Ada Lovelace portrait in marble

This portrait of Ada Lovelace was commissioned by Trinity College Dublin Art Collections after an international competition was held for the creation of 4 female scholar busts to be placed in the Long Room of the Old Library – a space that up until now has only housed representations of male scholars. The four new busts ( Ada Lovelace, Mary Wollstonecraft, Augusta Gregory and Rosalind Franklin ) were unveiled on St Brigid’s Day February 1st 2023 by TCD’s first female librarian Helen Shenton, its first female Provost Professor Linda Doyle and by the former President of Ireland and now TCD chancellor Mary McAleese.

The Library will be closed for several years for a long overdue renovation but the new female busts will be displayed elsewhere in the College Grounds until they can once again take pride of place in their new home.