The Newly Renovated Provost’s House Stables – New Home to TRIARC Officially Launched
Posted on: 12 June 2008
The recently renovated Provost’s House Stables, new home to the Trinity Irish Art Research Centre (TRIARC), was officially opened at
Established in 2003, The Trinity Irish Art Research Centre promotes specialist education and research in Irish visual culture. Commenting on the significance of the academic research centre, TRIARC Director, Yvonne Scott says: “Irish art has a long and venerable history stretching back several millennia from the ancient carvings at Newgrange to the renaissance of visual art in the 20th century. TRIARC was established in response to the unprecedented growth of interest in Irish art, both nationally and internationally, and the consequent demand for well-qualified graduates, research publications and educational courses at all levels in this field”.
TRIARC research and teaching activities are now housed in the beautifully renovated stables, situated adjacent to the Provost’s House which were originally designed by Frederick Darley junior in 1841 and recently converted by the award winning architects, O’Donnell + Tuomey. The Provost’s House Stables represent an excellent example of the successful translation of an existing building to new, and equally practical purposes while retaining many of the stables’ original features, a hay-loft has been transformed into a reading room, a carriage house has been converted into a seminar room and horse stalls into study carrels.
TRIARC builds on the established expertise, courses, and facilities offered by TCD’s History of Art Department in the School of Histories and Humanities, providing an expanded range of courses on Irish art and architecture aimed at all levels, including a taught Masters, the M.Phil in Irish Art History, the only postgraduate degree of its kind, a core aspect of which is the exploration of the concept of ‘Irishness’. TRIARC also has responsibility for the largest image archive of Irish art in the world, including the Crookshank-Glin collection of 17th to early 20th century painting, and the Stalley and Rae collections of medieval art and architecture, which were donated to the College.
The academic research centre also promotes and facilitates the publication of academic research on visual culture in, and related to,
Following the Symposium, there was a reception and an official launch of the building by Jacqueline O’Brien and Louis le Brocquy. A sculpture by Michael Warren was unveiled at the same time. This work, entitled Go Deo: homage to Samuel Beckett (2006), commemorates the centenary of Beckett’s birth, and was donated by David Arnold. A book, The Provost’s House Stables, edited by Yvonne Scott and Rachel Moss, was also produced to mark the event and provides information on the Stables and demonstrates the type and range of scholarship in which TRIARC is engaged.