COLLEGE BOSS IS PAID SALARY OF €200,000 A YEAR
DR Patrick Prendergast took over as Provost of Trinity on August 1, 2011.
In 2012, Trinity News reported the Provost volunteered to take a pay cut of almost €1,500, reducing his salary from €201,492 to €200,000.
He resides at the historical No.1, Grafton Street, a Palladian mansion known as the Provost’s house.
Described as ‘one of the most important buildings in Dublin and one of the most elaborately decorated houses of its period’ by a leading architectural digest, one can just about see the house through a gate opposite the Molly Malone statue on Grafton Street.
Boasting a central Venetian window and Doric pilasters, the house which was built for Provost Andrews in the 1760s is fully staffed. Student myth suggests the Provost has his own vast wine cellar, but this is untrue.
However, Trinity College itself does possess a main cellar with huge quantities of prestigious wines.
The exact contents are known only to the college cellarer and the elected committee of The Common Room, a club established in 1845 for academic and administrative staff who pay an annual subscription.
It is said to contain the most distinguished ports, Burgundies and Rhone wines and a selection of Premier Grand Cru Classé wines, including rare examples of the greatest years.
The Irish Independent has reported that a college source said it is still possible today for lecturers to be paid in wine rather than cash.