Trinity College Dublin was founded in 1592 after a small group of citizens obtained a charter from Queen Elizabeth I, making it the oldest university in Ireland and one of the oldest in Europe.

Two years later, a few Fellows and students began to work in the new College, which then consisted of one small square. Over the next century, a curriculum was devised and statutes were framed. Endowments, including considerable landed estates, were secured, new fellowships were founded and the books that formed the beginning of the great library were acquired.

While Medicine has been taught at the College since 1711, legislation passed in 1800 would formally establish the influence of Trinity College on the great age of Dublin medicine.

Present day Trinity College Dublin has over 40 departments offering a wide variety of courses. The College's library is currently one of the largest in Europe housing over 3 million volumes to its collection. Today's enrollment at Trinity stands at approximately 13,000.

About The Medical School

The medical degree program at Trinity is five years in length.

Over the first and second years, students study the structure and function of the human body in health and disease, analyze some of the ethical issues of medical practice and begin to acquire experience in clinical skills. A research module, beginning in second year, provides a sound understanding of the principles of research.

Exposure to the hospital setting occurs progressively from the end of the second year. The hospital attachments program begins with an introductory clinical course in the final term of the second year, comprising lectures, clinical demonstrations and bedside tutorials. From the beginning of the third year, students attend hospitals, taking rotations in Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Community Health, General Practice and Ophthalmology/E.N.T.

The Teaching Hospitals

Trinity’s main teaching hospitals in Dublin are St James’ Hospital and the Adelaide and Meath Hospital (incorporating the National Children’s Hospital, Tallaght), both modern tertiary level hospitals with many specialist units.

Training is also provided at regional hospitals around Ireland and in many dedicated specialist hospitals throughout the city. These include the Coombe Women’s Hospital, the Rotunda Maternity Hospital, Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, the Central Mental Hospital, St Luke’s Hospital, the Royal Victoria Eye & Ear Hospital and St Patrick’s Hospital.

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