Last night saw the launch of the fourth volume of Trinity Tales, a series of books detailing life in College through contributions from various alumni. Each book is based around a decade, with the first dealing with the 1960s. Published by The Lilliput Press, this volume was edited by Catherine Heaney and has contributions from actor Dominic West, comedian Mario Rosenstock, politician Paschal Donohoe and novelist John Boyne amongst many others.
The launch was attend by 40 or so people, and included speeches from Heaney, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences Prof. Darryl Jones, as well as readings from two of the contributors. Heaney spoke of being sent to the Old Library during her first lecture in History of Art to look at the Book of Kells and wondered if this tradition continues on today.
Heaney went on to speak of how College in the 1990s was caught between the recession-wracked 1980s on one side, and the “brash noughties” on the other. This was also the decade that saw the huge changes brought about by the rise of computers within universities, explained Heaney, where students went from complete reliance on books to the arrival of computers in a manner of years.
Prof. Jones spoke at length about what universities in general and Trinity specifically are, listing off a variety of possible answers from research institute to dating agency. He proceeded to speak about the “real, imaginative life of the university”, the importance of the “plurality of experiences” one has access when a student and how universities are reliant upon the “dynamic tension” of fulfilling their many roles.
The two speeches were followed up by readings from two contributors, who spoke about finding love, studying in the library, and more generally about the commonalities of experience (such as Trinity Ball) and the great differences over the decade.