ferent periods of his life. For example a young man, on taking his B. A. Degree, writes himself, Donovan ; on taking the de- gree of M. A., he subscribes himself O'Donovan ; so also Mac Donnell, Mac Donnel, McDonnell ; Connor, O'Connor ; Gwynn, Gwynne, Wynne; DriscoU, O'Driscoll; Erwin, Irwin, Irwine, Irvine ; are frequently interchanged ; and there are many other similar examples.
It may suffice to mention one other circumstance which has caused the omission of several names in the lists. When the Chancellorship of the University was vacant at the ordinary time for holding commencements, no Degrees could be conferred. In this case the Candidates for Degrees could only be recorded in the Proctors' books as entitled to their Degrees, but could not be received as Graduates in the University. They were allowed to present themselves at any future Commencements, and then to take their several Degrees, free of additional expense ; but if they neglected to do this, their names of course would not appear amongst the Graduates of the University.[1]
In some of the speeches in Parliament during the last session, or in some articles in the newspapers, it was asserted that Dublin was no real University, because it consisted of but one College. The writer or speaker of this remark, whoever he was, was in- fluenced, no doubt, by the case of Oxford and Cambridge, with which he was familiar; he not unnaturally imagined that a plu- rality of Colleges was essential to an University. But a more complete ignorance of the nature and history of Universities could scarcely have been displayed.
The earliest Universities (afterwards so called), founded at Bologna and Paris in the 12th century,[2] had no colleges. They
- ↑ The circumstance here alluded to occurred at the commencements V. 1771, Æ. 1788 (afterwards held Nov. 1788), V. 1802, V. 1804, Æ. 1826.
- ↑ Les deux plus anciennes Universites, que je connoisse, sont celles de Paris et de Bologne." Fleury, Hist. Eccl, xi.-xiii. Siecle, Sect, i., and Dissert, iii. on Eccl. Hist. Dr. Döllinger, in his Lecture on "Universities past and present" says that the oldest University was "the
