Sarah Smyth standing in the doorway of the reading room named in her honour at 36 Fenian Street.

Sarah Smyth (1956-2026) studied languages at Trinity College Dublin, and later joined the staff of Trinity’s Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies where she taught from 1987-2021. Known and admired by many around College, Sarah developed a reputation for getting things done and, in 2013, with the support of key colleagues and more than one Provost, she founded the Trinity Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation.

By 2009, she had already set up a translator-in-residence programme with Literature Ireland, the national agency for the promotion of Irish literature abroad. For many years the Centre was largely a concept, but in 2016 it moved into its permanent home, a beautifully restored Georgian building at 36 Fenian Street. World-renowned translation studies scholar, Professor Michael Cronin, took on the directorship of the Centre that year, and the Centre is now a beacon for translation scholars and practitioners around the world, as well as being an important cultural outreach centre for Trinity College and the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies.

Conor Killeen, Chairman of Key Capital, understood Sarah’s vision for the Centre from the outset and he has been a steadfast supporter of our work since the very early days. Thanks to his and Key Capital’s great generosity, Sarah’s trojan work in setting up the Centre has now been recognised and honoured. The ground floor reception room at Trinity Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation has been officially named the Sarah Smyth Reading Room.