Dublin St. Trinity College is barricaded during a protest by pro-Palestinian students

Student activists say Friday’s protest is a “camp of solidarity with Palestine”, echoing similar protests on US university campuses.

Dozens of students pitched tents in one of the university’s main squares, and piled benches in front of the library, where the famous 8th-century gospel, the Book of Kells, is kept.

St. Laszlo Molnarfi, president of the student union at Trinity College, a tourist attraction, told Irish public broadcaster RTE that students are demanding the university sever all ties with Israel.

“The Book of Kells is now closed” indefinitely, L. Molnarfi wrote on the X social network.

“No normal activities when there is genocide,” he added.

Security guards closed campus gates, which are normally open to the public, “to ensure security,” the university said in a statement.

It states that there is an unauthorized camp on the campus.

“Although St. Trinity [koledžas] supports students’ right to protest, protests must take place in accordance with university rules,” the statement said.

Earlier this week, the university allocated 214,000 to the student union. EUR fine for lost income from tourists during this year’s protests over student fees, rent and the war in the Gaza Strip.

In the United States, pro-Palestinian protests have rocked universities for weeks, but they died down on Friday after clashes with police, mass arrests and a stern White House order to restore order.