''Senatus Universitatis Dubliniensis''.
Organisation
The university is governed by the university senate, chaired by the chancellor or their pro-chancellor. While the Senate was formally constituted by the Letters Patent of 1857 as a
body corporate
In law, a legal person is any person or 'thing' (less ambiguously, any legal entity) that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, sue and be sued, own property, and so on. The reason for ...
under the name, style, and title of "The Chancellor, Doctors, and Masters of the University of Dublin", it had existed since soon after the foundation of Trinity College being brought into being by the enabling powers contained in the founding Charter. Consequently, the Letters Patent had the effect of converting a preexisting non-incorporated body relying on custom, practice and precedent to establish its authority into a corporate body clearly, and explicitly established in law. The Letters Patent empowered the university senate by stating:
The Letters Patent also defined the composition of the Senate:
Each meeting of the Senate is headed by a "caput", consisting of the chancellor, the provost of Trinity College and the senior master non-regent. The practical significance of the caput is that no meeting of the Senate may be convened without it, and each member of the caput has an individual veto on all decisions of the Senate. In attendance also are, usually, the registrar (who is responsible for legal and administrative matters) and the junior and senior proctors (who present undergraduate and postgraduate candidates for degree commencement ceremonies). There is also a mace holder, the chief steward (responsible for college security) or his deputy, who proceeds the caput in a procession. (Attendees stand while the procession progresses to the head of the room). Meetings of the Senate are of two kinds. Meetings to confer degrees, which, according to ancient usage, are known in the university as "public commencements" and are the most numerous, and business meetings (usually one a year), which are concerned with university business other than degree conferring.
In each academic year, the Senate holds not less than four stated meetings for the conferring of degrees; of these meetings, two are held in
Michaelmas Term
Michaelmas term is the first academic term of the academic year in a number of English-speaking universities and schools in the northern hemisphere, especially in the United Kingdom. Michaelmas term derives its name from the Feast of St Micha ...
, and two in Trinity Term. The proceedings of these meetings, conducted in a highly formal and scripted manner, are carried out in Latin. The meeting is held in public and can be attended by persons who are not members of the Senate, mostly relatives of people about to receive degrees, although, of course, only members of the Senate, wearing the correct academic dress participate in the formal business, and actually vote, save that general applause is encouraged when relevant. Although voting takes place at these meetings, discussion does not. Voting takes place to elect a senior master non regent, or on whether degrees should be conferred on named candidates. As the lists of persons to receive degrees are voted on en bloc, and as the lists require the prior approval of the board, which itself receives the names of candidates as agreed by boards of examiners, it can be seen that the vote is purely formal, as it is difficult to see any practical circumstances in which it would be legitimate for a member of the Senate to attend a commencements and register an objection. Honorary degrees, while being conferred at a commencements are not even formally voted on there. Voting on a candidate for an honorary degree takes place earlier, at the previous business meeting of the Senate, so if any objection to a proposed honorary degree award is to be made, it must be made then. It follows that there is no opportunity at the public commencements to object to an honorary degree.
At the first public commencements of the academic year the senior master non-regent is elected on the proposition of the chancellor and the provost. The Senate votes on the name put forward by a voice vote, in Latin. The senior master non regent is elected for a one-year term, but may be re elected. (A Master of Arts is called a regent during the three years following the time when he or she took that degree; subsequently he or she is designated as non-regent, and one elected by the Senate from among the masters non-regent, by statute, is, according to ancient usage, designated as "senior master non-regent".) The senior and junior proctors and the registrar also make the declaration which is appropriate to their respective offices at that meeting. These officers, although officers of the university, are appointed by the board of the college, one of a number of examples of the line being blurred between university and college, due to history of the arrangement. In the same way, the senior master non-regent, although they could be any non-regent master of the university, is usually the most senior fellow of the college, who does not otherwise hold any college office. Further the provost, while primarily the head of the college, holds a university office as one of the three caput members. As this gives the provost a veto on all university business, this underlines the significance of that office.
These ceremonies are usually conducted in the Public Theatre in Parliament Square of Trinity College. As business is conducted in Latin the Chief Steward verbally asks for candidates to be put under scrutiny by saying "ad scrutinum", with the Doctors and Masters of the Senate present then asked in turn as distinct groups to consent to the degree being awarded to the candidate. (if they consent they say "Placet", if they do not consent they say "non-placet")
The Senate also holds a stated meeting in
Hilary Term
Hilary term is the second academic term of the University of Oxford The University Council is in effect part of the college, and not of the university. It is chaired by the provost, has the senior lecturer of the college as secretary, and governs academic matters. All decisions of the University Council require the approval of the board, but in general any decision of the council that does not require additional financial expenditure is agreed, often without discussion. The Senate also elects members to the Library Committee which oversees the
Trinity College Library
The Library of Trinity College Dublin () serves Trinity College and the University of Dublin. It is a legal deposit or "copyright library", under which, publishers in Ireland must deposit a copy of all their publications there, without charge ...
.
The Visitors are also dealt with in statutes. They consist of the chancellor of the university and one other person, usually, in modern times, a member of the Judiciary, and whose appointment requires the approval of the Senate. (So, in effect, both Visitors are university, not college appointments.) They are a final appeal should anyone contest a decision of the board or a procedure within college which has been appealed through departmental school, faculty, council, and board levels and is still contested. The visitors can therefore overturn a decision of the board. Given the chancellor of the university is one of two visitors and has the overall authority in difference of opinion between both visitors, it would seem the board of the college has also some degree of subsidiarity to the university.
It would be fair to say that the practical influence of the Senate has tended to diminish, as at one time it was the only formally constituted forum at which staff of the college, in particular those who were not Fellows, could have an input into the governance of the college and university. With the addition of elected representatives to the board, and the constitution of the council, which was largely elected from the start, issues which might once have been the subject of heated debate at a business meeting of the Senate are now decided elsewhere, with controversy mostly exhausted by the time an issue gets to the Senate for final determination. Consequently, the real importance of the Senate is as a mechanism to ensure that the other bodies carry out their functions properly lest they be queried at a Senate meeting.
Current officers
Mary McAleese
Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ga, Máire Pádraigín Mhic Ghiolla Íosa; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer and former politician who served as the eighth president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. She is an academic ...
is the current chancellor of the university, its titular head, and there are six pro-chancellors, who can act in her place. In March 2015, they were Professor Dermot F McAleese, Professor John Scattergood, Mary Henry,
Edward McParland
Edward Joseph McParland is an Irish architectural historian and author. He was elected as Pro-Chancellor of University of Dublin, Trinity College in 2013, and continues to give lectures after his retirement in 2008. McParland is the co-founder o ...
,
Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell
Dame Susan Jocelyn Bell Burnell (; Bell; born 15 July 1943) is an astrophysicist from Northern Ireland who, as a postgraduate student, discovered the first radio pulsars in 1967. The discovery eventually earned the Nobel Prize in Physics in ...
and
Sir Donnell Deeny
Sir Donnell Justin Patrick Deeny , KC, SC (born 25 April 1950), styled as the Rt Hon Sir Donnell Deeny, is a mediator and arbitrator (ACIArb) and a former member of the Court of Appeal of Northern Ireland.
Sir Donnell is also member of the Court ...
. The chancellor and pro-chancellors are elected by the Senate. This is a function carried out without the intervention of the board, and so is entirely a university matter. This was not always the case, as the founding Charter of Queen Elizabeth I specified that successors to the first chancellor were to be elected by the Fellows, then when, later, the board of the college was established this power of election passed to it. The letters patent of Victoria as part of incorporating the Senate transferred the right of election to the Senate. The actual election procedures are set out in the university statutes. The current process is that when a vacancy for chancellor or pro chancellor occurs notice of this is sent by post to all members of the Senate who are invited to nominate candidates. In the event of a contest a secret ballot of senators is held at a special convened meeting of the Senate.
Senate composition
The undermentioned persons are members of the Senate, provided that in each case
they are doctors or masters of the university:
# Resident doctors or masters of the university, that is, doctors or masters who are not members of the college or university staff but who hold rooms in college or are in attendance on lectures in arts or in the professional schools.
# Doctors and masters of the university who have held a Studentship of the university, or are Moderators who have been awarded a large
gold medal
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture.
Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...
, or moderators who have received a gold medal in or after 1935, or moderators who have received two moderatorships of a class higher than class III, and who have applied to the registrar of the Senate for membership of the Senate, without payment of fee.
# Former Fellows of the college.
# Representatives and former representatives of the university in Seanad Éireann.
# Members of the staff of the college or university, during their tenure of office.
# Doctors or masters of the university who have applied to the registrar of the Senate for membership of the Senate, and have paid a fee of (£5 in 1966 – €65 in 2012)
(Although these rules make every holder of master's degree or a doctorate eligible to be a member of the University Senate, they in practice facilitate a membership consisting largely of members of the staff of the college. Consequently, while the Senate in Dublin formally, or potentially resembles in composition the Senate at Cambridge, in practice it has a similar composition to the
Regent House
The Regent House is the governing body of the University of Cambridge. It consists of most academic and academic-related staff of the University's colleges and departments. It currently has more than 3,000 members.
Meetings of the Regent House a ...
at Cambridge.)
Degrees
Graduates of liberal degrees, i.e. non-professional such as Humanities or Science, receive an honours Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Dublin after four years study in Trinity College, but may receive an ordinary B.A. after three years' study. A minority of courses result in the award of degrees by other names, such as Bachelor of Science. Bachelors of at least three years' standing may proceed to the degree of
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
. Graduates in professional subjects such as Medicine, Dentistry or Engineering, receive professional degrees; these were in the past postgraduate, and consequently the graduands have an ordinary BA conferred on them first, followed by the relevant professional degree. In modern times they receive all their degrees at the same commencements, but (as with other non-professional degrees) they are technically eligible for the ordinary BA after the first three years of study.
Apart from MA degrees awarded on the basis of standing, the university may also award an MA degree to holders of Oxford and Cambridge MAs. This is a reciprocal arrangement with Dublin University MA degree holders being entitled, in turn, to apply for an MA from Oxford or Cambridge respectively. This originates from a medieval system of accreditation or degree recognition and is a formal statement that the degree from the other university is recognised. Currently the three universities have agreed that this degree will only be conferred in special cases, usually when the applicant is a member of staff away from their "Alma Mater" and require a Master's to participate fully in university governance.
Members of staff at Trinity College whose degrees are not from the University of Dublin, and do not qualify for an MA , may have the degree MA conferred. There are detailed rules for this, consisting of statutes proposed by the board and agreed by the Senate at a business meeting, with entitlement to the MA being based on years of service. Consequently, all the staff of the college after serving a qualifying period, can expect to receive the degree and so be able to enjoy membership of the Senate. (The practical significance of this is that the tendency for the great majority of participants in Senate business meetings to be members of staff of the college is reinforced.)
Other persons, holding specified kinds of high office may qualify for a degree Jure Dignatatis, but the awards of such degrees are now very rare having essentially been superseded by the practice of awarding honorary degrees.
At a point when women were allowed to study at Oxford and Cambridge, and be examined, and have the results published, but not receive degrees from their universities, they were able to obtain the relevant degree from the University of Dublin using the ''ad eundem gradum'' provision. As they had to travel to Dublin for the purpose, but had no other contact with the university they were known as the
steamboat ladies
"Steamboat ladies" was a nickname given to a number of female students at the women's colleges of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge who were awarded ''ad eundem'' University of Dublin degrees at Trinity College Dublin, between 1904 and 19 ...
.
From 1975 University of Dublin degrees were awarded to graduates at the colleges of the
Dublin Institute of Technology
Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT, ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Cliath) was a major third-level institution in Dublin, Ireland. On 1 January 2019 DIT was dissolved and its functions were transferred to the Technological Un ...
(DIT); this practice continued until 1998 when DIT gained the ability to award degrees in its own right. These two cases are examples of degrees being awarded by the University of Dublin to persons who have undertaken study and examination at institutions other than Trinity College, and without having been in any sense students at Trinity College.
Admissions
Undergraduate applications to the University of Dublin from Irish, British and European Union applicants are submitted through the
Central Applications Office
The Central Applications Office (CAO) ( ga, An LárOifig Iontrála) is the organisation responsible for overseeing undergraduate applications to colleges and universities in the Republic of Ireland.
The primary mission of the Central Application ...
system. However, as the sole constituent college of the university, all applications must be made to
Trinity College Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
as no admissions office exists outside of the college's jurisdiction. Decisions on admissions to undergraduate courses are made by the Academic Registry who instruct the CAO to make offers to successful candidates. Admission to the university is highly competitive, and based exclusively on academic merit. In order to be considered for admission, all applicants must first reach the university's minimal matriculation requirements, which typically involves holding sufficient recognised
qualifications
Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to:
* Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...
in English, Mathematics and a second language, however, the Mathematics requirement can be waived if Latin is presented as a second language. Furthermore, applicants for certain courses may be required to achieve more specific qualifications than those prescribed for minimum matriculation requirements. Eligible applicants must then compete for places based on the results of their school leaving examinations, however, applicants can additionally take
matriculation examination
A matriculation examination or matriculation exam is a university entrance examination, which is typically held towards the end of secondary school. After passing the examination, a student receives a school leaving certificate recognising academi ...
s which are held in the university in April, in which each subject is considered equivalent to that of the
Irish Leaving Certificate
The Leaving Certificate Examination ('' ga, Scrúdú na hArdteistiméireachta''), commonly referred to as the Leaving Cert or (informally) the Leaving ('' ga, Ardteist , links=no''), is the final exam of the Irish secondary school system and th ...
. Applications for restricted courses require further assessment considered in the admissions process, such as the
Health Professions Admissions Test
The Health Professions Admissions Test (HPAT) is a university admissions test. It is used by all universities in Ireland for admissions to medicine courses, and by the University of Ulster
sco, Ulstèr Universitie
, image = Ulster ...
(HPAT) for medicine or entrance tests for music and drama courses. As applications for most courses far exceeds available places, admission is highly selective, demanding excellent grades in the aforementioned examinations. Through the
CAO Cao or CAO may refer to:
Mythology
*Cao (bull), a legendary bull in Meitei mythology
Companies or organizations
* Air China Cargo, ICAO airline designator CAO
*CA Oradea, Romanian football club
*CA Osasuna, Spanish football club
*Canadian Assoc ...
, candidates may list several courses at Trinity College and at other third-level institutions in Ireland in order of preference. Places are awarded in mid-August every year by the
CAO Cao or CAO may refer to:
Mythology
*Cao (bull), a legendary bull in Meitei mythology
Companies or organizations
* Air China Cargo, ICAO airline designator CAO
*CA Oradea, Romanian football club
*CA Osasuna, Spanish football club
*Canadian Assoc ...
after matching the number of places available to the academic attainments of the applicants. Qualifications are measured as "points", with specific scales for the Leaving Certificate, UK GCE
A-level
The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...
, the
International Baccalaureate
The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...
and all other European Union school leaving examinations.
For applicants who are not citizens or residents of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, different application procedures apply.; 16% of students are from outside Ireland, and 40% of these are from outside the European Union. Disadvantaged, disabled, or mature students can also be admitted through a program that is separate from the
CAO Cao or CAO may refer to:
Mythology
*Cao (bull), a legendary bull in Meitei mythology
Companies or organizations
* Air China Cargo, ICAO airline designator CAO
*CA Oradea, Romanian football club
*CA Osasuna, Spanish football club
*Canadian Assoc ...
, the Trinity Access Programme, which aims to facilitate the entry of sectors of society which would otherwise be under-represented. The numbers admitted on this program are significant relative to other universities, up to 15% of the annual undergraduate intake.
Admission to graduate study at the university is handled directly by Trinity College.
Parliamentary representation
The university has been represented since 1613 when
King James I
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
granted it the right to elect two members of parliament (MPs) to the
Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fra ...
. When the
Kingdom of Ireland
The Kingdom of Ireland ( ga, label=Classical Irish, an Ríoghacht Éireann; ga, label=Modern Irish, an Ríocht Éireann, ) was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed from ...
and the
Kingdom of Great Britain
The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...
were joined with the Act of Union, which came into force in January 1801, the university sent one MP to the
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England.
The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...
at
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
until 1832, when it was given another. It continued to elect two until the establishment of the
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...
in December 1922. The
Government of Ireland Act 1920
The Government of Ireland Act 1920 (10 & 11 Geo. 5 c. 67) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act's long title was "An Act to provide for the better government of Ireland"; it is also known as the Fourth Home Rule Bill ...
provided for a
House of Commons of Southern Ireland
The Parliament of Southern Ireland was a Home Rule legislature established by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was designed to legislate for Southern Ireland,"Order in Cou ...
, for which the university was to elect four MPs. As in
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
, where university representatives were MPs and not
peers
Peers may refer to:
People
* Donald Peers
* Edgar Allison Peers, English academician
* Gavin Peers
* John Peers, Australian tennis player
* Kerry Peers
* Mark Peers
* Michael Peers
* Steve Peers
* Teddy Peers (1886–1935), Welsh international ...
, University of Dublin seats were in the Dáil and not the Seanad. These were the only MPs to attend the opening of the House in 1921 since
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
candidates in the twenty-six counties were returned unopposed and took the other 128 of the 132 seats. Sinn Féin recognised their own parliament determined by the Irish people as distinct to any continuation of British legislative rule under the British Government of Ireland Act. From 1923 to 1936, the university elected three TDs to sit in
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...
. Since the new Constitution of Ireland in 1937, the university has elected three Senators to
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house).
It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...
Lynn Ruane
Lynn Ruane (born 20 October 1984) is an Irish politician who has served as an independent Senator for the Dublin University constituency in Seanad Éireann since April 2016. She was the President of the Trinity College Dublin Students' Union fr ...
and
Tom Clonan
Thomas Martin Clonan is an Irish senator, security analyst, author and retired Irish Army Captain. He was elected to Seanad Eireann in March 2022 in the 2022 Dublin University by-election.
Military career
Clonan grew up in Finglas, Dublin an ...
. Notable representatives have included Edward Gibson,
W. E. H. Lecky
William Edward Hartpole Lecky (26 March 1838 – 22 October 1903) was an Irish historian, essayist, and political theorist with Whig proclivities. His major work was an eight-volume ''History of Ireland during the Eighteenth Century''.
Early ...
Noel Browne
Noel or Noël may refer to:
Christmas
* , French for Christmas
* Noel is another name for a Christmas carol
Places
* Noel, Missouri, United States, a city
*Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community
* 1563 Noël, an asteroid
*Mount Noel, Britis ...
,
Conor Cruise O'Brien
Donal Conor David Dermot Donat Cruise O'Brien (3 November 1917 – 18 December 2008), often nicknamed "The Cruiser", was an Irish diplomat, politician, writer, historian and academic, who served as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs from 1973 ...
and Mary Robinson.
The franchise was originally restricted to the Provost, Fellows and scholars of Trinity College. This was expanded in 1832 to include those who had received an MA and in 1918 to all those who had received a degree from the university.
List of alumni of the University of Dublin
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
List of chancellors of the University of Dublin
Introduction
This is a list of Chancellor (education), chancellors of the University of Dublin, founded in 1592.
Chancellors of the University of Dublin
* 1592 – 1598: William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, The 1st Baron Burghley
* 1598 &ndas ...