Papers of James Meenan – Move of UCD to Belfield

72 U.C.D. and the Future

Part of the accommodation trouble at U.C.D. is that students who take a course that involves the study of science have not touched the subject previously. These students should not be accepted by the university authorities until they have undergone a satisfactory course. It would hardly be fair to require from Irish students the high standard in scientific subjects that is necessary to gain admission to an English or Scottish university. To get the best results from university education involves a much higher standard of technical and secondary education, a considerable increase in scholarships to attend these schools, and far more generous provision in the matter of university scholarships than is at present available.

More technological institutes, such as those provided at Bolton Street and Kevin Street (Dublin) will have to be erected. The provision of such a college in Limerick where a demand exists for the establishment of a constituent college of the N.U.I may be an acceptable solution. The writer would suggest that any institute established at Limerick should provide for the needs of the higher management in the building industry and for the large numbers who engage in estate dealings and management without any technical qualification (at present not more than a dozen or so of the firms in the Republic who engage in this work possess staff who hold professional qualifications). The recognition of course outside the college as acceptable to it would, of course, require an alteration in the College statutes.

One proposal in the Commission's report that interests the present writer particularly is that to establish a school of geography at U.C.D. It is hoped that the proposed school will include a course in advanced land surveying similar to that at Bristol and other universities. U.C.D. also requires, as a matter of urgency, better facilities for hydraulic research, and this should be met regardless of what decision is come to on the Commission's report.

The Commission consider that, for the proposed buildings at Stillorgan Road, an open architectural competition is desirable and that the scheme should include a great hall to serve, as required, as a concert hall. It is estimated that the college would take up to ten years to build, and in the view of one member of the Commission the proposal would cost nearly £10,000,000 to build.

Appendix J

SOME OTHER VIEWS

(i) An Article from 'The Tablet' (4th July, 1958)

"To Dublin to Study" -- by Dermot F. T. Engelfield

There were moments of peacefulness, a solitary figure brushing leaves in the College Park at Trinity or the gardens of University College, quietness set in the middle of the city's bustle. The tensions of life then were lowered as they should be in a university city, and having reached this new equilibrium, mind and feeling started to work. No one could truly reveal this personality of Dublin, important as it is when assessing it as a university centre, but I was soon to find there were more tangible riches to be found there.

Very little has been written about the most satisfactory urban setting for

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universities, but if some budding Ph.D. is at this moment discussing it with his tutor he might seriously consider making a start with Dublin. What first struck me was the almost ideal balance there was between City and Universities. Beyond academic walls the busy life of an industrial centre, a port, a capital with an active parliamentary government, all linked to the world through an international airport, dealt with the ever passing problems of balancing supply and demand-- the essence of practical living. It treated the universities with quiet approval, it seldom strayed through their gates. I was reminded how unbalanced in one way are Oxford and Cambridge, where the many university buildings predominate, or how unbalanced in the other way are Manchester or London where the university is an intellectual island set in a sea of commerce. But in Dublin, if at Trinity, one led a fully residential life, and even if living in hostels or rooms students were accepted as part of the life of the city without being allowed to push the citizens off the pavements. There were no self-conscious students' quarters; the whole city was there to enrich one's background. Let me turn then to the more practical advantages of Dublin a university city.

There were the theatres which enlivened the study of drama, especially that of the eighteenth century. The tradition of the 'little theatres' kept one abreast of modern movements in a way that only London could surpass in Britain. Musical life too was rich, above all for those who enjoyed choral music, and there were visiting groups, such as the Hamburg State Opera, whose performance of Mozart were, at the time, superior to anything heard in Britain since before the war. The resident symphony orchestra could be visited twice a week with the smallest of formalities, and there were a dozen or more first-rate chamber recitals and song recitals during the winter months. There was a National Gallery which was a very good introduction to the history of painting, being one of the best balanced of the smaller European collections and unusually strong in the Dutch and English schools. Public lectures by eminent speakers were promoted by the Royal Dublin Society and other bodies, and these were advertised in the Press and were open to the public. This cross-fertilisation was carried to a high degree. If one ideal for a university setting is to have a small society of students living in beneficial contact with a large urban society, then Dublin went a long way towards succeeding. Finally, though this does not apply to Dublin alone, for anyone from Britain to live outside England for a few years and to look at her from a bastion of independence was really quite an education in itself.

As a small capital with a relatively large number of students, Dublin offers a wholeness in its university life that few centres can rival.

(ii) Professor Stanford's Views

In the course of a eulogy of Trinity College which appears in the 'Trinity Handbook--1959' Senator Professor Stanford wrote the following:--

'No other ancient, residential university in Ireland or Great Britain lies in the heart of a sovereign metropolis, within a few minutes' walk of the parliament, the government departments, the courts of justice, and all the main nerve-centres of an independent state. Inside the walls of the College we have a precinct dedicated to learning and teaching; but even the most dedicated learner and even the most absorbed teacher must