In normal circumstances the second individual on the Trinity College past pupils roll of honour would of course be Oscar Wilde.

However dear old Oscar has already been discussed in these pages and so he has generously decided to waive the idea of further recognition.

In his place I have decided to look at the man who was chiefly responsible, apart from Oscar himself, for sending Wilde to Reading Gaol and ultimately to an early grave, Edward Carson.

Born in Dublin on 9 February 1854, Carson read law at Trinity, played an active role in the College Historical Society and also played for the College hurling team.

He was called to the Irish Bar in 1877, the English Bar in 1893 and received an honorary law doctorate from Trinity in 1901.

In 1895 he was engaged to lead the defence in a libel action taken by Oscar Wilde against the Marquess of Queensbury.

Carson and Wilde had played together as children. Two old friends going head to head. Ultimately it was Wilde’s arrogance and Carson’s skill that were the telling factors in the abandonment of the trial.

By this time Carson had already begun his political career, being appointed as Solicitor General for Ireland in June 1892 and soon after becoming a Member of Parliament for the University of Dublin (Trinity College) in July of that year.

When it came to Irish politics Carson was a passionate believer in retaining the link between Ireland as a whole and Great Britain.

In particular he was committed to the idea of the northern province of Ulster remaining part of Britain in the event of Irish independence. As things turned out, six of the nine counties that make up Ulster formed the new state of Northern Ireland when irish partition came into being in 1921.

Carson is a revered figure in Unionist circles. There is a statue in his honour outside Stormont, home of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

He retired in 1929 and died peacefully at his home in Kent, England on 22 October 1935.

He was given a state funeral which took place in St. Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast, where he was also buried.

Sir Edward Carson, Baron Carson, was a native of Dublin and a man who grew to have a huge impact on the history of Ireland.