Sir, – I write in response to the letter of July 29th from Dr Joseph J O'Leary. Please be assured that UCD has no intention of renaming Newman House. We are extremely proud of our connection with Dr John Henry Newman.
As your readers will be aware, Newman House is in fact a complex of two Georgian buildings and one Victorian structure, the Aula Maxima. UCD has already extensively restored numbers 85 and 86, which currently host academic and conference activities including, UCD’s International Centre for Newman Studies.
The university has recently raised funding to restore the largely derelict Aula Maxima, which will host an exhibition and public engagement centre drawing inspiration from writers of Ireland and her diaspora (working title “The Ulysses Centre at Newman House”). It is hoped that the combination of academic, conferencing and public activities accommodated in the fully restored complex will give the iconic and much-loved Newman House a new lease of life. – Yours, etc,
RUTH FERGUSON,
Curator,
UCD Newman House,
85-86 St Stephen’s Green,
Dublin 2.