From 17 students to 2,800: A printed history marks 100 years of Trinity Business School

Posted on: 25 September 2025

Trinity Business School has unveiled a written history of its origins by business historian Dr Emmet Oliver as part of a year-long programme of events marking the 100th anniversary of its foundation. 

Trinity Business School owes its origins less to internal enthusiasm for the idea and more to pressure from the Dublin Chamber of Commerce and businessman John Good, making it one of the earliest experiments in business education at an elite European university. 

The publication charts the school’s evolution from modest beginnings with just 17 students in 1925 (when classes were only held in afternoons to accommodate the students’ work commitments) to the current enrolment of 2,800 students, from more than 60 countries.

It tracks the school’s key milestones including a first MBA programme in 1964, a mooted merger with UCD in 1967, through to the opening of a striking €80 million building in 2019, accompanied by triple accreditation (AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS), which places it among the top business schools globally. 

Its evolution parallels the journey of Irish economy itself, which has shifted from the pre-WW2 protectionist era to the modern internationally focused economy of today. 

Emmet Oliver (pictured below) presented an overview of his publication - Marching in Time: 100 years of Trinity Business School and Economic Transformation - at an event this week in Trinity. 

Frank Barry, Professor of International Business & Economic Development, Trinity Business School, also gave a short presentation on the development of the Irish economy.  

Prof. Laurent Muzellec, Dean of Trinity Business School (pictured at the top), said: “This volume offers more than a historical account, it is a testament to the perseverance, ambition, and evolution that have defined our school over the past hundred years.

This commemorative work is grounded in the extensive archival research and thoughtful narrative developed by Dr Emmet Oliver. His meticulous documentation forms the backbone of this publication and ensures that our history is not only remembered but understood.”

The following are selected extracts from Emmet Oliver’s Marching in Time: 100 years of Trinity Business School and Economic Transformation.

• Two of the first four graduates in 1928 were women: Elizabeth Agnes Stanford and Mabel Olive Richardson (later Olive Smith). Smith went on to have a distinguished public career, founding the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland and receiving an honorary doctorate from Trinity in 1978.15 Notably, she had initially planned to study science but switched to commerce due to family constraints and the afternoon lecture format. 
• Trinity launched one of Europe’s earliest MBA programmes in 1964, initially under the unusual title “MSA.” Students successfully petitioned for it to be rebranded “MBA” in the 1970s. Early cohorts included international students from Egypt, Turkey, and India.
• In 1967 plans were floated by Education Minister Donogh O’Malley to merge Trinity and UCD. Strong opposition from faculty and students preserved Trinity’s independence. That same year, the School moved into a new building on Pearse Street, officially opened by Seán Lemass TD. It was a symbolic moment marking business education’s permanence within Trinity
• In 1979, Charles McCarthy, a respected academic and public intellectual, was appointed the first established Chair in Business Studies and became Dean of the Faculty. His path to academia was unconventional: a former general secretary of the Vocational Teachers’ Association, McCarthy had been a barrister, a playwright, an actor, and an insurance salesman before entering Trinity. Once inside, he quickly made his mark, writing a major study on Irish trade unions and advocating for the School’s institutional voice. The McCarthy years brought a slow pivot toward research and thought leadership.
• In 1988, under the leadership of Professor John Murray, the School restructured its degrees, built international exchange networks, and set up its first Advisory Board to connect more closely with Irish business leaders.

• By 2015, the School was ready for its next major leap. That year, Trinity made the first-ever external Dean-level appointment to the Business School: Professor Andrew Burke, recruited from Cranfield School of Management in the UK.To deliver this expansion, new staff were needed. The School adopted a “bootstrap” model: programmes were launched based on market demand, and faculty were then hired to support them. It was a lean, entrepreneurial approach, a break from traditional university hiring patterns, and it worked. Student numbers, staff headcount, and revenues began to grow sharply. 
• In May 2022, when the school unveiled its new strategic vision: Transforming Business for Good. More than a marketing slogan, the phrase captured a shift in institutional focus, one that echoed the school’s founding mission. In 1921, John Good had advocated for a model of business education that served society and individual opportunity, not just commerce. A century later, that ethos had returned with new urgency. Appointed as Dean in 2023, Professor Laurent Muzellec brought renewed clarity and commitment to the strategy. “Just plateauing is not an option,” he noted. “We must continue to grow, but responsibly.” Under his leadership, the School is embedding its mission across programmes, culture, and operations. 

ENDS 

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