Founded by Elizabeth I to prevent the Irish from being “infected with popery” at continental Catholic universities, Trinity College was originally intended to host several colleges in the style of Oxford or Cambridge. However, as no more were built in or near its tranquil 47-acre grounds, the college name became synonymous with the University of Dublin. Counting famous names like Jonathan Swift, Edmund Burke and Samuel Beckett among its alumni, Trinity is perhaps most famous for its old library, which houses not only internationally important texts such as the Book of Kells, but also the “Brian Boru” harp, one of only three surviving medieval Gaelic harps.