Trinity College Dublin

Founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth, Trinity College is the oldest university in Ireland and undoubtedly its most renowned. Former alumni include writers Oliver Goldsmith, Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde and Samuel Beckett, as well as past and current Presidents of Ireland Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese. Spread across 47acres, Trinity's central location near Grafton Street and opposite the Bank of Ireland makes it one of the city's most visited landmarks. Its cobbled quads attract over 500,000 visitors a year, and it once masqueraded as an English university for the filming of Oscar-wining movie Educating Rita - itself inspired by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw's classic Pygmalion. The College's main architectural features are the 19th Century Campanile leading into Parliament Square, the multi-denominational Chapel with its 19th Century painted window and the Old Library's awe-inspiring Long Room and iconic Book of Kells.