Trinity College Dublin to 'dename' library named after slave owner
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Trinity College Dublin (TCD) has confirmed it plans to "dename" its largest library which is currently named after a slave owner.
The Berkeley Library is named after George Berkeley who is a world-renowned philosopher and worked as a librarian at Trinity.
Berkeley bought slaves to work at his US estate in Rhode Island in 1730-31 and also sought to advance ideology in support of slavery.
Concerns about the college library, which was named in 1978, being associated with a slave owner were raised in recent months and a working group was established to examine the situation.
Today, it was decided that retaining the name would be inconsistent with TCD's core values and should therefore be denamed.
The University’s Board and Trinity Legacies Review Working Group said the decision does not deny Berkeley's importance as a writer or philosopher.
His work, some of which were published during his time at TCD, will still be taught at the college.
"George Berkeley’s enormous contribution to philosophical thought is not in question," said Trinity's Provost Dr Linda Doyle.
"However, it is also clear that he was both an owner of enslaved people and a theorist of slavery and racial discrimination, which is in clear conflict with Trinity’s core values.”
The college also decided to adopt a 'retain and explain' approach to a stained glass window on campus that commemorates Berkeley.
Portraits depicting Berkeley will be assessed in the future by a new overall college policy on artwork, while the academic gold medals memorialising Berkeley will be reviewed by the relevant academic department.
Dr Doyle said that it was the students who called for the issue of retaining the slave owner's name for the library to be addressed.
"The landscape of a university, especially one as old as Trinity, is not static. Each generation of students and staff deserves a chance to influence decisions," she said.
The working group received almost 100 submissions from members of the public, alumni and current staff and students.
Professor Eoin O'Sullivan, Senior Dean and Chair of the Trinity Legacies Review Working Group, said the group looked to the pioneering work at universities around the world that faced similar issues.
"As we reckon with our past, we are committed to addressing issues around Trinity’s complex legacy, from an evidence-based perspective and on a case-by-case basis," said Prof O'Sullivan.
The library was simply called the 'New Library' for the first 11 years after it was opened.
A separate process will determine what the new name for the library will be.