College Historical Society

The College Historical Society (CHS) – informally known as The Hist – is a student debating union and society at Trinity College Dublin. It was initially established within the college in 1770 and was inspired by several preceding organisations, most notably the "Burke's Club" formed by philosopher Edmund Burke during his own time in Trinity in 1747. The Guinness World Records recognised it as the "world's oldest student society" in 2023. As of 2024, the president of the society is Mary Harney.

The society occupies rooms in the Graduates' Memorial Building at Trinity College. Former members have included a number of notable Irish men and women, from republican revolutionaries Theobald Wolfe Tone, Robert Emmet, and Henry Grattan, writers Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde, and Samuel Beckett, to founding father of the Northern Irish state Edward Carson and first President of Ireland Douglas Hyde, and – in more recent times – Government Ministers like Mary Harney (who was the first female auditor of the society) and Brian Lenihan, and modern Irish authors, such as Sally Rooney and Naoise Dolan.

As of 2024, the College Historical Society were reigning champions of the European Universities Debating Championships (EUDC).