TRINITY COLLEGE

Tuesday morning was cold and wet, but we made the most of it with a tour of Trinity College, the oldest college in Europe that is still functioning as a school. Our tour guide was Eoin (pronounced “Owen”), and he is currently enrolled there. All seven of us really enjoyed his tour because he was an excellent guide and an even better storyteller. 

The first story Eoin told us about was about “The Mean Dean”. In 1734, Dean Edward Ford was apparently really mean and strict, so in the middle of the night some drunk kids started throwing rocks at his first floor bedroom window. Obviously, that upset the Dean, so he threatened to shoot, which only incited the kids further. The Dean did shoot one of the kids in the arm, which scared them back to their dorms…or so he thought. They came back later that night, and threw more rocks until the Dean came to his window again. That’s when the kids shot him and the Dean fell out of his window to the ground, dead as can be. The kids eventually went to trial, but all of their families were very rich and powerful, and all the parties involved on that fateful evening were either too drunk or too dead to prove anyone’s guilt, so the students spent no time in prison. Ultimately though, two of the students ended up in Parliament!

Another amazing story is about Roger Salmon. Yes, the fish. Roger Salmon was the mean old Provost of Trinity from 1888 until his death in 1904. He did not want women to come to his school, under any circumstances. Eoin said that he used the phrase, “over my dead body” when he was asked if women could attend Trinity. Well, the first woman was eventually accepted but her entry exam was canceled because it fell on the day of Roger Salmon's funeral! Now, all of the women take photos with his statue on their graduation, and they decorate him. I bet he is rolling around in his grave! 

An example found on the internet

I really liked our tour of Trinity College; we all had an amazing experience! We also saw the Books of Kells and The Old Library, which was really cool. I definitely recommend coming here, even if it’s raining.