Exploring the world of ‘Normal People’ with a stay at Trinity College Dublin

A weekend stay at Trinity College offers a taste of campus life and plenty of Sally Rooney vibes, without the drama or exam stress, writes Aoife Barry

The Campanile at Trinity College Dublin wx260425 Ste Murray

A young, studious-looking man reads a novel in the sun; tourists pile into the atmospheric Long Room library to peek at the Book of Kells; and young women snap photos of themselves beneath blooming cherry blossom trees. 

Welcome to spring at Trinity College Dublin. Though the 16th-century university has long been an essential stop on a visit to Dublin city, since 2018 it’s taken on a specific cultural importance: it’s where Connell and Marianne, the characters in Sally Rooney’s second novel Normal People, lived out the aftermath of their teenage love affair.