The Trinity Ball
It’s a warm night in Dublin tonight. I can feel spring is in the air, the sun has set with a warm glow over the city and Trinity College has lit up its classical facade for The Trinity Ball. Each year when I see the tents popping up around Trinity and spot on the street boys in dinner suits and bow-ties (with six packs of beers under their arms) and girls in ball gowns looking shiny and glamorous the evening of and dishevelled the morning after the Trinity Ball. It means summer is not far away. I did some initial research on the history of the Trinity Ball and came across the above pictures of Trinity Ball goers from 1959 and to marry the ghosts of the past with the ghosts of the future I interviewed the lovely Bella Davey who is in her final year studying art history in Trinity College and a lovely addition to the boutique Om Diva, on Drury Street. She let me in on what The Trinity Ball means for a twenty first century girl and what its like to dance under the stars on a warm spring night in Trinity Front Square.
Ruaruth: What has the build up to the Trinity ball been like?
Bella: I think the reporters of the vandalised Front Arch surmised the build-up best when they were swift to ensure no damage had befallen the music tents erected during the week… unlike the beautiful and historical doors smashed through.
Ruaruth: What traditions have you formed for the ball with your group of friends?
Bella: My experiences of the ball has ranged from large gangs at a location beforehand, to a last minute decision to attend, which left myself and a good friend having an utterly groovy time getting ready just the two of us! This year I’m going to a mate’s house with some close friends, people who have shaped my years at this university.
Ruaruth: Whats this years theme? If there is one?
Bella: No theme, I guess each year can implant their own: final ball, first experience of the ball, learn-from-last-years-mistakes ball, do-all-those-things-you’ll-regret-next-year ball.. etc.
Ruaruth: Where did you get your final Trinity Ball dress? Are you wearing vintage and whats the style usually like?
Bella: There is a wide spectrum for ensembles exhibited each year, the front square is initially awash in a plethora of Grecian cuts, Empire lines, jersey fabric and swathes of satin. Fast forward three hours and the campus is homogenised into slumping, groping, jumping figures with stilettos abandoned and tears/kisses staining cheeks. The unity of the student becomes palpable as formality is quickly abandoned for, well, being a student. For the evening, I shall be donning a pink halterneck mid knee-length number, frosted in sequins and ruched ribbon, kindly lent to me by the gloriously colourful designer Morganna Murphy: the Trinity Ball seems to encourage attendees to wear an outfit more sensationalised than their usual inhibitions, which can only be a wonderful thing. Then again, I had a friend relate how her favourite ball she ever had was one she wore two jumpers to- not only was she pleasantly toasty, she didn’t spend the evening uncomfortable and conscious, rather she thoroughly enjoyed the night dancing under the stars.
Ruaruth: What will this last Trinity Ball mean for you?
Bella: The Trinity ball is a glazed cherry on the top of an altogether fruitcake year; too sweet or pickled in artificial debauchery for some, exactly the exciting sparkle needed by others. Whether the night goes pear-shaped or not, I have no doubt it will be fondly remembered (if somewhat abridged) over the years to come.
Ruaruth: Do people still go with a date, my mum and dad went to the Trinity ball when they were dating?
Bella: Yeah! The ball can also hold the connotation of meeting your future date too… who knows what hunk-in-a-tux you’ll meet, caught in his arms after slipping on someone’s vomit, what smooch you’ll share behind the port-a-loos, the sneaky grope on the lawn… The future is bright at the Trinity Ball!
Visit Bella in Om Diva for the next few months until this summer when she moves to London to pursue a career in journalism.
I did some research on the History of the Trinity Ball and found the amazing pictures above of revellers dancing in Front Square from 1959- looks like not much has changed. See more of these incredible photos here. Does anyone have any knowledge of the history of the ball or photos they would like to share?
See more fabulousness from Om Diva here.