[3] The area was once known as Hoggen Green and named after the nunnery of Blessed Virgin Mary del Hogges constructed at this location in 1156 by Diarmaid mac Murchadha.

The cemetery at College Green consisted of several burial mounds, which are thought to have contained the remains of some of the Norse kings of Dublin.

[5] Between Church Lane and Suffolk Street, the Hiberno-Norse held their Thing, an assembly and meeting place, which was still to be seen in the 17th century.

[6] Hoggen gave its name to the convent of St Mary de Hogges, which stood roughly where the Bank of Ireland is now and was a major landowner in the area until the Reformation.

[4] By the time Charles Brooking published his map of Dublin in 1728, College Green had developed from a rural thoroughfare and properties had been built on both sides of the street.

[9] A statue of King William III of England on horseback was constructed in the centre of College Green in 1701 by Grinling Gibbons.

These celebrations during the age of the Whig single party state were recorded by Mary Delany, who wrote that the King was "idolized here almost to superstition."

[10] The engraving "Visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to Ireland: The Royal Procession passing College-Green, Dublin" published in the 25 April 1868 issue of The Illustrated London News depicted a group of children who had climbed up to the pedestal of the statue of William III to get a better view.

In 1966, a statue of the poet and nationalist Thomas Davis was constructed in the centre of College Green, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Easter Rising.

The site was bought by Patrick Gallagher in July 1979, who demolished the hotel in 1980 and built a granite-clad office block designed by Burke-Kennedy Doyle and Partners in its place, which was used by Telecom Éireann.

[24] Bill Clinton, the President of the United States visited Dublin in December 1995 and gave a speech in College Green to 80,000 people.

[26] Since July 2009, College Green, during peak times on working days, has been accessible only to pedestrians, buses, taxis and cyclists.

[29] Dublin City Council announced that a joint team of Dixon Jones and Paul Keogh Architects would be responsible for redesigning the space.