Trinity and Ireland
A History of Trinity College, Dublin, 1892-1945. By Kenneth C. Bailey. (The University Press, Trinity College, Dublin. 15s.) IN this book Dr. Bailey, the Registrar of the College, takes up the story which pr. Constantia Maxwell has traced in a companion volume up to the tercentenary celebrations of Trinity's foundation. Throughout he stresses the special position which Trinity occupies in Irish life, and also shows that the belief in friendship between Ireland and England which many Trinity men hold is not incom- patible with Irish patriotism. Although historically an English foundation, the college, he emphasises, has its roots deep in the soil of Ireland, both of the past and the present. Not only have Trinity men been numbered among leading Irish patriots, but they have also contributed richly to the study of Celtic language and literature, and they continue to take today, as they did in the past, an active part in all aspects of the country's life.
The charge is often levelled at Trinity and at Irish universities that they " educate for export," but Dr. Bailey declares they just educate," and that, as soon as Ireland is able to provide profitable employment for all her graduates, few of them will in fact want to leave their native land. M.-anwhile, many of those who have crossed the seas have made valuable contributions in peace and in war to the life of their new homelands. Their names appear in a chapter listing some of Trinity's greatest sons whose deaths occurred in the period under review. To the general reader the chapter on university reform in Ireland, with three Royal Commissions report- ing during the short space of twenty years, will be of greatest interest. It tells of the Roman Catholic dissatisfaction with the provisions for university education in Ireland, and of the various solutions which were advanced. The British Government's plan, known as the Bryce Scheme, was received favourably neither by the Roman Catholic leaders nor by the university colleges. Trinity College itself was anxious not to lose its distinctive character, and the soiution which was adopted in 1909 left alongside a new National University of Ireland (with constituent colleges in Dublin, Cork and Galway) and a new Queen's University of Belfast, a Trinity College still enjoying its well-established independence.
One of the many consequences of Trinity men's part in the first world war was the serious loss in income which the college ex- perienced. When hostilities Came to an end, it was not in a position to undertake the much-desired expansion of facilities. :In 192o—a year before the Irish Free State was created—a Royal Commission assessed the college's needs, andiater it was intended that the new State should undertake to make an annual grant of L30,000 to the college's funds. But in the confusion of treaty-making the Britih Government overlooked the, matter, and Trinity's hopes were dis- appointed. The college, of course, did not hesitate to give to the
new settlement its full and loyal support, but at. the same time remained jealous of any interference in its internal affairs. And, despite continued financial difficulties, Trinity offers today to its students a greater choice in their studies than it did fifty years ago ; it has more professional schools, more courses, a larger staff, and has adapted itself to a great many of the needs of our ever-developing
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