Students breath sigh of relief as smell is revealed

The unpleasant odour at the Nassau Street exit to College is not a permanent fixture, according to Trinity’s Buildings Office. The source of the smell was the site of the felled Horse Chestnut Tree, which was removed last month due to a fungal infection.
It was caused by the heating of the soil as lime in the soil mixture was hydrated by water from the area’s natural drainage system.
Sixty square-metres of soil were pumped into the space under slabs in the Nassau Street entrance to the Arts Building, initially emitting an unpleasant odour.
The tree planted in the Nassau Street entrance to College in the third week of February is a temporary replacement for the Horse-chestnut tree which was felled in August last year. A Liriodendron Tulipfera will temporarily fill the hole left by the old tree while the intended replacement, a Gymnoclodus Dioxia, is quarantined in the Netherlands.  A spokesperson on behalf of the Director of Buildings suggested that the permanent replacement may not arrive in Dublin in time for the spring planting season.
A spokesperson added that “it was always the intention to replace the tree” but replanting was suspended. This was because the pump truck which was required to pump soil into the hole left by the old Horse Chestnut tree was not available until late January. It was also necessary to treat the root and stump of the old tree before a replacement could be planted.
The Buildings Office explained that it took time for the smell to cease by itself but that this was at no cost to the college.