Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
members of a powerful merchant family. His family name is still well
known in the city and has given its name to several streets - Usher
Lane, and Usher Street, originally known as Dog and Duck Yard - and
to Ussher's Island, one of the south quays of the River Liffey. The
latter was the location for The Dead, one of James Joyce's most cele-
brated short stories, published in Dubliners in 1904.
At the age of thirteen, James was one of the first students to
enter Trinity College, the only constituent college of the University
of Dublin, of which his uncle Henry had been named the first
Fellow. This university had been founded the previous year by
Queen Elizabeth and conveniently found a home to the east of the
city at Hoggen Green, in an monastery that had been confiscated
by her father. James clearly excelled in university and was appointed
a Fellow of the College at the age of twenty (although he resigned
five years later), and Professor of Divinity in 1607. Trinity College
possesses a wonderful library. Many of the oldest topics contained
within its limestone walls were purchased by Ussher on behalf of
the college on several trips made to England for this purpose. It was
appropriate that following his death his own valuable collection
of topics and manuscripts came to reside permanently in Trinity
College. There had been some wrangling about what should become
of this collection: the King of Denmark wished to purchase it, but
Cromwell intervened and eventually it was purchased for £2,200
by his army stationed in Ireland. Following a period when it was
stored at Dublin Castle, it was deposited in the college after the
Restoration.
Like most contemporary Fellows of Trinity College Dublin,
who were the teaching academics of the day, Ussher took holy orders,
and was appointed a vice-chancellor of the university in 1615. For a
long time these men had to take a vow of celibacy in order to retain
their fellowship, but in a typical Irish twist, the College Statutes made
provision for their sons to receive their university education free of
charge, so long as the boy was registered under his mother's name.
Today few Fellows become ordained following their elevation.
