NUACHTÁN SAOR IN AISCE VOL. 20 Issue 11. 12 MAR 2019
Student Independent News
NUI Galway students elect their Students’ Union full-time officers By Áine Kenny The students of NUI Galway have elected their three full-time Students’ Union representatives for the academic year 2019/20. Voting took place on Thursday 7 March and results were announced before midday on Friday 8 March. Clare Austick was elected as President of NUI Galway Students’ Union in the first round, with 1,283 votes. Eibhlín Seoighthe came in second with 413 votes. There were 16 spoiled votes, and 63 people voted to reopen nominations. There were 1,775 votes in total. Speaking after her victory, Clare said she was honoured to have been elected the next President of the NUI Galway Students’ Union. “It’s been a long week with a rollercoaster of emotions. I commend all the candidates who put themselves forward and gave it their all.” “I really hope they are proud of themselves. I’m excited to lead the Union and hopefully make a positive impact on the student experience for all,” she concluded. Cameron Keighron was elected as Vice President/Education Officer in the second round of counts, with 869 votes. Sabrina Vaughan came in close second, with 785 votes. Steven Silke and reopen nominations were eliminated in the first round, with 483 and 38 votes respectively.
Cameron spoke to SIN after his election, saying, “I’m delighted to have been elected as next year’s education officer, I ran against two excellent candidates, who put in some stellar work!” “I’m really excited to start working on my manifesto points and hopefully be a positive influence in the Union.” Brandon Walsh won the Vice President/Welfare officer race, and he was deemed elected in round one with 1,272 votes. Ciarán Guy received 393 votes. Brandon said he wanted to thank his campaign team and everyone who voted for him. “I’m so grateful to all my team and everyone who supported me over the last few months. I’m so excited to start the role and try to fill the shoes of my phenomenal predecessors.” Part Time Officer elections take place this week, with polling taking place on campus from 10am-8pm on Thursday 14 March. If you won’t be on campus to vote, Remote Vote Registration via the Students’ Union Website is open, and you have until midnight of Wednesday 13 March to register. Students’ Union Council Chair Election nominations will open at 10am on Monday 11 March and close at 5pm Tuesday 19 March. Nomination forms will be available from the Students’ Union Office and website.
The Union still have a number of part time officer positions left to fill, such as Postgraduate Taught Officer, Postgraduate Research Officer, International
Students Officer and Ethnic M inorities Officer. If you are interested in running for these positions, contact the Union via email: elections@su.nuigalway.ie.
NUI Galway hosts historic Supreme Court sitting By Martha Brennan Legal history was made at NUI Galway last week when the Supreme Court sat in Aula Maxima from 4-6 March. It was the first time the Supreme Court sat outside a courthouse since 1932, and the first time Ireland’s highest court sat in the West of Ireland. It was only the third time the court sat outside of Dublin. The Court heard two cases while sitting in Galway. One was a highly reported appeal against the decision of An Bord Pleanála to approve the first phase of an €850 million Apple data centre in Athenry. The other case was an appeal by media mogul Denis O’Brien. To mark the landmark occasion, NUI Galway’s School of Law organised a number of celebratory on-campus events.
On Monday 4 March, Chief Justice Frank Clarke delivered a speech on ‘The Common Law PostBrexit’ to the legal community in conjunction with the Galway Solicitors’ Bar Association. A free public event, entitled ‘Women on Supreme Courts’, took place on Tuesday 5 March, as part of the University’s programme of events for International Women’s Day. At the event, current, former and international Supreme Court judges spoke about the contribution of women to adjudication in the superior courts. Speakers included Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness, former Supreme Court Judge and Chair of NUI Galway’s Governing Authority, Mrs Justice Matilda Twomey, Chief Justice of Seychelles and a graduate of NUI Galway’s School of Law, Mr Justice John MacMenamin and Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne. NUI Galway’s School of Law also delivered a series of closed student seminars in conjunction
with members of the Supreme Court over the course of the visit. Students were given a unique opportunity to interact with the judiciary and academic law staff to address current issues such as consent in relation to sexual offences, and other offences against the person, workplace bullying, the role of a Judge, tribunals of inquiry, disability in the courts, separations of powers, restriction and disqualification of company directors. The School of Law was “honoured to host this landmark occasion” and said that the events provided students with a “unique opportunity to gain an insight into our legal system.” Dr Charles O’Mahony, Head of the School of Law said: “I would like to thank the Chief Justice and members of the Supreme Court for participating in these events and for giving their time so generously. We are particularly grateful for the Supreme Court’s willingness to engage with our students.”
“This visit is an exceptional learning opportunity for our law students and the Chief Justice Frank Clarke is to be commended for initiatives such as this, which promote greater understanding of the role of the Supreme Court and the important work it does.” SIN spoke to Ruth Kelliher, a final year Civil Law student, who attended the events. “It was such a good opportunity to see the judges. You learn off quotes and judgments for exams and you don’t really think about how it actually is applied in real life situations, you’re just thinking about your exam paper, so it’s cool to see a real court sitting.” “I had a great day, it was definitely the best day of my law studies so far. It’s not like what you get from a lecture hall; you get to see the law actually being applied which is rare. It was so different from class and it was a great opportunity as a law student.”