Trinity College Dublin is renaming its main library after the acclaimed Irish poet Eavan Boland, making the library the first building on the college's campus to be named after a woman.
It had been decided in April 2023 that the continued use of George Berkeley’s name on its main library was inconsistent with the university’s core values, as his history as a slave-owner had been well documented since the naming of the library in 1978.
After a process of deliberation including consideration of the 855 public submissions, the college identified several options for the renaming of the library, with their preferred recommendation being The Eavan Boland Library.
Other names put forward for the library included Francis Sheehy Skeffington, Paul Koralek (the architect of the Library building), Oscar Wilde and Wolfe Tone.
Eavan Boland was one of the foremost women in Irish literature, publishing many collections of poetry, a memoir Object Lessons (1995), as well as teaching and lecturing in Ireland and in the US.
Provost Dr Linda Doyle said: “It is a fitting recognition of Eavan Boland’s poetic genius that our main library, used by so many students and staff, will now carry her name.
"Eavan’s poetry is well-known across the generations, and her outstanding artistic contribution to highlighting the role of women in Irish society is widely appreciated.
"I want to sincerely thank everyone who participated in the process that has led us to today’s decision. It was marked by broad consultation and very thoughtful conversations.”
Senior dean and chair of the Trinity Legacies Review Working Group, Professor Eoin O'Sullivan, said: “We arrived at this point because of the hard work and conviction of many people in Trinity’s community, not least the students who not only called for a change in the Library’s name, but who worked with us to achieve that change.
"We are grateful for the 855 submissions from within Trinity and outside which animated our deliberations and reflections on the matter.”
