University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin |
University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin - more commonly University College
Dublin (UCD) - is Ireland's largest university, with over 20,000 students. The university is located in Dublin, Ireland.
The university is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland. The terms of the Universities Act, 1997 were used to rename
the university after resolution by the Senate of the National University of Ireland.
Origins
The university was was founded in December 2, 1908 by Royal Charter, as University College, Dublin
a constituent college of the National
University of Ireland. It was a lineal successor of an earlier Catholic University of Ireland founded in 1854 by
Cardinal John Henry Newman, which later became a earlier
carnation of University College Dublin under the Royal University of Ireland.
Confusingly University College, Dublin was not part of the University of Dublin whose only college is University
College Dublin's rival, Trinity College Dublin. It was proposed during the late 1960s that the two colleges would merge under the university, but this did not happen, see University of Dublin.
Move to Belfield
In the 1950s, University College, Dublin began a move from its Earlsfort Terrace campus, the previous headquarters of
the Royal University of Ireland, to a new 350 acre park campus at Belfield in a suburb on the south side of Dublin. By
2003, most of the university had moved out to Belfield. One of its previous locations, the Royal College of Science in
Merrion Street is now the location of the renovated Irish
Government Buildings, where the office of the Taoiseach (prime minister) is located. University College, Dublin also had a
site in Glasnevin, the Albert Agriculture College, which is now the location of
Dublin City University.
Its Reputation
The university is very highly regarded internationally with many of its graduates going on to post-graduate studies at other
top international universities, particularly in America and Britain. Among its most accomplished Alumni are the writer James Joyce, Goldman Sachs chairman Peter Sutherland (who is also chairman of BP, was previously head of the
WTO, EU Commissioner and Attorney-General of Ireland), Unilever chairman Niall Fitzgerald, former Heinz chairman Dr. Tony O'Reilly, the fourth
President of India V V Giri, and all of the last five taoisigh (Irish prime ministers): Bertie Ahern,
John Bruton, Albert
Reynolds, Dr. Garret FitzGerald and Charles Haughey.
The universities Smurfit Business School, sponsored by packaging tycoon Michael Smurfit, is Ireland's best
and always scores very highly in league tables of international business
schools. In 1964, University College, Dublin became the first European university to offer the MBA degree.
See also
External links
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