Kevin Barry Window
The Kevin Barry Window commemorates the student who was executed at the age of 18 for his part in the War of Independence. It was designed by Richard King (1907-1974) the principal designer of the Harry Clarke Studios. Paid for by students at University College Dublin, the window became one of Earlsfort Terrace’s best loved features.
Kevin Barry was a first year medical student at UCD and a solider with the First Battalion of the Irish Republic Brotherhood at the time of his arrest. Involved in an ambush of a British army lorry he was subsequently charged with murder and hanged in November 1920.
The University Governing Body proposed a motion in 1932 that would grant permission to the students representative council to erect a stained glass window in University College Dublin to the memory of Kevin Barry.
The window was unveiled in Earlsfort Terrace after a memorial mass in November 1935.
The eight highly detailed panels are made of acided and artistic glass depicting the history of Ireland in terms of a series of military acts. The window illustrates important iconography in terms of the nascent nation of the 1930’s, and acts as a symbolic piece for the university and the wider community.
With the transfer from Earlsfort Terrace, the vision that began over 70 years ago of co-locating the majority of university activity at Belfield is now substantially complete.
The University has recently attained planning approval for the relocation of the Kevin Barry Window from the first floor of Earlsfort Terrace to the new Health Sciences Centre at Belfield, which now acts as the home of the School of Medicine & Medical Science.
The cultural resonance of the window is emphasised by its links with the university and the importance of Kevin Barry’s association with UCD is shown by the inclusion of the UCD crest at his feet.
