MORE THAN 250 students crammed into “the Chamber” in Trinity College Dublin last night to hear writer, television personality, wit and controversial Twitter user Stephen Fry share his thoughts on a variety of subjects.
Fry was in attendance to collect the gold medal of honorary patronage of the Trinity Philosophical Society awarded to him “in recognition of his outstanding contribution to comedy, writing, acting and journalism”.
Despite arriving some 55 minutes late, the presenter of the popular television show QI received a standing ovation from the audience, some of whom had queued for several hours to purchase one of the elusive tickets. The wait did little to dampen the atmosphere of excitement within the room as each announcement of a delay on behalf of Fry was met with a cheer, presumably as it confirmed to his eager fans that he was on his way and would actually attend.
This had been in some doubt ahead of the planned 8pm start as Fry’s Twitter account had read: “Well it seems I’m not going to Trinity College after all as there’s no transport to get me there. Most unfortunate :(.”
On his arrival, the grateful students were informed that the delay was because the “intellectual brilliance [of the Philosophical Society] is not matched by their logistical brilliance” and no car was arranged to transport Fry to Trinity College.
With regards to the award itself, Fry called it “one of the great honours of my life”, partly due to the extraordinary amount of respect he holds for a TCD graduate, Oscar Wilde.
Fry said that Trinity College held a special place in his heart as a result of this connection to what he called “one of the great figures of Irish, British, global life”.
“He means an enormous amount to me and to be in the very place where he received the most important education [means a lot to me],” Fry added.
Those in attendance were treated to several stories relating to Oscar Wilde’s life, told in the unique and comic manner that have helped elevate Fry to his celebrity status.
Concluding his speech, he encouraged the audience to stay true to a student mentality of questioning the world and to ward off “worrying about whether you own a lawnmower” for as long as possible.
This attitude, he said, would also help them better understand great Irish writers such as Oscar Wilde along with others.