Trinity College is set to remove the name of a slave owner from its library.
The Berkeley Library is named after philosopher George Berkeley. The college's largest library was first opened in 1967 but was named after the philosopher in 1967.
The college said Berkeley, who worked as a former librarian, published "some of his most important philosophical works" while at Trinity in the 1700s. In a statement, the institution added: "He bought slaves, named Philip, Anthony, Edward, and Agnes Berkeley, to work on his Rhode Island estate in 1730-31 and sought to advance ideology in support of slavery," the Irish Mirror reports.
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The decision was made by the university's board after several months of research and public consultation overseen by the Trinity Legacies Review Working Group. The board said the continued use of Berkeley's name is "inconsistent" with the university's core values of human dignity, freedom, inclusivity, and equality.
The statement went on to say: "The denaming does not deny Berkeley's importance as a writer, philosopher, and towering intellectual figure. His philosophical work will still be taught at Trinity and remains of significant contemporary relevance.
"A separate process will determine what the new name for the library should be." Now there will be a stained-glass window commemorating Berkeley's work as part of a "retain-and-explain" approach.
Trinity Provost Dr Linda Doyle said the landscape of the university is "not static". She added: "Each generation of students and staff deserves a chance to influence decisions. In this case, it was our students who called on us to address the issue.
"George Berkeley's enormous contribution to philosophical thought is not in question. However, it is also clear that he was both an owner of enslaved people and a theorist of slavery and racial discrimination, which is in clear conflict with Trinity's core values."
Librarian and college archivist Helen Shenton said the name change was an opportunity to be creative and imaginative. She said: "Trinity will continue to hold George Berkeley's philosophical works in the library collections and continue to teach and to research his works."
Portraits depicting Berkeley will be assessed in the future by a new overall university policy on artwork, while the academic Gold Medals memorialising Berkeley will be reviewed by the relevant academic department.
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