Trinity College is the sole constituent
college of the
University of Dublin, a research
university in Ireland. The college was founded in 1592 as the "mother" of a new university, modelled after the
collegiate universities of
Oxford and of
Cambridge, but, unlike these, only one college was ever established; as such, the designations "Trinity College" and "University of Dublin" are usually synonymous for practical purposes. It is one of the seven
ancient universities of Britain and Ireland, as well as Ireland's oldest university.