UCD Newman Centre for the Study of Religions is a Recognised Research Centre of University College Dublin (UCD). The Centre is based in UCD School of Philosophy in the College of Social Sciences and Law.
The primary role of the Centre is to provide a national and international forum for interdisciplinary research into religion and faith in all their aspects, with inclusivity towards different religious traditions, perspectives, and values. We are especially committed to encouraging and supporting academic research concerning religion and faith in UCD. The Centre's core activities are based around a number of research projects—click here to read about them.
The Centre is named for theologian, philosopher, scholar and poet St. John Henry Newman (1801-1890). Newman was the founder (in 1854) and first Rector of the Catholic University of Ireland, a predecessor institution to University College Dublin. Newman is perhaps best known for his conversion from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism in 1845, as well as his volume of lectures The Idea of a University (1852) and autobiography Apologia Pro Vita Sua (1866). He was canonised as a saint of the Catholic Church in St. Peter's Square, Rome in 2019.
On of the central aims of the UCD Newman Centre is to continue to support research into Newman's life and work.
This goal is supported by our longstanding partnership with the Newman Trust and Newman Society. The Newman Society of Ireland exists to celebrate and share in the remarkable life and works of John Henry Newman. The Society meets on a monthly basis from September to May. The meetings take place on the third Wednesday of the month (events) from 6.30pm to 8pm in Newman House, 86 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2.
Newman House and MoLI
The UCD Newman Centre is based in UCD School of Philosophy (John Henry Newman Building, Belfield) and in Newman House. Newman House comprises two superb Georgian townhouses, 85 & 86 St. Stephen's Green, which are particularly notable for their elegant interiors and splendid plasterwork. No.85 St Stephen’s Green was built in 1738 and has fine stucco work by the famous Lafranchini brothers. No.86 was built in 1765 and contains stucco work by Robert West, the most distinctive of the Dublin School of Plaster Workers. Newman House also boasts many literary and cultural associations. Gerard Manley Hopkins, the Jesuit poet, was Professor of Classics here from 1884 to his death in 1889, and the renowned Irish modernist writer James Joyce studied here and graduated with a BA in 1902.
As well as the UCD Newman Centre, Newman House is home to the Museum of Irish Literature (MoLI). As a partnership between University College Dublin and the National Library of Ireland, MoLI is a landmark cultural institution in the heart of Ireland’s capital city. MoLI draws inspiration from the work of Ireland’s most famous writer, James Joyce. It celebrates Ireland's internationally-renowned literary culture and heritage from the past to the present, inspiring the next generation to create, read and write.