Hall of Honour Memorial Stone to Remember Trinity WWI War Dead

Posted on: 17 July 2015

In honour of the Trinity College Dublin students, staff and alumni who lost their lives in World War I, a memorial stone at the Hall of Honour, Front Square will be unveiled at a special ceremony on Saturday 26 September 2015.

Thousands of Trinity students, staff and alumni fought, and 471 died, in military service during the Great War. Those who died are remembered in Trinity's Hall of Honour which acts as the entrance of the 1937 Reading Room in Front Square.  

The Hall of Honour was officially opened in 1928 by the Vice-Chancellor Lord Glenavy in the presence of Provost E. J. Gwynn and invited guests. A two-minute silent black and white film of the event, by British Pathé, may be seen here.

The Provost, Dr Patrick Prendergast decided that one of the key Decade of Commemorations events for the University would be the commissioning, installation and unveiling of a memorial stone, to be placed at the front of the Hall of Honour, drawing attention to nature of the building behind it. Sculptor Stephen Burke accepted the commission.

The unveiling of the Hall of Honour Memorial Stone is just one of the many events organised throughout the University to raise awareness of the events being commemorated in the decade up to 2023. In July 2014 Trinity, in collaboration with RTÉ; and the National Library, hosted the World War I Roadshow which saw many hundreds of visitors from all over Ireland visit the campus to have their War-related memorabilia imaged for inclusion in the Europeana library.

The Hall of Honour Memorial Stone unveiling ceremony will begin at 11.00am on Saturday 26 September 2015 and will be followed by a reception in the Dining Hall. All are welcome. More information can be found here.