A petition launched to rename the Berkeley Library after Theobald Wolfe Tone, leader of the 1798 Rebellion, has received over 170 signatures.
The petition, organised by Ógra Shinn Féín (ÓSF) TCD, stated that “George Berkeley was a slave owner and racist. The fact that Trinity College Dublin has a library in his honour is a disgraceful stain on its integrity and standing, and an insult to our diverse student body”.
“We strongly believe Trinity should take this opportunity to rename this library after Theobald Wolfe Tone”, it said.
“As the founder of non-sectarian Irish republicanism, he dedicated his life to the breakdown of Irish religious divisions and the independence of Ireland from colonial rule.”
“He played a central role in the 1798 United Irishmen rebellion, and made an unparalleled contribution to the modern Irish national identity”, it added.
The petition noted that there is currently nothing in Trinity named after Wolfe Tone despite him being “one of Trinity’s greatest ever graduates and one of Ireland’s most influential historical figures” and said this “needs to be fixed”.
The campaign has attracted support from politicians such as Sinn Féin’s Senator Niall Ó Donnghaile, Chris Hazzard MP and independent Trinity Senator Tom Clonan. Members of Trinity Labour Youth and other student societies have also expressed their support.
In an email to The University Times, Brandon McGrane, one of the petition’s organisers, stressed that this was not just an Ógra Shinn Féin campaign: “The petition has not solely been organised by ÓSF, nor has the campaign – this is a college-wide movement to honour one of Ireland’s greatest historical figures.”
“The petition has been directly endorsed by students, non-students, TDs, MPs, senators, academic faculty, and historians.”
“If Edmund Burke can have a statue on the front lawn, surely Wolfe Tone deserves to be recognised by the university”, he added.
The petition also called on Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) to support the campaign, and its organisers will be meeting TCDSU President Gabi Fullam to discuss their plans.
In August, TCDSU said that it would refer to the Berkeley Library as the “X Library” in its communications and called on the College to present a timeline for the de-naming of the library by September 30th or “escalated action” would be taken.
It also asked for the College to “immediately remove the sign which bears Berkeley’s name” and “engage in a stakeholder consultation to decide a new name for the Library in coordination with all staff and students”.
TCDSU has not endorsed the plan to rename the library after Wolfe Tone specifically but has welcomed the discussion.
In an email to The University Times, TCDSU President Gabi Fullam said that “we are excited and happy to see students taking part in this discussion”.
“Seeing vibrant support for denaming the X is heartening and I am proud to see grassroots students suggesting names for the X Library. This is a movement that came from individual students, and so it makes sense to have student groups participating in dialogue throughout”, she said.
“We would love to see students proposing their ideas, as a key part of our strategy is to engage stakeholders and ask those who use the library to rename it themselves. I encourage all students to suggest names for the library which denounce racism and support student values.”
“Community engagement here is vital for supporting and building a community around a movement – I don’t have any specific mandate or inclination towards what the library is renamed to – what I care about is that the X Library is representative of the staff and students of Trinity, I care that people feel comfortable using it, I care about college reckoning with its colonial past and embracing the voice of students into the future.”
“I want to see a commitment and response from College promptly”, she added.
