Trinity College, the single constituent college of the University of Dublin, was founded by Queen Elizabeth I in 1592, and so celebrated its first Quatercentenary in 1992. It is the oldest university in Ireland and one of the older universities of Western Europe. Based on the general pattern of the ancient colleges at Oxford and Cambridge, Trinity has a main campus extending over 40 acres in a unique site in the heart of the city.

Clearly most academic activity is concentrated in the main college campus. However recent developments have allowed expansion of the Health Sciences Faculty off -campus, in two major locations – a purpose built facility in the largest teaching hospital in Ireland, at St. James’s Hospital in Dublin and another in a newly completed regional general hospital in the Dublin suburbs at Tallaght.

The vigour of any university must be judged by its commitment to research. In the early twenty-first century, this often takes the form of partnership with major international companies or of inter-institutional co-operation within the framework of programmes of the European community, and in both Trinity is in a leading position in Ireland. The total income from research in the last year was €24.8 million, up by 25% from the previous year. Over 50% of this, for the first time, came from Irish sources, reflecting the new research support environment in Ireland.

In other fields, the Library is the heart of research activity, and here Trinity is particularly fortunate. With a bookstock of over 4 million volumes the College Library is one of the largest in Europe and will benefit this year from a major multi-million pound expansion of its open-access book-stacks and reading space. Along with the British Library in London and the university libraries at Oxford and Cambridge, it enjoys the privilege of receiving all Irish and U.K. copyright material.

The University is controlled by a Board, chaired by the Provost. Academic matters are under the control of the University Council, again chaired by the Provost. There are six faculties in the university: Arts (Humanities), Arts (Letters), Business, Economic and Social Studies, Engineering and Systems Sciences, Health Sciences and Science.