College Historical Society
The College Historical Society (CHS) – popularly referred to as The Hist – is a debating society at Trinity College Dublin. It was established within the college in 1770[1][4] and was inspired by the club formed by the philosopher Edmund Burke during his own time in Trinity in 1747.[5][6] It holds the Guinness World Record as the "world's oldest student society".[7][8][9]
The society occupies rooms in the Graduates' Memorial Building at Trinity College. Former members have included a number of notable Irish men and women, from republican revolutionaries Theobald Wolfe Tone, Robert Emmet,[10] and Henry Grattan,[11] writers Bram Stoker,[1] Oscar Wilde,[1] and Samuel Beckett,[1] to founding father of the Northern Irish state Edward Carson[12] and first President of Ireland Douglas Hyde,[13] and – in more recent times – Government Ministers like Mary Harney[1] (who was the first female auditor of the society) and Brian Lenihan, and modern Irish authors, such as Sally Rooney[1] and Naoise Dolan.[14]
History[edit]
Foundation[edit]
The first meeting of the College Historical Society took place on Wednesday 21 March 1770 in the Senior Common Room in Trinity College.[15] The society took into its care the minute book of Burke's Club, founded 1747, from which the Hist has since drawn inspiration. Its other precursor was the Historical Club, founded in 1753, of which Henry Grattan was a member. James Reid became the first auditor of the Hist later in 1770. It was a time of great change in Ireland and the Western world, at the height of the Enlightenment and before the American War of Independence and the French Revolution. From its inception, it showed itself to be at the forefront of intellectual thought in Ireland, and many of its members later went into politics. In 1782, Lawrence Parsons was elected as an MP for Dublin University at 24, having served as auditor of the Hist just the previous year.
Restrictions and expulsions[edit]
Theobald Wolfe Tone, later leader of the United Irishmen, was elected auditor in 1785, and Thomas Addis Emmet was a member of the committee. The society was briefly expelled from the college in 1794, but readmitted on the condition that "No question of modern politics shall be debated". In 1797, the poet Thomas Moore and the nationalist Robert Emmet were elected as members.[16] Eight membersA of The Hist were expelled in 1798[17] in the run-up to the Rebellion, and a motion was later carried condemning the rebellion, against their former auditor.
Tension between the society and the college flourished in the early nineteenth century, with the auditor being called before the provost in 1810. In 1812 the provost, Dr Thomas Elrington, objected vehemently to the question ‘Was Brutus justifiable in putting Julius Caesar to death?’. After a number of members were removed at the request of the college board, the society left the college in 1815.
Extern Society[edit]
The society continued from 1815 as the Extern Historical Society. Among its members at this time were Isaac Butt, a president of the society[18] who tried unsuccessfully in 1832 to have the society readmitted, Joseph Sheridan LeFanu, Thomas Davis (a president of the society)[19][20] and John Blake Dillon and many other notables of the nationalist cause. In 1843, under auditor William Connor Magee, future Archbishop of York,[21] the society reformed within the college after a student petition, again on the condition that no subject of current politics was debated. This provision remains in the laws of the society as a nod to the past, but the college authorities have long since ceased to restrict the subjects of the society's debates.
19th century[edit]
The society continued successfully after that with many lively debates, including the motion on June 10, 1857 ‘That the Reform Bill of Lord Grey was not framed in accordance with the wants of the country’, proposed by Isaac Butt and opposed by Edward Gibson. This era was considered by many to be the high point of the society, with many of its members moving to high political positions. It was common for the Members of Parliament for Dublin University to have served on the Committee of the Hist, such as Edward Gibson and David Plunkett, who were both auditors, and Edward Carson, who was the librarian. Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, became auditor in 1872. In 1877, Charles O'Connor (judge), the last Master of the Rolls in Ireland, became auditor.[22] In 1864 the society collected money from its members to erect statues of Edmund Burke and Oliver Goldsmith at the Front Gate of the college.
The society moved to the Graduates' Memorial Building (GMB) in 1904, which it shares with the University Philosophical Society. The college board relaxed its rules, allowing such motions as ‘That the Gaelic League is deserving of the support of every Irishman’ in 1905 and 1906.
Chamber debating[edit]
The main business of the society is the weekly debates held each Wednesday night during term time. The "Weekly Debate" is the second of the society's weekly meetings.
The motions debated by the society have covered several controversial issues. In 2005, over 500 people attempted to gain access to a debate on abortion which was targeted by Youth Defence protesters and a debate on euthanasia was recorded for a documentary on the pro-euthanasia group Dignitas for the Canadian Discovery Channel.
Politicians such as David Ervine, Jeffrey Donaldson and John Hume have spoken in debates on Northern Ireland. In 2005, the then Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell unveiled proposals for reform of the legal profession at a society debate on the matter. The inaugural meeting of the 236th session, in 2006, was addressed by former President of Ireland Mary Robinson.
Controversy[edit]
In September 2020, it was reported that the society had cancelled an invitation for the author and evolutionist Richard Dawkins to address the society. In announcing the cancellation, the then auditor of the society said she had been unaware Richard Dawkins held some controversial opinions, and that the society would be rescinding his invitation as we "value our members comfort above all else".[29][30][31]
