# @kirstenalana on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/BR0oeaoleav
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/2430388-kirstenalana-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/5b0bd28a6c.jpg
- **Posted:** 2017-03-19T14:04:08.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Kirsten Alana (@KirstenAlana) — https://gondola.cc/KirstenAlana

## Caption

I arrived in Dublin with few expectations and only two items on my absolute must do list in addition to enjoying St. Patrick's Day: visiting the @homeofguinness, and this space. It is Trinity College Library's Long Room. Because I'm a bibliophile who loves architecture, the Long Room has called me like a beacon since I first saw a photo of it as a teenager. It is significant to @guinness because in addition to holding books, the room also protects the oldest surviving Irish Harp known as the Brian Boru, upon which the original Guinness logo is based as well as the insignia of Ireland. Guinness wisely trademarked the symbol in 1876 so when the Irish Free State wanted to use it in 1922, they had to use a mirror version facing in the opposite direction. The harp is a stunner with intricate carving and a glow to its well-worn wood that seems to magnify the light already present in this vast space. As for the room itself, built between 1712 and 1732, it is 65 metres in length and filled with 200,000 books. Originally it had a flat plaster ceiling and a lower level only. After an 1801 ruling, the library began to receive a free copy of every book published in Britain and Ireland though and so in 1860 the roof was raised and the present barrel-vaulted ceiling and upper gallery were added giving it the impressive stature that helps it live up to hype for today's visitors which included me this week. It brought me as close as possible to the phrase, "takes my breath away." #StorehouseStory #sp

## Stats

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- **Likes:** 7,354
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## Tags

sp, storehousestory

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