The Eavan Boland Library

The Eavan Boland Library at Trinity College Dublin is the first building in Trinity's history to be named after a woman.

Trinity officially renamed the library (formerly the Berkeley Library) after the acclaimed Irish poet Eavan Boland in 2025. This significant decision was made by the University Board after a period of research, analysis and public consultation

This exhibition was designed to celebrate the renaming of the library. It explores how institutions engage with history, and how naming informs our understanding of it. The project takes inspiration from Eavan Boland’s poetry. Her poem Anna Liffey, for example, urges us to “make of the past what you can,” and treats history as an active, reflective process.

The exhibition is presented in two parts, each with a distinct identity, theme, and response to a different aspect of the building.

Eavan Boland: A Different Light occupies the exterior of the library, working with bold colour, scale, and light to create a visible presence in the courtyard. Inspired by Boland’s work, this part of the exhibition is designed to be unexpected and unapologetically feminine. An outdoor projection celebrates Eavan Boland, encouraging audience engagement beyond library hours and welcoming the public into the space.

Denaming and Renaming a Library focuses on the interior of the building. Its visual language is informed by the library’s 1960s brutalist design, and guides visitors through the process of denaming and renaming.

A catalogue accompanies the exhibition, acting as a permanent record of the project and extending its themes beyond the installation. The exhibition invites visitors to explore history as a lived, reflective experience, connecting architecture, literature, and collective memory.