The University Times 2022/23 Issue V

Why Diversity Matters

Review of PhD Supports Delayed to Summer 2023

The review of PhD supports previously announced by the Department of Higher Education and Research has been delayed to the end of the second quarter of 2023.

The report, commissioned in October of 2022, was originally due to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2023.

In a letter seen by The University Times , Dr. Deirdre Lillis, Assistant Secretary and head of research, innovation, evidence for policy and EU and international division confirmed that the review, “informed by a robust evidence base, will be completed in the first half of 2023” and will make “recommendations which will inform future actions to ensuring a sound framework of PhD supports is in place”.

In response to the delay, the Postgraduate Workers Organisation (PWO), a new-

A Mixed Bag for Trinity’s Teams

Trinity to Increase Stipend for Internal Research Schemes

ly-merged body consisting of the Postgraduate Workers’ Alliance of Ireland (PGWA) and the PhDs’ Collective Action Union (PCAU), said that “it is in the opinion of the PWO that this delay is unacceptable”.

“PhD researchers are denied protections for parental leave, sick leave, minimum wages, and workers’ rights under Irish law”, they added.

“The delay of this review signals that the Department of Higher Education and the Irish Government are apathetic to the Irish research and education crisis, and that the systemic issues faced by some of Ireland’s most talented researchers are not a priority.”

They finished: “We call for the review to be completed on its original timetable of the First Quarter of 2023 so that current and future PhD

An Ireland For All

and PG researchers can have their basic needs and rights addressed”.

In the same press release, Matt Murtagh, Data Officer of the PCAU, said: “This delay is incredibly disappointing and yet another sign that the welfare of postgraduate researchers is almost completely absent from decision making at the department”.

“You don’t need a review to know that no postgraduate researcher in Ireland is eligible for a minimum wage or basic protective leave”, he added.

“We need leadership and action now from those responsible for our welfare, not a vapid promise of potential action at some unspecified time in 2023.”

Conor Reddy, the President of PGWA at Trinity, added: “When government announced cost of living supports for IRC and SFI funded PhD re -

searchers late last year, many of our members felt let down – non-IRC/ SFI PhDs were left unsupported and the €500 payment provided fell far short of what was needed to ease the burden felt by PhDs”.

“At the time, the supports and announcement of the Review into PhD Conditions were seen by some as little more than lip service, and a demonstration of ignorance by the Department”, he continued. “Today, with news of a further delay to the Review process, it’s hard to disagree with that sentiment.”

“This delay is tremendously disappointing, but a confirmation of the need for a large and well organised union for PhDs. We are disappointed but we will use this disappointment to build our Union and raise our voices in the months ahead.”

College has approved a proposal to consolidate its internal postgraduate research schemes and increase the stipends to €25k per year starting from September 2023.

The change comes as part of the Postgraduate Renewal Programme, which aims to fundamentally renew postgraduate education at Trinity and is currently in its first stages following consultation with members of the college community.

The increased stipend will apply to existing students on Trinity’s three internal research schemes for the duration of the award – the Ussher, 1252 Postgraduate Research Studentships and the Provost PhD award – as well as students beginning their research in September on a new programme bringing all three schemes together. College Board also ap -

proved a proposal to waive the fee differential charged to individual schools for postgraduate researchers who are recruited through Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), the Irish Research Council (IRC) and the Health Research Board. This will be introduced as a pilot for all researchers beginning their studies in September 2023.

In an email statement, Dean of Graduate Studies at Trinity Martine Smith said: “Both of these initiatives are important steps in a much bigger ambition, which is to transform the funding landscape for PhD researchers and to fundamentally review the supports for PhD researchers and supervisors alike.

She continued: “We are acutely aware that the students who will benefit from this stipend uplift represent only a small proportion of our overall cohort of research students”.

“A national review of the funding supports for PhD students is underway and we will continue to advocate through this forum as well

as through the Irish Universities Association for living stipends for all PhD students as an essential policy move”, she finished.

In a statement to The University Times on the stipend increases, TCD Postgraduate Workers Organisation (PWO) said: “This is definitely a step in the right direction, and also a clear sign to other universities and funding agencies that the current stipend is far too low”.

Despite this, they said, they would “like the university to go further and apply pressure on the departments to follow suit, and raise the funding level those being funded by TCD at any level to 25k”.

“Additionally, many of our demands in the Fair Researcher Agreement can only achieved through an employment based model for postgraduate researchers. This includes access to sick and personal leave, and addressing the visa issues faced by non-EEA researchers.”

College Appoints Professor

Ryan as Dean of Research

Ailbhe Noonan Editor

College has an-

nounced that Professor Sinéad Ryan will take over from Professor Wolfgang Schmitt as Dean of Research.

The Dean of Research is responsible for overseeing and coordinating research, innovation, technology transfer and entrepreneurship strategies within College. They also chair the Research Subcommittee, which is designed to “formulate policy on all research-related matters which impact on the strategic objectives of the College”.

Professor Ryan has previously served as the Head

Sinéad

of the School of Mathematics from 2012-2016 and then again from 2019-2022. She served as chair of the Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe (PRACE) Scientific Steering Committee in 2017/18 and is a life member of Clare Hall Cambridge.

She is also a member of the Irish Research Council (IRC), a member of the Scientific Advisory Board at the Mainz Institute for Theoretical Physics and the chair of the EuroHPC Infrastructure Advisory Group, which is responsible for developing the agenda for classical and quantum computing resources in Europe.

Speaking on her appointment, Provost Linda Doyle said: “Sinéad is Professor of Theoretical High Energy Physics in the School of Mathe-

matics where she previously served as the Head of School”. “Sinéad has a significant track record in issues relating to research and is well positioned to take on this responsibility. I want to wish Sinéad well in this role.”

She added: “I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the outgoing Dean of Research, Professor Wolfgang Schmitt, for his dedicated service. During Wolfgang’s time as Dean, he oversaw major restructuring of Trinity Research and is now returning to his own research, having been awarded a significant research grant.”

Speaking on her new role, Professor Ryan said: “It is an honour and a privilege to serve as Dean of Research at Trinity”.

Our Radius staff outline some of Dublin’s best spots, some well-known and some hidden gems page 14

Choy-ping Clarke-Ng explains why Ireland’s theatre awards need to be updated to match our diverse cultural scene page 8 »

The University Times staff breaks down who’s running for what in the 2023/24 TCDSU sabbatical elections page 6 »

Charlie Moody-Stuart breaks down some of the recent matches Trinity’s sports teams have played page 13» Volume

Student Newspaper of the Year

Tuesday February 28th, 2023

PHOTO BY GIULIA GRILLO FOR THE UNIVERSITY TIMES

Ailbhe Noonan Editor

Ailbhe Noonan Editor

PCAU and PGWA to Merge Into One Organisation

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The PhDs’ Collective Action Union (PCAU) and the Postgraduate Workers Alliance Ireland (PGWA) have announced that the two unions will act as one body known as the Postgraduate Workers’ Organisation upon completion of a merger between the two organisations.

The two groups have passed a memorandum of understanding that will align their goals in purpose, direction and approach until the merger is complete.

PCAU and PGWA have also begun a joint membership drive calling all postgraduate researchers to join the groups. The nationwide membership drive comes after the PCAU and PGWA published their joint Fair Postgraduate Researcher Agreement (FRA) in December, which outlined the groups’ demands for postgraduate researchers including a liveable stipend, worker status under the law and an improvement in conditions and visa requirements for non-EU researchers.

The two groups have also called on postgraduate researchers to submit their experiences to the ongoing

Students Vote Against Lobbying College to Abolish

Booking and Equipment Fees

Gina Bagnulo

Senior Editor

review of PhD supports currently taking place, with the aim of ensuring that “Minister Harris and his review understand the full breadth of systemic difficulties faced by PhDs all over Ireland, and to remind all stakeholders of the tangible human impacts of poor PhD conditions and lack of workers’ rights”.

In a press release on the merge and the membership drive published earlier today, PCAU President Kyle Hamilton said: “The complexity and lack of cohesion in the funding system for Postgraduate research in Ireland has led to the exploitation of postgraduate researchers at every level, from provision of stipends (or lack thereof!) to remuneration for teaching, demonstrating, and all the responsibilities that often come as a requirement of the PhD –sometimes in the form of free labour for the university”.

She continued: “As postgraduate researchers we need to come together to expose and stop these unfair practices and to ensure that each and every PGR is able to live and work in a dignified manner with a livable wage and all the benefits that accrue from employment status and union representation”.

In the same press release, Eoghan Ross, the Vice Chair of PGWA TCD, said: “Despite the

vital roles that postgraduate researchers fill in universities in Ireland, they have been continuously denied access to basic workers rights, fair working conditions and a livable income”.

“Postgraduate researchers in Ireland need a union who know the issues faced and are able to fight for the changes we need”, he added.

“Formed by postgraduate researchers, the PWO is committed to seeing these changes brought about and is determined to see a fairer and more equitable future for Irish research”.

Cristina Perea del Olmo, Chair of PGWA UCD, added: “PhD researchers in Ireland play a crucial role in maintaining the level of research excellence and provide invaluable work for education at Universities”.

“In spite of this, we live in a systematically precarious situation of low pay and denial of basic rights. Numerous European countries have already acknowledged the need to recognise PhD researchers as workers and have acted accordingly.”

She finished: “With this membership drive we will be able to unite as a formal organisation of PhD researchers across Ireland to demand the necessary reform that will recognise us as workers and assure minimum standards to protect our rights”.

Trinity Sport will continue to require pre-booking and equipment fees after the student body voted against lobbying College to abolish booking and equipment fees.

The referendum, run by Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union on January 30th, asked students to vote on whether they would support a Long Term Policy (LTP) to lobby College to abolish booking and equipment fees in favour of supporting the collection of the Sports Centre Development Charge (SCDC), paid by registered students at the beginning of the academic year.

In an email statement to The University Times , Trinity Sports Union (TSU) Chairperson Liam Bean said: “In light of the recent referendum results, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to everyone who participated in the voting process”.

“Without your participation, the students’ voices would not have been heard. The Trinity Sport Union along with the 49 sport clubs, stands united and moments like these emphasise our

Presidential Candidate Zöe Cummins Disqualified From Elections

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Editor

Presidential candidate and current Education Officer Zöe Cummins has been disqualified from the Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) sabbatical elections following a ruling of the Electoral Commission (EC) found that section 4.7 of Schedule 3 had been breached.

solidarity.”

“If you have any queries or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Sport Union. We are here for you”, he added.

In an email statement to The University Times , Lórien MacEnulty, a PhD physics student and the ‘yes’ campaign manager, said: “The outcome of this referendum is very disappointing”.

“The true, altruistic nature of the motion – a grassroots motion proposed by 11 postgraduate students already struggling with the cost of living – was eclipsed by the reactionary panic of the Trinity Sports Union, who conjured a controversy where there was none”, she added.

“The campaign demonstrates how the sport “union” has become a puppet for Trinity Sport’s business ventures, which are clearly threatened by any sort of reevaluation that involves the student voice.”

As per the election outcome, Trinity Sport will continue to require pre-booking and equipment fees.

Schedule 3 is the document that outlines the regulations for sabbatical elections, produced by the EC each year.

Section 4.7 deals with candidate conduct. It states that “Verbal, physical, online or other forms of attack or intimidation used against other candidates, members of the Electoral Commission or any student or staff member will be considered a serious offence by the Electoral Commission” and will “result in a candidate’s name being immediately struck off the ballot”.

In an email statement to The University Times , the EC stated: “The Electoral Commission has disqualified Zöe Cummins from the TCDSU Presidential Election in accordance with section 4.7 of Schedule 3 of the SU Constitution”.

“Due to the highly sensitive nature of this matter and out of respect for the privacy of those involved, the Electoral Commission

will not be providing further comment”, they added.

They also stated that the EC “reminds candidates, their campaign teams, and students that the dignity and respect of all members of the college community is of the utmost importance and must be upheld throughout the election period” and added that any questions “should be directed to chair@tcdsu.org or welfare@tcdsu.org”.

The Chair of the Oversight Commission (OC) has stated that an OC investigation is ongoing but could neither confirm nor deny the subject and scope of the investigation.

Cummins has been contacted for comment along with her campaign manager Seán Lysaght.

Campaigning for the sabbatical elections began last Monday and will continue until March 2nd, with voting taking place between February 28th and March 2nd. Results will be announced on March 2nd.

Photo by Ailbhe Noonan for The University Times

Right: Photo by Giulia Grillo for The University Times

USI Expresses Concern Over Delayed PhDs Support Review

Ailbhe Noonan Editor

The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has expressed concern over the delay in the review of PhD supports in Ireland and the lack of engagement with PhD students.

The report, commissioned in October of 2022, was originally due to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2023.

In a press release, the USI said that “to date there has been no engagement with postgraduate research stakeholders” and that they have “written to the Department of Further and Higher Education to express [their] concerns about the lack of engagement so far, to call for an update on when these meetings would take place and for the department to outline the new anticipated completion time of the review”.

The USI also stated that “the Department has said that invitations will be issued this week, with meetings due to take place in the second week of March”.

In the same press release, USI Vice President for Postgraduate Affairs Waqar Ahmed said: “USI believes the postgraduate research community urgently needs help and reform, and we hope the review will deliver measures to improve working conditions.”

“We are committed to supporting the postgraduate research community and are looking forward to engaging with the review co-chairs and other stakeholders to ensure the review is conducted in a transparent and inclusive manner.”

It was confirmed on February 14th that the review of PhD supports currently ongoing would be delayed until the end of the second quarter of 2023.

In a letter seen by The University Times, Dr. Deirdre Lillis, Assistant Secretary and head of research, innovation, evidence for policy and EU and international division confirmed that the review, “informed by a robust evidence base, will be completed in the first half of 2023” and will make “recommendations which will inform future actions to ensuring a sound framework of PhD supports is in place”.

In response to the delay, the Postgraduate Workers Organisation (PWO), a newly-merged body consisting of the Postgraduate Workers’ Alliance of Ireland (PGWA) and the PhDs’ Collective Action Union (PCAU), said that “it is in the opinion of the PWO that this delay is unacceptable”.

“PhD researchers are denied protections for parental leave, sick leave, minimum wages, and workers’ rights under Irish law”, they added.

“The delay of this review signals that the Department of Higher Education and the Irish Government are apathetic to the Irish research and education crisis, and that the systemic issues faced by some of Ireland’s most talented researchers are not a priority.”

They finished: “We call for the review to be completed on its original timetable of the First Quarter of 2023 so that current and future PhD and PG researchers can have their basic needs and rights addressed”.

Presidential Candidate Zöe Cummins Reinstated on Ballot

Ailbhe Noonan Editor

Presidential candidate Zöe

Cummins has been reinstated on the ballot following an appeal through the Appeals Board, a body made of independent external parties.

The appeal was launched on Tuesday night with an emergency meeting of the Electoral Commission (EC) and the Appeals Board the following day.

In a statement to The University Times, Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) President Gabi Fullam explained: “On Tuesday February 21st, the Chair of the TCDSU Sabbatical Board was asked by the Electoral Commission to convene The Appeals Board, which consists of parties external to the union”.

“On Thursday February 23rd, The Appeals Board considered an appeal against a decision of the Electoral Commission. The Appeals Board has found in favour of the appellant who is therefore restored as a candidate in the current election for President of the Students’ Union”, she added.

She also stated that no further comment would be given as a result of the elections being ongoing: “Given that the electoral process is underway, no further comment will be made in relation to this matter”.

She went on to thank “all involved parties for their coopera-

11 to Run in TCDSU Elections, with 3 Presidential Candidates

Ailbhe Noonan Editor

11 people will contest the six races in the Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) sabbatical elections this year, with three candidates to run for president.

László Molnárfi, Zöe Cummins and Tilly Schaaf will battle it out for the role of TCDSU president this year. Molnárfi is a third-year PPES student and the current Social Sciences and Philosophy convenor for TCDSU, and has previously served in a number of Union roles. He also serves as the Chairperson of Students4Change.

Cummins is the incumbent education officer for TCDSU having been elected last March. Within the Union she has previously served as STEM convenor, physics convenor and undergraduate studies committee representative. She was also a Student2Student(S2S) head mentor, president of the Trinity branch of Irish NGO SUAS and a Trinity Access Programme (TAP) ambassador. Schaaf is a third-year physics student from Luxembourg. She has previously been involved with Voix des Jeunes Femmes, a feminist organisation from Luxembourg established in 2017, and was the president of Zonta International District 01, an organisation that aims to “contribute to the improvement of the legal, political, and professional status of women, and provide financial assistance to local and international services for humanitarian, social and cultural purposes”, from 2018-2020.

The race for this year’s education officer will see Catherine Arnold battle it out with Elizabeth O’Sullivan.

Arnold is a final-year sociology and philosophy student and serves as the current Deputy AHSS convenor within the Union. They have previously served as the TCDSU Joint Honours representative and as a class representative. They have also worked as a research assistant at the Young Woman’s Christian Association (YWCA) and have served as the Gender Equality Officer for the Labour party.

O’Sullivan is a second-year political science student. She is a member of the University Philosophical Society (the Phil) and has taught debating in schools outside College. She is a member of the DU Players production crew.

Aoife Bennett will run uncontested in this year’s welfare and equality race. Bennet is a third-year English Studies student who has previously served as the Welfare Officer for the Trinity Hall Junior Common

Room (JCR) and worked with the UniCoV scheme in Trinity.

The communications and marketing race will have Aiesha Wong as the sole candidate. Wong is a final-year law and political science student who has previously served as a first-year class representative for TCDSU. She has since worked with a number of societies including DU Dance, where she was previously the Public Relations Officer (PRO) and now serves as the society’s Chair. She has also previously worked with District Magazine, a Dublin-based magazine focusing on Dublin and Irish culture.

This year’s ents officer race sees three candidates going head to head for the role – Nadia, Sam Kelly and Olivia Orr. Nadia is a fourth-year computer science student who has previously served as a class representative for two years as well as helping to organise STEM Ball. She ran for ents last year but was unsuccessful.

Kelly is a third-year BESS student currently serving as Ents Officer for the College Historical Society (the Hist) and previously serving as pro-Records Secretary. He is also a youth volunteer with Jigsaw.

Orr is a third-year PPES student and the current Treasurer for Trinity ents. She has previously served as the JCR ents officer for Halls as well as a team supervisor for the UniCoV study.

This year’s sole candidate for Editor of The University Times is Clara Roche.

Roche previously served as the paper’s Deputy Societies Editor as well as briefly serving as the paper’s Deputy Editor. She has also worked with Evergreen Trinity as a regular contributor and sits on the Editorial Board for the Trinity Journal of Histories. She has also worked with the disAbility hub as a student trainer as well as sitting on the Schools Outreach Subcommittee.

Campaigning will take place from February 20th to March 2nd with voting taking place between February 28th and March 2nd. Results will be announced on the evening of March 2nd.

Since this article was written, Elizabeth O’Sullivan dropped out of the education race, meaning Arnold will now run uncontested.

tion throughout this process” and the EC “for their hard work in this election period so far”. “I have total faith in the Electoral Commission’s ability to conduct this election, and ask that all candidates continue to comply with the Electoral Commission’s requests. Best of luck to all the candidates”, she finished.

Cummins was initially removed from the ballot last Tuesday following an investigation which revealed that section 4.7 of Schedule 3 (the document governing the rules and regulations of the elections) had been breached. Section 4.7 deals with candidate conduct. It states that “Verbal, physical, online or other forms of attack or intimidation used against other candidates, members of the Electoral Commission or any student or staff member will be considered a serious offence by the Electoral Commission” and will “result in a candidate’s name being immediately struck off the ballot”.

In an email statement to The University Times, the EC stated: “The Electoral Commission has disqualified Zöe Cummins from the TCDSU Presidential Election in accordance with section 4.7 of Schedule 3 of the SU Constitution”.

“Due to the highly sensitive nature of this matter and out of respect for the privacy of those involved, the Electoral Commission will not be providing further comment”, they added.

They also stated that the EC “reminds candidates, their campaign teams, and students that the dignity and respect of all members of the college community is of the utmost importance and must be upheld throughout the election period” and added that any questions “should be directed to chair@tcdsu.org or welfare@tcdsu.org”.

At the time, the Chair of the Oversight Commission (OC) stated that an OC investigation is ongoing but could neither confirm nor deny the subject and scope of the investigation.

Right:

Photo by Giulia Grillo for The University Times

Postgraduate Workers Organisation Calls on SFI to Cover Non-EU Immigration Fees

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The Postgraduate Work -

ers’ Organisation (PWO) has called on Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Director General Professor Philip Nolan to cover fees and payments associated with non-EU student visas, including the €300 fee to renew an Irish Residency Permit (IRP) card and the cost of purchasing private health insurance, which the letter claims can cost “in excess of €600 a year”.

The official letter sent by the PWO addressed to Professor Nolan states that “nonEU postgraduate researchers face an inordinately large financial burden on an already small budget” as a result of the costs associated with visas and immigration and that “in addition to the administrative burden that this places on these researchers, this brings non-EU researchers almost €1000 further beneath an already below-minimum wage salary”.

The letter continues: “During our current cost of living crisis, this is pushing non-EU researchers to breaking point, leaving many living in precarious or unsafe housing or relying on external support locally at their university for basic living needs. It is further tarnishing Ireland’s reputation as a great place to do research and damaging our position on the world stage”.

“Despite these costs, the vast majority of research centres and research training centres within the SFI do not classify IRP fees or insurance as an “eligible cost” for expenses claims, despite this being standard practice across industry.”

The letter also states that most of the research centres in receipt of SFI funding “are underspending the budget being allocated to them by the SFI and cannot fill many of the PhD positions they advertise” and that as a result, there are “ample funds” to put towards this.

“Furthermore, many researchers have leftover budgets for research, training or travel costs which they could use towards this but are prevented from doing so by SFI or their local centre’s rules.”

The letter finishes with a

demand that SFI “unequivocally advise all SFI research centres and research training centres to consider IRP fees and insurance for non-EU researchers an eligible expense without delay” as many non-EU postgraduate researchers are “struggling now” and do not have time to wait for the outcomes of the ongoing review of PhD supports in Ireland.

In a press release issued with the letter, Shaakya Anand-Vembar, a member of the TCD PWO branch, said: “Given the many (often humiliating) logistical burdens nonEU researchers face when it comes to simply existing in Ireland legally, the very least funding bodies

could do to help us in this cost of living crisis (and something that, unlike visa processes, SFI can have a tangible impact on,) is to cover the cost of our residence permit renewal fees and health insurance”.

“The current system is not only elitist (favoring financially welloff non-EU researchers), but is also pushing many of us to have to extend our PhDs due to part-time jobs taking up a significant portion of the time and energy that we would like to devote to our research instead”, she continued.

“I am currently in my final year, and am balancing two jobs on top of my PhD just so I can guarantee that I’ll have a meagre amount of

savings by the time I submit – even a little bit of assistance with my visa and insurance fees would go a long way to alleviate the constant stress of these looming large costs.”

In the same press release, Bana Abu Zuluf, a member of the Maynooth University (MU) Postgraduate Workers Alliance (PGWA) branch, said: “Non EU PhDs are neglected when we talk about the absurd amount of expenses we are forced to take on to continue research on a below minimum wage stipend. That shouldn’t be the case when we constitute a large number of postgrads in Irish Universities.”

“We are hit the hardest by the cost of living crisis and have yet to pay an annual cost of €1000+ for private medical insurance and to renew our IRP. You can’t complain about PhDs quitting when this is the condition you put them in.”

Jack McNicholl, a member of the University College Dublin (UCD) PGWA branch, added: “In a country which is already punitively expensive to reside in, it’s so unjust for foreign postgrads to pay large added costs on top of that just for coming to work here and add to our universities.”

Presidential Candidate Tilly Schaaf Given Minor Strike

Ailbhe Noonan Editor

Presidential candidate in the Trinity College Dublin Students Union (TCDSU) 2023/24 sabbatical elections Tilly Schaaf has received a minor strike.

The Electoral Commission (EC) confirmed that the candidate had been given a minor strike as a result of campaigning outside hours, and that her campaign would be given a one-hour ban and would start at 11am the next day.

This is the first strike to be given to any candidate in the election period, with cam -

paigning having begun mere hours before the strike was given.

In a statement to The University Times , Schaaf said: Instagram is a quick moving platform, reposting of the general public is hard to control”.

“As for campaign team internal, we tried our best to inform everyone of the allowed campaign hours. It appears this is the least obvious rule to the general public, and therefore probably the strictest.”

Schaaf is running on a platform of practical points highlighting quick changes that can

be made to improve the student experience. She has stated that while she is “a normal student representing normal students”, she has also taken radical action in line with the more political side of the role including making “speeches and posters for manifestos and plans to block bridges” as well as making “some politicians uncomfortable”.

Schaaf is also the only candidate running to not have active TCDSU experience during her time in college.

The Dining Hall Hustings saw the beginning of the campaign

period, with candidates introducing themselves and their manifestos from the Dining Hall steps.

In a break from tradition, candidates were not asked questions on the day, instead questions were pushed to the Council and Equality Hustings hosted by the Welfare and Equality Officer Chloe Staunton along with the Gender Equality Officer Jenny Maguire and the Oifigeach na Gaeilge Caoimhe Molloy.

Photo by Ailbhe Noonan for The University Times

Right: Photo by Emer Moreau for The University Times

Trinity to Return Inishbofin Remains and Apologise to Community

Ailbhe Noonan Editor

College has confirmed that the remains of bodies from Inishbofin are to be returned to the island community from where they were taken more than a century ago.

In an update from the Trinity Legacies Review Working Group sent to the entire college community, it was confirmed that the remains would be returned and that “further engagement will now take place with the Inishbofin community to identify the appropriate way of returning the crania”.

The email confirmed that “The decision to do this was approved today by the College Board following a period of research, analysis and public consultation about the future of the remains overseen by the Trinity Legacies Review Working Group”, which is chaired by Senior Dean Professor Eoin O’Sullivan.

It continued: “By way of context, in July 1890 ethnologist Alfred Cort Haddon and student Andrew Francis Dixon (subsequently Trinity’s Professor of Anatomy), took partial skeletal remains of 13 people from St Colman’s monastery in Inishbofin”.

“As is clearly documented in Haddon’s diary of the time, they did not seek the community’s consent”, O’Sullivan added.

“Since then, the remains have been stored in Trinity College Dublin. This related to contemporary interest in

UCD Appoints First-Ever Female President

Ailbhe Noonan Editor

fields including craniometry (measurement of the cranium) and anthropometry (scientific measurement of individuals).”

The Trinity Legacies Review Working Group was established to “document the historical evidence on specific legacy issues, to seek evidence-based submissions from the College and wider community on each identified issue, and, based on the evidence collated, provide options for consideration to the relevant decision-making authority (College Board, Faculty Executive or School Executive) as is appropriate and determined by the working group”.

The Working Group is also currently looking into renaming the Berkeley Library following submissions from the wider college community on potential new names.

Trinity Ranked 16th in Times Higher Education Most International Universities

Ailbhe Noonan Editor

Trinity has been named the 16th most international university in the world in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

This marks a fall of four places from last year and a fall of eight places from 2021, however, College continues to be the only Irish university on the list of 197 institutions. It currently ranks 161st overall, a rank it shares with the University of Bologna.

The University of Hong Kong maintained its spot as the world’s most international university with a total of 43 per cent of its students being international. It is currently ranked 31st overall and last year created a plan to become “Asia’s Global University” which included further recruitment of international staff and students.

The highest ranked European university on the list was the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, dethroning 2022’s highest ranked European university ETH Zurich. It is currently ranked 41st overall and currently a total of 62 per cent of students are international.

The data was compiled using the international student score, the international staff score, the international co-authorship score and the international reputation metrics collected for the Times Higher Education world university rankings 2023. The top institutions all had a high proportion of international students and staff and collaborated on research with scholars from across the world.

In a press statement, Provost Linda Doyle said: “I am really proud that Trinity is regarded as one of the world’s most international universities. Our international character is one of our greatest strengths”.

“At a time when some are promoting a retreat into isolationism, it is important to speak about, and celebrate, the huge benefits of international collaboration and dialogue”, she continued.

University College Dublin (UCD) announced this week that Professor Orla Feely would be taking over as President from Acting President Professor Mark Rogers. She is due to start her new role in May 2023.

Professor Feely holds a BE in electronic engineering from UCD and an MS and PhD in electrical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley). Her research is in nonlinear circuits and systems. She has been a lecturer at UCD since 1992.

She is the current Vice-President of Research, Innovation and Impact and has been a member of the university management team since 2014. She played a role in increasing research grants, publications and funding, with the university seeing research grants worth upwards of €155 million in the past year.

She has also worked on improving the role of women in UCD through her work on developing and delivering two gender equality action plans, securing two Athena SWAN bronze awards. Professor Feely also chaired the UCD Decade of Centenaries Committee.

In a press release following the announcement of Professor Feely’s appointment, Chair of the Governing Authority Marie O’Connor said: “Professor Orla Feely is an outstanding university leader with a distinguished academic track record in research and teaching who has already greatly contributed to the reputation of University College Dublin as a centre of excellence for research and education for our students, faculty and staff.

“[Feely] is an exceptional person who has the drive and ambition to lead UCD as a public university that values its community, that sets standards and embraces wider participation in order to make a real impact on society”, she added.

Congratulating Professor Feely on her appointment, the Acting President added: “I have worked closely with Orla for many years and she is a great colleague whose pride, loyalty, support and ambition for UCD has always been evident, matched only by her ability. I believe the future holds great promise for UCD under her presidency.”

Speaking on the announcement of her new role, Professor Feely said: “I am greatly honoured to be UCD’s next President and to lead the University into the next phase of its remarkable development”.

She added: “My own studies in UCD, starting at the age of sixteen, transformed my life, and I witness the University’s continuing transformative impact every

day”.

“I want to lead a UCD that makes a clear positive difference to the lives of our students through the educational experience we deliver. I want to grow our impact in Ireland and in the wider world through our work in areas such as sustainability, health and secure societies.”

“My thanks to Professor Mark Rogers for his great leadership of UCD. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work alongside Mark, and I am very grateful to have his continuing support during the transition to my taking up office on 1 May”, she finished.

O’Connor also thanked Professor Rogers for his service, saying that the college is “enormously indebted to Professor Mark Rogers for the Acting President role he has played in leading the university since March 2022”. “Prior to this, as Deputy President and Registrar and as Dean of Science, he transformed the academic curriculum and the student experience, always placing the students at the centre of the University”, she added.

“His leadership was crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic and ensured UCD was an exemplar in terms of supporting students and staff.”

Minister for Higher Education and Research Simon Harris also congratulated Professor Feely on her appointment.

Speaking after the announcement, Harris said: “I wish to congratulate Orla on her appointment. This is a huge personal achievement for her, but also a significant milestone for the university”.

“Orla becomes the first female president of the university. She also becomes our seventh female president of a higher education university. Two-and a-half years ago, we had no female presidents”, he added.

“There have been improvements in addressing the gender imbalance in higher education in recent years and today is another major milestone. I hope it sends a strong message to everyone involved in the higher education sector and beyond - a message of inclusion, equality and opportunity for all.”

He added: “UCD are very lucky to have someone of Professor Feely’s experience and calibre, and I want to wish her the very best in her new role over the coming years”.

“I also want to take this opportunity to thank both Professor Mark Rogers and Professor Andrew Deeks for all their hard work over the past few years in helping make UCD the world-class institution it is today.”

“It is a tribute to our college community that people from across the world want to study and work here and that so many researchers globally are partnering with us on a multitude of projects.”

She finished: “I want to thank our students and staff for their hard work, and our alumni for being such outstanding ambassadors”.

Last September, Trinity rose nine places in the overall 2022 Times Higher Education World University rankings to 146th. It retained its position as Ireland’s highest-ranked university.

In a press statement at the time, Dean of Research Prof Wolfgang Schmitt said: “We are pleased to see Trinity improving its position in the THE World University Ranking.”

“This progress is testament to the quality and dedication of staff and the college community – particularly considering this difficult and challenging last year”, Schmitt said.

With the announcement of this appointment, seven of Ireland’s universities are now led by women.

Photo by Eric Luke

TCDSU Sabbatical Elections: Aoife Bennett Wants to Ensure that Every Voice Is Heard

Adam Potterton

Junior Editor

Aoife Bennett’s campaign to be the next Welfare and Equality Officer is founded on a wealth of experience. The third-year English Studies student has already served as JCR Welfare Officer and while she is aware that with the step up the college-wide level brings with it “a new range of issues”, she is confident that she can rise to meet them.

On top of her role in JCR, she also has two years’ prior TCDSU experience, sitting on the Welfare and Equality committee. The first of these years was spent as a representative of Trinity Halls, while this year Bennett worked directly with current Welfare and Equality Officer, Chloe Staunton, as Research Officer. She says that this “gave me so much experience for what welfare officers do”, and means she is “familiar with how the union works”.

Bennett’s experience, seeing first-hand the work of past Welfare Officers, coupled with Welfare training has given her “an understanding of how people’s individual needs could be addressed on a college level”, as well as knowing “which services could be improved upon”.

While attention is often given to the campaigns and policies, Bennett does not underestimate the importance of casework in the role, and the importance of “time for one on one, individual support”. An aspect which she stresses is the importance of “signposting”, “having knowledge of the services which you can refer somebody on to, giving people options when they come to you”.

Equality is also an integral part of the role, and one that Bennett is keen to foster through her campaign. Collaboration is something that she emphasises, “to make sure everybody’s voice is being heard”, particularly when considering the differing experiences and backgrounds of students. The Welfare Officer is someone who must “listen to the students and put across their needs and what they want”.

Equality is also reflected in Bennett’s desire for a greater focus on off-campus locations. It is important, she feels, to increase the Union’s presence in locations such as Trinity Halls, D’Olier Street and St. James’s Hospital, through holding more events and campaign weeks in these locations as with on-campus events, “it’s not always feasible for people who are off-campus to get there”. It is very important, Bennett says, that “people are aware of the union and are aware that they can go to the union, that the union works for them as well”.

Bennett’s plans for accommodation also seek to equalise opportunities for students, firstly by lobbying for the reopening of Cunningham House at Trinity Hall, “for it to remain affordable”, and for it to include family unit options. This, she

ing of events. This is not always possible, Bennett attests, “People experience and process things differently. It can take someone a while to come to terms with what happened to them, or to be in a state where they’re able to report it”. The policy, she points out, also lacks a section specifically for sexual assault. “It’s a difficult thing to put in policy but it’s so important that it’s there,” she says, “It needs a more specific section where people can know what to do and report it.”

asserts, would be an important step in making accommodation “more financially accessible”, in light of the current housing crisis.

Bennett also identifies Trinity Halls as an important place to increase TCDSU presence, due in part to the high numbers of new students there. She also points out how for new students, “there’s so much information that’s thrown at you and it takes a while for people to find their feet”, meaning students may miss out on learning about the role of the Union. As such, Bennett feels that is important to “promote the union from the outset and explain what they do and that they’re there for you and let people know early what is there for them”.

Sexual health and education are also key to Bennett’s approach to welfare in college. “When people come to college, they come from such different backgrounds, different schools, different education models, so the level of sex ed between people is always very varied”, she says, so starting college is “a really good time to equip people with that knowledge”. Queer sexual education is something that Bennett feels is often left out. She would push for its inclusion in Freshers’ Week, so that everyone can “have the knowledge and feel supported”.

In addition, Bennett would seek to re-establish consent workshops. Such workshops were previously run in Trinity Hall. “They didn’t happen this year due to funding,” says Bennett, “but I really want to make sure that that doesn’t just disappear.” She would also like to see workshops expanded beyond Halls, to include all first-year students. That way, “‘every undergrad year would have some level of consent workshops”. With the running of workshops in Trinity Hall, “while they’re getting a good amount of people, they’re still getting such a small portion of the college community”.

Bennett would also like to see the expansion of the free period product initiative. “It’s great that Trinity are giving us the funding for it, but you’re going to have to keep reapplying for it every year and keep putting pressure on the college to provide it and get more money to expand it.” The lobbying for this as a national policy is a way in which she says the initiative could hopefully be continued long term.

Bennett’s experience in the TCDSU also means she is familiar with the Dignity and Respect policy, a policy in which she says there are “gaps”. For example, she points out the policy’s encouragement of immediate report-

There is also a need, Bennett finds, to provide Diversity training, something she would aim to do through societies, and in particular society committees. “If they could all be trained, they’re all the people organising events for their societies and they’re the figureheads of their societies, who would be engaging with all the other members.” This she says would mean that societies “run more inclusive events and be more mindful of how they all interact with one another”.

Diversity and inclusion are particularly important right now considering the recent rise in anti-immigration sentiment across the country. This is something that Bennett says the TCDSU must take “a vocal stance against”. She goes on to say, “having the union be visible and showing their support against the anti-immigration sentiment is really important because it reminds people that the union is for everybody”.

“It’s really important that everyone in college feels welcome and included,” she says, and “working with the international part time officer and ethnic minorities part time officer would be a good way to tackle that and make sure everyone feels included in college society.”

It is clear that inclusion and equality are at the heart of Bennett’s policies. This attitude is particularly clear in regard to sexual health and education, ensuring that all students are equipped with the knowledge and support that they need. Her drive for inclusivity is also evident in her desire to make the Union more accessible for all students.

The role of the Welfare and Equality Officer, Bennett says is about “enhancing the individual’s college experience, and on a broader level, events that are run, information that’s given, the sense of community that’s created through the SU”.

“Everybody should be listened to in college, everybody’s part of the union.”

“Bennett’s experience has given her “an understanding of how people’s individual needs could be addressed on a college level”

It is very important, Bennett says, that “people are aware of the union and are aware that they can go to the union”

“

Photo by Giulia Grillo for The University Times

The Still-Undecided Future of Long-Term Postgraduate Representation in College

Alex Payne

Staff Writer

The Trinity College Dub-

lin Graduate Students’

Union (GSU) has been in the headlines a number of times this year. As previously reported in The University Times, the Capitation Committee (CC) suspended its funding to the GSU due to “the fact that it has still not filed accounts”. Further, it had “failed to run election after election” and supposedly held meetings in dubious circumstances.

However, the GSU was not always known for this. One of only three graduate students’ unions in Ireland (now down to two with the announcement of its derecognition), it was once seen as “a promoter of equality and academic excellence”. The question then arises – how did the GSU end up falling down a path that led to its dissolution?

The GSU at Trinity was founded in 1973, before what we now know as the Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU). In 1969, the Dean of Graduate Studies encouraged graduate students to come together and form the Research Student Common Room “as a way to foster community and intellectual discussion”. The GSU was then formed after members of the Research Student Common Room decided to unionise “to collectively bargain for better salaries and conditions for research students”.

In 1980, the GSU established its first publication Alumnus, containing notices, creative writing and drafts of scholarly work. It now boasts two well-respected publications, the Trinity Postgraduate Review Journal (TPR) and College Green.

The TPR “encourages interdisciplinary collaboration in a peer review tradition for the advancement of knowledge and scholarly engagement”. Over the years it has developed, and in its latest edition, published in 2019, the Editor-in-Chief Patrick McDonagh celebrated its international pull. The 2019 edition saw submissions from “institutions as diverse as the universities of St. Andrews, Geneva and Warwick”.

In 2010 the GSU elected its first all-female sabbatical team, comprising a president and vice-president. The GSU had successfully applied for funding in 2006 to extend its sabbatical team from one to two due to the often specialised needs of postgraduate students, with the newly established role of vice-president in charge of student welfare among other things.

At this point the graduate students here at Trinity found themselves with two full-time elected representatives. They could dedicate all their time to lending a postgraduate voice to Col-

sentation their specific needs may not have been heard or met.

Rohu describes the lack of representation and support as “catastrophic for graduate students right now. It’s a disaster.”

He went on to express personal concerns that, although the TCDSU may “do their best for postgraduates”, he is worried that they may not “fully understand the postgraduate experience”, resulting in representation that can be “undergraduate focused”.

lege-wide decision making and ensuring the specific day-to-day needs of postgraduates were cared for.

Jamie Rohu, a PhD candidate in geography at Trinity and the Environment Officer for the GSU in the 2021/22 academic year, spoke to The University Times about the issues of postgraduate representation and support. Rohu said that problems surrounding “finance, childcare and mental health” can be particularly unique to graduate students, as well as the representation to defend their working rights. Someone on a PhD stipend of €16-18k per year, with children may, for example, find it very difficult “to pay rent and put food on the table”.

Rohu also highlighted how different the needs of each PhD student can be. He mentioned that it can be a “very isolating experience” to be conducting your own research compared to working as part of a research group with multiple PhD candidates. In relation to this, the effects of collaboration and shared workload may contribute meaningfully to an individual’s mental well-being.

He also brought attention to the everyday needs of postgraduates, whether that be claiming expenses incurred as part of their work with or for the university, gaining the correct access if you have a disability or using the College Health Service.

As a result of the derecognition of the GSU, the graduate voice has now been lost on important college committees and at Board level. This means that any decisions made by these committees and by the Board will no longer have the input of an elected postgraduate to convey the priorities of the postgraduate community.

Rohu gave an example of someone he had helped during his time as environmental officer. A student came to him concerned at the lack of vegetarian food available at College outlets, with only one option available. As an elected representative with a place on the Green Forum, Rohu was able to “advocate for more vegan and plant-based food” not only “to be more inclusive” but also “to reduce our environmental emissions”.

Without the GSU, the student may not have known who to contact about their concern, and without committee level repre-

As previously reported in The University Times, President of TCDSU Gabi Fullam confirmed that “the primary representation of graduate students now falls entirely to the students’ union [TCDSU]”. Of Trinity’s just over 18,000-strong student body, one-third are graduates. Rohu is concerned that the TCDSU is now going to be “overstretched” in taking on the needs of these extra students, and that “it’s not going to be good for undergraduates either”.

At the time of publication, there is still no concrete plan for the long-term future of postgraduate representation in College despite the successful election of a number of class representatives and new board members.

Rohu expressed his disappointment at the outcome of his communications with the CC immediately after the announcement that the GSU was to be derecognised. He attempted to salvage the GSU as an interim president, saying he provided the CC with the missing financial accounts he had managed to get access to and a four-week plan to provide graduates with elected representation. This was ultimately unsuccessful, with Rohu saying that “Trinity was not going to roll back on that decision [of derecognition]”.

Rohu says that “the brand [of the GSU] has been damaged”, indicating a change of name may be needed. He would like to see more potential funding for pay in regards to the unpaid officers of the GSU, partly because of “the amount of time we had put into the GSU” and also “to retain talent”. He explained that in light of the financial pressures already facing postgraduates, it was unfair to expect officers to volunteer their time in order to better

the life of postgraduates at Trinity when they could be spending that time earning money elsewhere.

Conor Reddy, a PhD candidate in chemistry and Chair of the TCD Postgraduate Workers’ Alliance (PGWA), now known as the Postgraduate Workers Organisation (PWO) for the 2021/22 academic year, also spoke to The University Times expressing his concerns about the future of postgraduate workers’ rights. An integral part of postgraduate life at Trinity involves paid and unpaid work. In Reddy’s case this can include demonstrating in labs, while for those in the arts, this is more likely to include parttime teaching.

The TCD PWO works “to recognise, establish and protect working rights of TCD postgraduates”. In Reddy’s experience the actions of the GSU in the past two years has “probably let down our specific cohort a bit”, feeling that there “hasn’t been anyone that really

understands the issues that we face from pay and stipends to hours and conditions”. In this context he says that the loss of the GSU means “to be blunt, not a whole lot at the minute” to working postgraduates doing research.

Reddy believes that the interests of said postgraduates “would maybe be better served if there was a distinct representation for postgraduate researchers” so that an elected representative could raise issues of pay and teaching conditions at relevant committees.

He felt that although it was no doubt having a negative impact on postgraduates to no longer have representation at committee level, it may have been a taught masters student in that representative position, which would have led to “a limited amount of representation” for those in the PhD cohort or who are working concurrently with their studies.

In the future, Reddy would potentially like

to see representation for taught postgraduates separated from representation for postgraduates as workers, saying that “for us [the TCD PWO], that would be where we would like to institutionalise ourselves and become more official”. He added that all the work of postgraduate researchers “drives the research output from the university”, highlighting the importance of this community to Trinity’s respected reputation as a higher education institute.

Concerning student welfare, Reddy says that one of the demands of TCD PWO is for “adequate resources and mental health services for postgraduates”. He added that TCD PWO is a campaign group and, therefore, does not have the kind of funding or resources necessary for providing welfare services. Within TCDSU or student counselling he would like to see a “specialised” service that has someone that “understands the stresses and

strains of postgraduates”.

As of the time of publication, postgraduate students are still without a long-term plan for representation across College. Although they may have access to support from TCDSU, there are worries that it may not be specialised enough for their particularly unique needs. The CC, and perhaps the decision makers further up in College governance, have to act quickly and properly to restore the correct postgraduate representation alongside TCDSU. Whatever the timeframe and result of this process is, many parties are seeing the derecognition of the GSU as an opportunity to reassess the future of postgraduate representation at Trinity. Whether this takes the form of specially elected postgraduates to join TCDSU or an entirely new and separate graduate students’ union, or something else, is yet to be decided.

Someone on a PhD stipend of €16-18k per year, with children may find it very difficult “to pay rent and put food on the table”

“

Without the GSU, the student may not have known who to contact about their concerns

“

A (Somewhat) Comprehensive Review of Clubbing in Dublin with a Hidden Disability

David Kearns

Contributing Writer

It’s a Saturday night. And like a typical Masters student who hasn’t quite reconciled with the fact they’re no longer a buoyant undergrad, I’ve ended up in Flannery’s. The night unfolds as any night along Camden Street does…I pay upwards of 10 euro for a single vodka dash. I collide with a tipsy first year on my way to the dancefloor, causing me to spill half of said vodka dash down myself. My shoes stick to the floor as I try to find the rhythm to “Hit Me Baby One More

Time” without the rest of my drink meeting a similar fate and exacerbating already gluey surface. I’m enjoying myself.

Then nature calls, brought on by however much of the vodka dash actually made into my mouth, on top of the several shots I had gamely downed before leaving pre’s to make the thought of queuing for a club in the bitter Dublin winter less intimidating. For most people in this scenario it’s a simple undertaking. The most daunting aspect of going to the toilet in a club is undoing zips in time for the main event. However, I have a condition called Spina Bifida, L5 S1 Spina Bifida Myelomeningocele, if we’re being precise. (Don’t worry, I don’t know how to pronounce that last word either). My spine didn’t fully form in the womb and as a result my spinal cord is damaged and the nerves in my lower back are worse at communicating than the protagonists in a Sally Rooney novel. This complicates things slightly, as, in part, it affects my bladder. I have to catheterise, and the bladder augmentation operation I had at 10 years old has bestowed in it a capacity enviable to most of my peers.

Herein lies the anxiety for me – I’m a man who has no other option but to use a cubicle in public bathrooms, already shady enough in a packed club. And the combination of a roomy bladder and a night fuelled by diuretics means that I’m in the stall for a suspicious amount of time. This undoubtedly attracts attention. At its most inconspicuous it manifests in the odd glance or double take as I bypass a line of free urinals to enter the cubicle.

Another manifestation is the more disconcerting, but ultimately manageable, incessant pounding on the door from a lad absolutely out of his tree, accompanied by yells of how desperately he needs to use the stall. Then we have the more difficult and far too common scenario of a cubicle without a functioning lock. Faced with no choice but to catheterise in here or count down the time it takes for my bladder to burst, I opt for the former and precariously navigate not missing the toilet bowl whilst stretching out an arm to op-

erate as a de facto lock.

If the door is too far away from the toilet, my leg has to sub in. It’s an act that closely resembles a yoga pose you made in that one Zoom class you took during lockdown and never returned to because the discomfort wasn’t worth the smugness of being able to touch your toes. I stand by the fact that the university should award me some kind of STEM degree for managing to calculate, drunk, the precise angle to perform this task successfully. It should also be stated that I am a 5 foot 8 stick insect of a man, whose singular outstretched arm or leg has proved time and time again to be no match for a steaming clubber of a stronger build determined to bound into the stall.

The pinnacle of these anxiety-inducing scenarios is what happened to me on this particular Saturday, and many previous Saturdays for that matter. It involves a diligent bouncer clocking onto my use of the cubicle and proceeding to investigate further. The more considerate of these wait outside the stall and politely but firmly pull me to one side after I’ve washed my hands (an essential concession, as Spina Bifida leaves me more vulnerable to infection).

Unfortunately, the more standard course of action is constant banging on the door, complete with profanity-laden exclamations that I need

to get out of the stall right this second, if not sooner. Once in the open, they grab me by whatever presents itself to them – sometimes it’s my wrist, sometimes it’s my shirt, haul me outside (hands unwashed) and begin to search me for contraband.

Fortunately, this case resembled the former more than it did the latter. The bouncer thumped the door once, explained that I needed to get out, and only pressed his fingers to my back whilst escorting me to the smoking area. Clearly he sensed I’d had a few too many drinks to channel my inner Usain Bolt and do a runner across the sardine tin of Flannery’s main bar.

He asked me to empty my pockets and searched every crevice of my wallet, finding nothing more illicit than a circuit laundry top-up card and a Books Upstairs voucher. He then turned to the catheters which I had cupped in my outstretched hands. Taking one from me, he remarked “what is this?,” inspecting it with a puzzled look on his face.

“It’s a catheter” I replied.

“What?” he said, bemusement glazing his features as he began shaking the one in his hand.

“It’s how I go to the toilet. I’ve got a condition called spina bifida that affects my blad-

der”, I offered, trying to act more sober than I was, suddenly alert to the onlookers peering my way, hoping to get a whiff of scandal. This did little to satisfy his inquiry and I could tell he was still suspicious. Somewhere between 10 seconds and eternity passed in the following moments until finally he handed the catheter back to me, evidently not mollified but unable to adequately justify removing me from the premises. He leaves and I’m stood alone in the smoking area, battling with the task of returning everything to its place within my wallet. I self-consciously try to tuck the catheters away from view, feeling like they signal my otherness, my incongruity and incompatibility with the club. I find my friends, pass it off as a light-hearted joke, and spend the remainder of the night dancing on one of the ledges, belting out the lyrics to cheesy pop songs but pointedly not drinking. This isn’t intended as an exposé on the failings of Dublin’s nightlife culture, and this is by no means a Dublin-only phenomenon. I have experienced the above scenario in every city that I’ve had more than one night out in, and the apprehension of being challenged lurks over me like a spectre

every time I go clubbing. Nor is it a bleeding heart, X-Factor-style sob story utilised for clout or sympathy. I have a much better deal than most with my condition, who manage an overwhelming list of complications from birth, including the inability to walk. Instead, this is a reflective and importantly cathartic piece that I hope people will synthesise to broaden their awareness of disabilities in a historically ableist space. Personally, I struggle with the hidden component of my disability the most. I’m still developing the mental fortitude to explain my Spina Bifida to a new person without feeling an inherent shame for subverting their expectations of what kind of package disability comes in. I still feel awkward and embarrassed when I convey the accommodations necessary for me to subsist in environments that someone else with my appearance wouldn’t require. Clubbing is an especially pronounced context for this uneasiness to thrive in. First: pockets. I’m sure plenty will join me in my petition for the minimum pocket size on every piece of clothing to increase by 20 per cent. That cute pair of jeans that would complete the edgy/effortless aesthetic to make me the talk of Workman’s? Can’t wear because my catheters conspicuously jut out the sides, signposting my difference and ruining the fit in one fell swoop.

Next: entry. It’s tiring having to brush off the same script every time a bouncer stares perplexedly at 6 batons that resemble something between a green glow stick and a fountain pen. Finally: the bathrooms, the trials and tribulations

of which have been adequately covered above. I know by now some will be thinking, wouldn’t this all be fine if you just used the disabled toilets?

The answer is maybe. But honestly, when was the last time you clocked the disabled toilets in a club?

And more importantly, I shouldn’t need to. I have everything necessary to utilise the facilities. All that’s missing is the understanding from fellow club goers and bouncers alike that a boy with a bladder-affecting condition will be in the stall for longer than 30 seconds.

I have no solution for my predicament, and that’s okay. It’s not stopping me from going out and enjoying myself because I truly love clubbing. Limiting my outfit options, reiterating the same explanations and navigating the uncomfortable encounters are all aspects of a night out that I have to reckon with to participate in one of the most exciting and formative features of the university experience. Indeed, some of the best memories I’ve made in my four years as a student have happened on a sweaty dance floor or in a spirited smoking area. Equally, some of the most unpleasant and personally disconcerting moments have played out in the same environment. If there’s one thing I hope non-disabled readers take from this article it’s that people with hidden disabilities inhabit the same surroundings as you. whether it be on the bus, in the supermarket or at the club. Re-evaluating your conceptions of these spaces to include people whose disability isn’t immediately apparent will, I hope, lead you to a more informed and empathet-

ic navigation of these settings, unburdening your friends, family members and colleagues with hidden disabilities of their innate feeling of otherness. I too need to re-evaluate my relationship with my disability and the space I occupy. I need to shirk the discomfort I feel when discussing Spina Bifida with new people, and remove the stigma that I impose on myself by assuming that my, entirely self-managed, condition will lead to social exclusion akin to that felt by the oddball main character in a clichéd high school movie.

I’m not going to fantasise about a utopia of nightclubs and bars with bouncers expertly informed on the ins-and-outs of hidden disabilities and toilets pulled straight from the pages of luxury interior magazines. If anything, that will just make the reality of the matter harder to tolerate. But at the very least, can we replace the locks on stall doors when they’re broken? My back can only take so much strain and chiropractors in Dublin are expensive.

“

The combination of a roomy bladder and a night fuelled by diuretics means that I’m in the stall for a suspicious amount of time

“

Then we have the more difficult and far too common scenario of a cubicle without a functioning lock

The pinnacle of these anxiety-inducing scenarios is what happened to me on this particular Saturday

“

“

I have experienced the above scenario in every city that I’ve had more than one night out in

A World of Problem-Solving: Inside the Provost’s Innovation Challenge 2023

Ailbhe Noonan

Editor

As I entered the multi-coloured space on the second floor of the business building on one Sunday afternoon, the atmosphere was electric, alive with ideas and conversations. This vibrant atmosphere came as a result of the Provost’s Innovation Challenge - a challenge hosted annually in which students are tasked with solving some of society’s most pressing issues which had been running all weekend.

The theme for each challenge is decided by a public vote set out by the Provost, and this year’s theme was “student accommodation”. The students participating came from all disciplines, pairing different combinations of humanities, business, computer science and other STEM subjects together to come up with creative solutions to the problem, with a total of six teams participating this year. The event also saw leading experts in the field of housing and business acting as judges and mentors for the students involved.

The University Times had the privilege of speaking to students from each of the six teams just before judging began. One team consisting of students from Ireland, China and India described themselves as “quite passionate” about the issue of student accommodation. “I’ve seen a lot of my mates struggle with this, and it’s one of the most pressing issues that the country is facing”, explained Karun, doing an MSc in computer science.

Their idea looked at making better use of Dublin’s existing resources

to solve the accommodation crisis by matching homeowners with students in need of a place to live. “We actually saw that there was a possibility of using the existing resources rather than going and building things which will take extra time”, Kamala explained. “If we approach existing homeowners and we can find a good match between the owner and the student, it would help solve the issue in a much quicker way.”

Another team decided to use their collective computer science expertise to build a website that “does web scraping and matches the best options for students to price”. The idea sprung from the problem that everybody was looking for accommodation at the start of the year” and that two members of the team in particular “were struggling because there are a lot of choices that weren’t advertised or were different between websites”.

This team used an algorithm to “scrape the web for as much information as possible from different websites and put it in one place”, followed by “information from the students such as the college you’re going to, the type of accommodation you’re looking for, and then we input the information into an algorithm which tries to match them based on the information put in”.

In a similar vein to the first group, another group decided they would, if given the chance, renovate and refurbish abandoned buildings in Dublin and offer them at a more affordable price. “The current student accommodations are all very expensive because

there is no other alternative, so they can set any prices they want to”, Fatima explained. “We want to solve this problem by taking these buildings from the government, which already gives grants to people to renovate abandoned buildings. We’re solving two problems for them – the abandoned building problem and the student accommodation crisis”.

In a slightly different twist on the topic, one group decided they would pair students with accommodation in rural areas in something of an Irish Erasmus to build community spirit and provide exchange students with the full Irish experience. This group was particularly passionate about their project as they chatted away to me and showed me all their ideas for locations and different experiences based on whether or not students would be willing to commute to college. One of the towns they had considered, it turned out, was Skerries, where I’m from.

“Our idea is about involving the rural Irish community in helping the crisis. While Dublin is overcrowded, not everywhere is – there are towns and villages looking for more people to revive their businesses”, they explained.

“In these places we will build some nests for Irish students with facilities for learning. They wouldn’t be places where people are pushed out to for four years, rather, they would be rotation places so a semester or year-long experience in which there would be a working collaboration with companies and products with people coming from

the same area.”

They described it as “a cheap but enriching Irish experience”.

The last group had the idea of transforming empty office spaces into student accommodation, with the permission of the businesses that own them, and coupling that with an internship opportunity that would see students paying a lesser rent cost as part of their internship.

“We’re basically transforming empty office spaces into student accommodation. It’s a sustainable and versatile option that will provide a social aspect to it”, they explained.

They emphasised that their main sellingpoint was the internship programme: “our main selling point is the internship programme which will provide value from both the student perspective and the company perspective”.

When I asked the people how they had found the experience of coming together with total strangers to build something new, all of them said that it was a highly enriching process, from meeting people from all walks of life to combining ideas and skill sets to help fine-tune the final product. Many also said that they had been enticed by the opportunities presented and the desire to be involved in solving an issue that has affected them personally.

“It was very interesting and re -

ally new to me”, Kamala laughed. “I was able to interact with students from other areas and that was particularly interesting.”

“We’re a really diverse group so we have all different courses –two programmers who have been working endlessly for the past two days, we got a website working in under two days”, another group said, highlighting the impressive work ethic and skill of the programmers.

“When we first arrived we didn’t know each other so it has been all about getting to know each other, working as a team and finding each other’s attributes, so it’s been a really nice experience”, another person added.

One person explained that it was her third time participating in a Tangent event – “it’s my third time joining a Tangent event, so this time for me it was about meeting new people and making new friends.”

Overall, the feedback I received from the students who had participated was overwhelmingly positive, with almost all of them saying they had gained something new out of the experience, whether that be a new skill, a better understanding of the issues facing students or even the chance to make new friends.

“If there is an opportunity to join a Tangent event, you should do it”, one person finished.

The Irish Theatre Awards Must Reflect the Diversity of Artists in the Industry Awards are just one aspect

cial diversity, writes Choy-Ping Clarke-Ng.

Choy-Ping Clarke-Ng

Contributing Writer

An Octoroon by Branden Jacobs Jenkins was staged at the Abbey Theatre last year. Much like the challenging script that centred around race and racism, the production itself has been part of a catalyst for discussion on these topics in Irish theatre. It was groundbreaking namely as it was the national theatre’s first main stage show with a black director and majority cast of colour (eight out of ten actors). Staging the play demanded a lot from the team due to the racial violence and damaging stereotypes featured. It was incredibly well received by audiences and garnered numerous five star reviews, many highlighting performances from the cast.

On February 4th, The Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards nominations were announced. An Octoroon received a Best Production nomination. Two of the show’s white actors were also singled out for nominations from the whole cast and creative team. All 16 acting nominations were for white actors. A week later, members of the creative team including myself as assistant designer, posted a statement highlighting our frustration at the news via the Black and Irish Instagram account. We were particularly disappointed by the lack of recognition for the extraordinary work of actors from the global majority. On February 20th, The Irish Times announced they were “pausing the judging to review their processes.”

As a Hong Kong-Irish person whose own theatre making often explores race, now feels like a rare opportunity for more open discussion. Irish theatre has numerous issues, some of which include accessibility, gender and class. I’m going to focus on race, yet it is only part of much needed change.

The Irish Theatre Awards are ultimately subjective, but I do think a starting point to improve them would be a transparent selection of a larger and more diverse panel, in terms of race, gender, class, etcetera. I also think that the awards shouldn’t be attached to The Irish Times due to the ongoing boycott called for by the Trans Writers Union. Some productions have been boycotting the paper’s reviews and awards in line with this. I think the more independent the awards could be, the better. If the awards are to have weight, wouldn’t it be of benefit to everyone if all productions could potentially be nominated? And if the panel was a group of people that were more representative of audiences and workers today?

I’m not going to pretend that Irish theatre is inherently very diverse. It is mostly made up of white, middle class people. But it’s not entirely and I think in recent years we have seen a larger shift that should be reflected.

I cannot write about how the panel came to their decisions as it wasn’t transparent. I hope that the outcome of the review process will open this up. So I will turn my attention to what I think is ultimately a big question going forward: who makes it to the stage to begin with?

I think it begins with having better fees and financial support for marginalised artists to securely focus on theatre work. The fees in theatre are often so low that this is a huge barrier to most people. Being a person of colour or Traveller means this financial barrier is likely higher due to how class, race and ethnicity intersect. This root of the issue will keep theatre as an artform for only those who can af -

ford it. Having more financial security for theatre artists would allow people to take risks, make mistakes, learn and continue on. Ideally I think that the Basic Income for the Arts should be expanded and continued beyond its pilot years. Anyone I talk to in theatre would like to see this happen. Tokenistic diversity hiring and casting is not the long-term solution. I myself have been hired on certain productions to give a semblance of diversity. It was frustrating. Sure, it’s cool if there are actors of colour in classic plays where maybe the characters could be any race. But why can’t we have our own stories and classics too – made for and by people like us, with voices and lives like our own? I feel that living in Ireland as a person of colour is so different from experiences in the UK or USA, where more diverse texts are often imported from. There needs to be work from within the country that is reflective. I believe

that this should be in the interest of the entire industry, as it will create the new audience that theatre needs to stay alive.

There is also a large legal issue with regards to who has the right to work here. The current Irish immigration system makes it very difficult for freelance workers to get a long term visa. Most theatre work is freelance. Designer Pai Rathaya has been outstanding since she came to study and work here from Thailand. She has won an Irish Theatre Award and is nominated again for her design work this year. She has worked on 32 productions since she arrived in 2018. She has recently had to return to Bangkok due to the fact that her visa application was denied. This is despite her extensive CV and an online petition with thousands of signatures supporting her application. Many other people who have come here to work from outside the EU will face similar systemic barri -

ers in the immigration system. Ireland has a huge problem with racism across the board, not just where it’s more visible. I hope we will continue to see work that is as groundbreaking as An Octoroon – and even more so. I hope that people of marginalised identities will have their talent recognised at national theatre awards. I hope that these people will also get to create meaty projects that showcase themselves in the strongest light. I hope that the immigration system will be reformed to allow international theatre workers to have careers here. This will all require challenging conversation, reflection and action to move the industry forward. It’s not the time for performative allyship or tokenism. We need to keep organising and speaking out. It’s better to say something messily than not at all.

of how Irish theatre needs to change to support ra-

Photo by Ros Kavanagh

“

Being a person of colour or Traveller means this financial barrier is likely higher due to how class, race and ethnicity intersect

Sure, it’s cool if there are actors of colour in classic plays where maybe the characters could be any race. But why can’t we have our own stories and classics too—made for and by people like us, with voices and lives like our own?

Mandela House, 6 Trinity College, College Green, Dublin 2 Phone: (01) 646 8431 Email: info@universitytimes.ie

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In the previous issue, Amy-Louise O’Callaghan’s name was mistakenly printed as Amy-Louise O’Connor.

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Thingmote: A Column of Free Association Continued Correspondence on the Education Issue

Professor Chris Morash Columnist

So, the thing is… yet another month has crept by, and I haven’t had a chance to write my column. Again. This time around, I had planned what was shaping up to be a fascinating article on the preponderance of obscure spherical metal objects on the campus. However, I found myself distracted by the recent sad news that the State Examinations Commission has what is apparently the world’s worst case of institutional long covid, and will not be able to provide Leaving Cert results in time for the start of the 2023-24 academic year (and possibly not for the next three years). This led me to dig back through the stacks of paper on my desk to a letter I received from a student here in Trinity last term, which I had passed along for publication in the second issue of this year’s University Times.

Ah, here it is: it’s from Maeve Drapier (JS Economics), and she is suggesting that we abolish the Leaving Certificate, reform of the State Examinations Commission, and use the savings (about €70million) to help fund the universities. If you don’t have the article to hand, I would suggest that you dig it out from the bottom of the cat litter tray. However, re-reading it led me to another, much more disturbing piece of correspondence, which arrived after Maeve’s letter had been published. Under the current circumstances, I really feel that I must share it with University Times readers…

T hingmote, a chara,

As a secondary school teacher for the past thirty-seven years, I am well able to recognise stupid. However, seldom have I seen such a sterling example of stupidity as Maeve Drapier’s recent letter to this column, published in the University Times. In her letter, Ms. Drapier – who I understand is an Economics student at Trinity, God help us – advocates abolishing the Leaving Certificate, and reforming the State Examinations Commission, and giving the money that would be saved directly to the universities to manage their own admissions.

I am led to understand that this sort of carry-on is tolerated elsewhere in the world.

Clearly there are a few basic realities that Ms. Drapier fails to comprehend. A cornerstone of the Irish education system is the sacred principle that Irish Teachers Cannot Assess their Own Students. This is what makes our educational system the envy of the world. And why is this? The reason is simple. If Irish teachers were to be allowed to mark the work of their own students, teachers would be subjected to Intolerable Pressures.

Do I need to spell out what I am saying here? I’m not just talking about the odd Hogan Stand ticket tucked under an apple on the teacher’s desk. No, no, no. I’m talking about big dirty envelopes, choked full of tens and twenties and even fifties to help little Seosamh or Gubnait get their points for Veterinary Science. It simply doesn’t bear thinking about.

Thank God, as things stand we are mercifully free of such temptations. Everyone knows that the operations of the State Examinations Commission are so utterly obscure as to be incorruptible. Does anyone in the country really know what goes on in the months’-long process of adjusting and readjusting Leaving Certificate marks – a process so far beyond human understanding that it now stretches from June into October? How could anyone even begin to think about meddling with something so inexplicable? And therein lies your salvation.

Now, Ms. Drapier: did you ever stop for a moment to think what would happen if that bulwark of integrity were to be whisked away, and the universities were to look after their own admissions? Clearly not. I will tell you what would happen. All that wicked temptation would slither up to the gates of the universities themselves. And then you would be in a fine pickle. I bet you never thought of that, did you?

Le meas, Bean ni Cuill

I must confess that when I first read this letter, I was shocked. Never for a moment had it occurred to me that the Mammies and Daddies of Ireland were so prone to corruption (being one myself). I refuse to believe it. However, since the correspondence is directed in the first instance to a student, Maeve Drapier (JS, Economics), I feel it only right to let her respond.

Dear Thingmote,

Like your good self, I was a wee bit surprised when I read the letter from our Ms. Wood. I, too, find it difficult to believe that we live in such a sneaky world. However, my Economics training has taught me to take a cheerier view, so I’ve done a few calculations.

Some of these numbers will need to be firmed up a bit. However, let’s think for a moment about how much money every year is poured into all of the busy little enterprises that have popped up around the Leaving Certificate points race – all of the grind schools, private tuition, etc., etc. For instance, a year at the Institute of Education alone costs €9,950. Of course, not every parent spends that much. Some spend more over the three years of the senior cycle,

some spend less. But if we take even a round slice of that – say a third – and multiply it by the 70,000 students who applied for third level courses last year, you find yourself with a nice plump bundle of cash every year: a conservative estimate of €210 million of private expenditure every year spent on getting into university.

Now, imagine of all that lovely cash no longer being spent on grind schools and the like. Instead, imagine it sloshing around in BT bags in the backseats of the hybrid SUVs of the nation’s Mammies and Daddies, just looking for a way to ease the way to college for their little darlings. And what if it found its way directly into the hands of the universities – little bundles discretely thrown over the wall into the Provost’s Garden at night, for instance.

Think what the universities could do with such lovely bunches of Euros. Affordable student housing, for one thing. Just imagine a future in which the student experience did not involve sleeping in the back of a Ford Fiesta for eight months. It’s certainly an idea worth thinking about as an alternative to some silly idea that there should be more state funding for student housing!

Maeve Drapier (JS, Economics)

Dear Maeve. I am now even more shocked than I was earlier. Under no circumstances would the universities would countenance such a plan. Better a hundred students sleep in the backseats of Ford Fiestas – a hundred students in the same Ford Fiesta, for that matter – than a single brown envelope appear in the Provost’s dahlias. I am going to urge that you be kept away from the pages of the University Times in future unless you can be more reasonable. [She’s not the only one we’ll be keeping away from now on. Ed.]

Professor Chris Morash is Trinity’s Seamus Heaney Professor of Irish Writing and a former Vice-Provost. He returns this year to continue writing his column, known as “Thingmote”, following a very successful run last year. The thingmote was a mound of earth which served as a meeting space in Medieval Dublin. It was located just outside where Front Gate is now.

Charlie Moody-Stuart, Sports Editor Siothrún Sardina, Chair of the Editorial Board

Giulia Grillo, Photography Editor

Eleanor Moseley, Film and TV Editor

Álanna Hammel, Literature Editor

Professor Chris Morash uses his monthly column to facilitate further conversation

TCDSU Elections: Unusual Dining Hall Hustings Gives a Glimpse of Questions to Come

Ailbhe Noonan, Adam Potterton and Gina Bagnulo

On the steps of the Dining Hall once again to launch the 2023/24 Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) Sabbatical Elections, the candidates all appeared amicable and excited to begin their campaigns. This year’s Hustings saw a change in the usual format with the candidates facing no questions until the Welfare and Equality Hustings on Tuesday night.

Candidates generally stuck to their manifesto points, reading from notes as they introduced themselves and their main objectives. With some sticking to by-the-books campaigns and others promising radical changes, this year’s election season is set to see conflicts surrounding establishment and outside candidates as well as debates surrounding accountability and the most effective ways to channel power and reform TCDSU.

President

All three candidates presented themselves well tonight, however, they quickly found themselves diverging on the direction they intend TCDSU to take.

Back on familiar ground, current Education Officer Zöe Cummins emphasised her experience with the problems faced by students in her role as Education Officer. “I’ve seen what issues are affecting students and I think I’m the most qualified person to figure out how to address these issues going forward”.

Cummins is the most typical candidate for TCDSU President with her wealth of experience and knowledge. She will go into her campaign with a year already under her belt, which may stand to her in the more technical aspects of the role but may also hinder her appeal as she is the establishment candidate.

In stark contrast to Cummins, László Molnárfi, a third-year PPES student and TCDSU’s Social Sciences and Philosophy (SSP) Convenor, made his position very clear: “I am running because I think we are all sick and tired of no change happening at College”.

Molnárfi received vocal support from the crowd as he outlined a vision that emphasised grassroots action. Molnárfi is known for his radical politics and, judging from his fiery introduction and emphasis on increased action and adversity, this will be the driving force behind his campaign.

“I believe in a union that agitates for students and advocates for an equitable education system across the board, not just a union that measures its engagement in terms of how many condoms or goodie bags have been given out”, he exclaimed.

The only candidate not to come from within the SU, Tilly Schaaf ex -

pressed sentiments falling somewhere in between the radicalism of Molnárfi and the experience of Cummins, saying that “the SU is where you go to make change” but also emphasising that she has taken more radical actions including making “speeches and posters for manifestos and plans to block bridges, and [she’s] definitely made some politicians uncomfortable”.

The third-year physics student will run on a platform of transparency and open dialogue – conversations not usually emphasised in the presidential elections. Schaaf also offered an outsider’s perspective with claims of being “a normal student representing normal students”. Schaaf remains the only outsider in the race – a fact that could set her apart but could also see her stumble over the more detailed elements of the role.

While tonight’s Hustings may not have seen the candidates questioned on their manifestos, the tone of the race has already been set, pitting established experience against radical action. It remains to be seen which perspective will come out on top.

Education Catherine Arnold, the sole candidate in the education race, described themselves as someone who loves “baking, crochet and long-term policy”, getting an early chuckle from the crowd. They emphasised their love for the SU and their desire to reform it early-on, saying that their “passion in this union has always been supporting students to the best of [their] capacity” and that they “want to work for students”.

Describing the Education Officer as “the memory and foresight of the Union”, Arnold was not afraid to acknowledge that the Union needs to change with the times and has a lot to do to get students through the current crises. “I don’t want to be reactive, I want to be proactive”, they stated.

“Our future is in our hands”, they boldly proclaimed. “Every time we fail to support a student we as a college community fail not only them, not only ourselves, but also our future.”

Their campaign appeared to stay away from the usual clichés of tackling major topics such as Schols and the Trinity Education Programme (TEP), focusing instead on the changing needs of students post-COVID and during the cost of living crisis and the need to represent student issues at an institutional level.

Arnold’s policies appeared to fall somewhere in between the radicalism and the establishment mentality beginning to emerge from the presidential race. They clearly acknowledged the need to reform systems within the college and the SU that have not been effective in tackling student needs, but they also have a desire to work with Col -

lege and “foster a relationship that is unshakeable that will be working to improve the lives of students long after I finish my term in office”. While they did not display their technical knowledge tonight, this will likely be a topic that appears in the race as the role of Education Officer requires detailed knowledge of college policy and TCDSU working bodies. It is clear from Arnold’s introduction that they intend to work with senior members of the college community, but also that they are passionate about reform and making the changes that will improve the student experience.

Welfare and Equality

Sole candidate Aoife Bennett made it clear just how important the role of Welfare and Equality Officer is within the TCDSU, calling it the “backbone” of the Union. The role encompasses both Welfare and Equality, something not often acknowledged by candidates who focus more on the former title, but Bennett successfully struck a balance between the two: “while the Union should be a radical entity that fights for long term systematic change, it also should act as a support on an individual level for each and every student”.

Bennett was keen to emphasise her experience as JCR Welfare Officer and on the Welfare Equality Committee, which allowed her to gain experience working with students on a personal level as well as with campaigns and policy. Her experience with both the role of Welfare and Equality Officer, and with the Union more broadly, will surely stand her in good stead in addressing the needs of individual students and the student body as a whole.

The balance between the Welfare and Equality elements of the role was evident in her policies. Bennett spoke of her desire to “build upon” current initiatives, referring specifically to the provision of free period products on campus. Her inclusive approach is similarly reflected in aim for greater outreach to off-campus locations, as well as the implementation of consent workshops, queer sex education and diversity training.

Bennett showed her awareness of the variation in students’ college experiences tonight as she had directly sought students’ engagement with her campaign before concluding, “a collaborative, united students’ union is the key to positive change”.

Communications and Marketing

Final-year Chinese-Irish law and politics student Aiesha Wong focused her introduction on her desire to “amplify the whole of the SU” through increased social media presence and streamlining of the weekly email – conversation topics that seem to emerge year after year with the communications and

marketing race, where the emphasis is less on activism and advocacy and more on practical elements of the job.

She described the role as facilitating information about the entire SU both within the Union and to the wider student body. “Unlike the other roles where there’s a lot of policy implementation and advocacy, the comms and marketing role is about facilitating and getting that out to everyone so that you all know what you’re supporting and what the SU represents”, she said.

Despite focusing on the more practical aspects of the campaign, Wong was quick to present a number of ideas for her vision of the TCDSU social media pages including increasing the use of video content and posting more frequently. Engagement was her key word of the night as Wong announced plans to get the SU onto other social media platforms such as TikTok as well as giving students and society Public Relations Officers (PROs) the opportunity to learn skills such as photoshop.

Her sponsorship plans were similarly practical, with an emphasis on student needs and a focus on building relationships with services and products that students might use or engage with.

Running unopposed means Wong is likely to win the position, however, with well-trodden points and a heavy focus on the practical, she may face questions about the specifics of her plans over the next two weeks. Ents Tonight’s hustings saw the return of a familiar face in the form of Nadia as well as two challengers.

The reveal that this year’s Trinity Ball (TBall) will be the last on campus for a number of years also dominated the conversation, with all three candidates emphasising their desire to see the event continue. Where the candidates diverged was in the question of whether the ents officer should push for TBall to be held on campus or moved to another location.

Nadia was keen to prove that her loss had not fazed her. She proudly proclaimed that she was “back again and more determined than ever” and that she doesn’t “want to just attend these events, [she wants] to make them bigger and better”. Her introduction was toned down compared to last year, focusing on her wealth of experience with Dublin’s nightlife and her desire to run events highlighting Trinity’s multicultural students.

Many of her manifesto points returned from last year, including running sustainable swap events on campus. Nadia also emphasised her desire to see TBall run again this year, focusing her efforts on finding an alternative venue. With her now being well-

versed in running a campaign, Nadia came across as confident and collected.

Third-year politics and economics student Sam Kelly introduced himself through his colourful personality. His speech was similarly colourful, going from his experience with volunteering to his main manifesto points. Focusing on accessibility, community and safety, Kelly echoed many of last year’s main points. While he didn’t mention TBall directly, he did state that he wanted to make a “true community on Trinity campus”. It is likely that he will be questioned on his position regarding TBall and whether it will go ahead.

Third-year PPES student Olivia Orr had the strongest line on the issue, wanting to “keep the Trinity in Trinity Ball” and stating that she is “already fighting to keep it on campus”. She also expressed a willingness to hear feedback from the student body via a “submission form that all students can submit to”.

This year’s ents race will likely be dominated by questions surrounding the future of TBall given that it forms one of the main parts of the role. With all three expressing a desire to improve safety and accessibility and covering similar points, the candidates will have to work hard to differentiate themselves.

Editor of The University Times Clara Roche, the sole candidate for the position of Editor of The University Times , began her campaign with a focus on her vision of change for the paper. Her address struck a positive tone, looking forwards at what she hoped to change, improve, and reform for the coming year.

Addressing front square, she said: “At its best, I think UT is a brilliant place for like minded creatives to meet each other and some of our staff have gone on to do incredible things”.

On the diversity of the wider college community, the final year History and Politics student noted that if elected, she would reinstate positions such as an Ethnic Minorities correspondent, LGBTQIA+ correspondent as well as an Irish language editor.

Roche went on to define her campaign as being one of change, promising to make House 6 and the office of The University Times wheelchair accessible. She also said that she intends to increase methods for accountability within the paper. Looking forwards at the prognosis of this campaign, it is likely that she will face scrutiny over how she intends to increase and reform accountability measures within the paper.

Last Minute Drop Goal hands DUFC dramatic win over Cambridge

Charlie Moody-Stuart SPORTS EDITOR

Alast minute drop goal meant Dublin University Football Club (DUFC) pipped Cambridge University RUFC 27-24 at College Park on Friday.

Harry Colbert’s beautifully struck effort sailed high between the posts Business Building bound from almost 40 yards out, much to the delight of Trinity’s bench, players and fans.

It was a night of late drama. DUFC had dragged themselves back into the contest through two tries in the final quarter to restore parity at 21-21 with ten minutes left.

A penalty apiece levelled the scores again to 24-24 as the game entered the final minute.

The draw would unlikely have left either side feeling overly hard done by – least of all Trinity. Despite leading 24-21, the home side had been behind for much of the second half and were perhaps lucky to make it to the break only 7-14 down given how they ended the first half with 14 men.

Only a terrific cover tackle from full-back Colm Hogan in the corner prevented Cambridge from capitalising on their numerical advantage on the cusp of half time.

Even so, 7-21 would have been an unfair reflection of the half as Trinity were the better side for much of the opening 40 minutes. This was already impressive given the discrepancy in experience between the two

sides, with Trinity’s XV almost exclusively comprised of J1 players and Cambridge counting ex-England fly half Toby Flood in their ranks.

And it was all the more impressive given how DUFC were missing four of their preferred second rows and three of their favoured tight heads for the fixture.

The adversity seemed to have a galvanising effect on Trinity, as the youngsters wasted little time in seizing their opportunity with both hands.

Ten minutes in and Trinity were 7-0 up, having pegged Cambridge back in deep their twenty-two for the five minutes prior.

Cambridge weren’t to be squashed for long, scoring the next two tries with each pristinely converted to lead 14-7 after 25 minutes of play.

The away side could perhaps count themselves fortunate to still be leading after 35 minutes. Trinity winger Andrew Hogan could have had two tries for himself. First he dropped the ball on the line - an error echoed by outside centre Sam Berman minutes later - before Hogan was again denied by a last-ditch tackle.

Trinity’s left flank, the cornerstone of which was the partnership between Hogan and Berman, caused Cambridge problems throughout the match.

In one particularly potent attack, Hogan, inside centre Louis Mc -

Donough and number eight Dave Walsh all offloaded to each other with pace and accuracy to prise open Cambridge’s back line. It was a move whose fluency belied this new-look DUFC side’s alleged lack of familiarity.

Andrew Hogan’s sin-bin threatened to undermine Trinity’s endeavours, but Colm Hogan’s aforementioned try-saving intervention brought a close to proceedings at 14-7.

The second half saw Cambridge impose their physicality on the game, with their own left winger linking cleanly with his two centres – as he was to do for much of this half – before darting over the Trinity line.

Another clean conversion saw the English outfit sitting pretty at 21-7. DUFC, by contrast, were struggling to impose their own offensive game plan for much of the third quarter. It was almost as if the home side had forgotten that they were only two tries behind. Any such unawareness vanished once they pulled one back. The rumbling decibel level off the pitch only grew when DUFC’s bruising defence of Cambridge’s driving maul, from the precarious position of just five-metres out, forced a knock on.

It was not many plays later when a penalty saw Trinity marching on the Cambridge twenty-two, rolling

through phase after phase with newfound fuel before rumbling over the try-line to level the scores at 21-21.

After receiving the ball from the kick-off, belief drove them forwards again as they crashed their way up the pitch. Reward for their endeavour was almost immediate. Colbert slotted the points after Cambridge were penalised for coming off their feet in a ruck on their own twenty-two.

To many on the sideline, this was deemed likely to be a winning score. However, Cambridge’s roaring response very nearly resulted in another try.

To the crowd’s relief, the overlap on the right hand side was ignored and Bernan brought the ball-carrier down with what proved to be a game-saving tackle. Cambridge were not to be wholly denied though, and a penalty from the ensuing phases was slotted by their metronomic flyhalf to leave the score 24-24.

Both sides pushed for a winner but it was Trinity who edged this titanic contest with the last kick of the game, and not undeservedly so.

Indeed, Trinity boast an impressive record against Oxbridge sides in recent years.

Last year they trounced Oxford “forty-something to two tries”, recalls DUFC Head Coach Tony Smeeth, who would seemingly be forgiven for losing track of the score.

In their most recent Cambridge encounter last season, Trinity dismantled the home side 10-43 – despite making thirteen changes at half time when the score was 0-38.

In the last College Park meeting between the sides – just before COVID – Trinity edged a Cambridge side which included ex-Australia captain James Horwill and ex-South Africa international Flip Van der Merwe in the second row.

“We tend to play stronger away, and weaker at home, as everyone wants to do the trip over”, jokes Smeeth. Needless to say Smeeth’s modest assessment cloaks what is a formidable DUFC set up, capable even of overcoming university sides with ex-International players in their ranks.

“It’s a great fixture for us and a nice release from the league…although sometimes the home fixture can be sandwiched between two league games”, says Smeeth.

“It’s old rugby tradition, which I hold dear. The game is the most important thing, and Friday was a good one.”

Smeeth will be doubtless be expecting a similarly good game when DUFC cross the Irish Sea on 9th March to play Oxford University RFC.

DUFC U20s Clinch Home All-Ireland Berth despite Defeat to Clontarf RFC

Charlie Moody-Stuart

SPORTS EDITOR

Dublin University Football Club (DUFC) Under-20s

clinched a home All-Ireland quarter final despite losing 31-26 to Clontarf on Sunday in their penultimate regular season game.

DUFC started the day in second place – tied with Lansdowne on 53 points but behind on their head to head record – knowing that they only needed a point to secure a top four finish.

They also knew they would likely need a win in order to keep pace with leaders Lansdowne – and so it proved, with the title now Lansdowne’s to lose after they beat Old Wesley. Clontarf had aspirations of their own – in third place, just four points behind the two leaders, they knew a win would keep them in the hunt for the title too.

The fixture was held in Blackrock College, with the strong coastal winds having a direct impact on the match.

In each half, the side playing with the wind triumphed. Trinity led 12-7 at half time before a resilient Clontarf clawed their way back through dominating the set piece.

Three tries in just under twelve second-half minutes cast the dye with regards to the result. However, two late Trinity tries in the final ten minutes inflated a score line which, whilst flattering, earned DUFC a los -

ing bonus point which not only secured them a home semi-final but also kept their title chances alive. While Clontarf started the stronger of the two sides it was Trinity who came closest to opening the scoring.

Matthew Lynch’s kick to the corner left them nicely placed at the 5m line, only to be penalised on the line.

Clontarf’s set piece was to prove a problem for DUFC all game, and another warning sign was soon to follow. A lineout from an innocuous position midway in Trinity territory rolled into a menacing maul, marching nigh on twenty metres right up to Trinity’s territory.

While DUFC held up the first breach of their line, Tarf were not to be denied a second time.

For the ten minutes after centre

Oran Farrell had kicked the conversion, Clontarf looked the more dangerous. Playing little in the way of flowing rugby, their raw physicality and power – even into the wind – was an issue for the home side. Openside flanker Luke Brady was particularly impressive, destructive both in the tackle and at the breakdown.

Trinity, however, found their feet eventually, with some clever kicking from Lynch in the loose pinning Clontarf back deep in their own half – a disadvantage not to be underestimated with the wind.

DUFC thought they had score when Lynch – this time with ball in hand – floated a pass over to wing Aidan Henry, but it was deemed forward. Trinity got their try within five minutes, though not before they had botched a line out on the 5m line, a lack of accuracy which was to be an unfortunate theme.

The unconverted nature of the try left Trinity 5-7 down, but it wasn’t long before they had a second. Number eight Davy Walsh carried well in the build-up, one of the few players not overawed by the physicality of the Clontarf pack. Flanker Kevin Jackson – another man who held his own this game – crossed over under the posts.

Trinity were pressing for a third when Clontarf kicked the ball into touch – which they couldn’t do quickly enough – which paused things at 12-7 with Trinity very much in the ascendancy.

The second half saw no such thing. The away side had DUFC under pressure from the start, and whilst they were initially thwarted in their efforts by a wayward lineout of their own, they shortly crossed over following another dominant maul.

Breakdown penalties were costing Trinity territory and possession as well as their lineout – the latter a weakness which the introduction

of hooker Zach Baird still failed to rectify.

However, it was an individual error – a split high-ball by winger Henry – which facilitated Clontarf’s third try. The fumble invited Clontarf well on DUFC’s twenty-two, and having won a penalty from the ensuing scrum – neither their first nor their last – they rumbled over from a maul after a lineout 6m out.

Being bullied at the set piece, restricted to very little time on the ball and 19-12 down against a team who as things stood were level with Trinity, one got the impression that the game – and maybe even the season – was at something of a crossroads here.

The score was certainly surmountable, especially with twenty-five minutes still to go. Hope was far from extinguished

However, DUFC very nearly ensured that it was: full-back Davy Colbert telegraphed a loopy pass on his own twenty-two to Henry, which Farrell read only too easily.

26-12 down just two minutes after the previous try – through such an avoidable error – the coaching staff were frustrated.

Again, the response they were looking for remained elusive. Clontarf rumbled back again through the forwards, winning penalty after penalty at both breakdown and then

scrum. Whilst Jackson managed to hold them up over the line with the help of Walsh, Clontarf eventually crossed after another line out, making it 31-12.

So great a sucker punch would have killed off most teams, yet DUFC seemed liberated by the lack of pressure. Returning to the freer-flowing rugby of their first half performance they miraculously nabbed two tries off a cocky Clontarf, the second with the last play of the game.

Rarely has one point come so cheaply and yet borne such significance. Clontarf’s title hopes are all but dashed as they head to Lansdowne on the final day of the season.

DUFC on the other hand play away at St Marys College RFC. Whilst results will need to go their way, Clontarf’s impressive showing – not fairly reflected in the scoreline – will leave Trinity hopeful that a league title still lies in wait.

ARTS

How the History of the Islamic World Found an Unlikely Home in Dublin

Gina Bagnulo

SENIOR EDITOR

Europe has often been characterised by colonial ventures with museums of foreign artefacts dotting the continent.

While the ownership of antiques and artifacts from the Middle East and the wider Islamic world is a common phenomenon in cities such as London and Paris, the same cannot be said about Ireland and its capital Dublin.

Despite this, there exists a small museum tucked away in the Irish capital just waiting to be discovered by enquiring Middle Eastern and Islamic history enthusiasts. The Museum also boasts extensive biblical and Asian collections.

The Chester Beatty Museum

“It was all a great adventure” were the words of Alfred Chester Beatty, the American-British mining magnate and philanthropist for whom the museum is named.

Beatty graduated from the Columbia University School of Mines, moving to Denver to work in its caves. Having worked his way up in Colorado and through taking a job with the Guggenheim Exploration Company, Beatty became one of the most successful mining magnates in the United States.

In 1912, The New York-born businessman moved to the UK after purchasing the Baroda house in Kensington Palace Gardens. He later offered this as a hospital during the

Great War in 1914.

Living in London for almost four decades saw Beatty become what was described as “disillusioned” with the country and he decided to move to Dublin in 1950.

Throughout his life, Beatty avidly collected Islamic and Middle Eastern Manuscripts.

Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, he travelled to Egypt for the first time where he became mesmerised by Islamic antiques, which then expanded to Quranic, Biblical and Persian collections.

Beatty passed away in 1962, but prior to this was made the first honorary citizen of Ireland in 1957 for his cultural contributions. He was the first private citizen in the country to be honoured with a state funeral.

The Chester Beatty Library was first founded in the year 1950 after Beatty moved to Dublin, but the museum in its current form opened on the 7th of February 2000.

On the significance of his collections Beatty stated: “ It isn’t the number, it’s the fact that these books are extremely rare, you can go and buy 5,000 oriental manuscripts but they’re just copies … but a lot of these, a great number of them are unknown”.

Arabic Collections

The museum hosts a large number of manuscripts and paintings in the Arabic language. These range in time from the year 800 to 1871.

Produced in Cairo in 1366, one popular painting is from “The Manual on the Arts of Horsemanship”, where two horsemen charge at each other. Originally composed in Mamluk Damascus, a widely known military encyclopaedia explains beneficial skill sets needed to form an effective cavalry. The painting previously mentioned is from the lesson, “The Use of the Sword”.

Islamic Collections

The number of Islamic items span in range from the years of 675 to 1035 CE. There are currently 250 copies or partial copies of the Qur’an at the Chester Beatty Museum. These were produced in a variety of countries such as Iran, Iraq, Syria, India and Turkey.

One of the highlights of the Islamic collections is a description of the prophet ( Hilya al-nabi ) by the Ottoman calligrapher Hafiz Osman. Osman was widely known for having designed a new

format to depict pious texts which came to be known in Turkish as the hilye. This hilye at Chester Beatty is one of the earliest examples of this new format.

Persian Collections

February to August of 2022 saw the Museum host a display known as the “Isfahan Exhibition” that explored the life and times of mediaeval Safavid Persia particularly in relation to the bustling city of Isfahan.

The exhibit entitled, “Meeting in Isfahan: Vision and Exchange in Safavid Iran” featured the cosmopolitan urban centre that was Isfahan in the 17th century. Highlights from the Persian collection include segments from the “book of kings” such as the enthroning of gayumars, the mythical first king of the dawn of time.

Going forward into the future

In a 1962 interview relating to his new found life in Ireland, Beatty fondly remarked, “Well I’ve grown very fond of the country and I enjoyed my life here so much and then I finally decided to build a library and then I finally decided when I die I want to leave it to Ireland.”

While it remains an in depth look into the past, the Museum has a bright future in the 21st century and was voted European Museum of the Year in 2002.

The Chester Beatty’s current featured exhibit displays fragments from early Roman Egyptian texts. It also has an exhibition on the art of the book, sacred traditions from the Islamic world and a virtual gallery exhibit that can be viewed from home. More information can be found on the Chester Beatty website at www.chesterbeatty.ie/exhibitions.

Kate McCullough of Normal People and An Cailín Ciúin visits Trinity

Eleanor Moseley

FILM AND TV EDITOR

With the Irish film industry having a deserved spotlight in this years award season, thanks to productions like An Cailín Ciúin (2022), The Banshees of Inisherin (2022), and performances such as Paul Mescal’s in Aftersun (2022), Kate McCullough’s visit during this week’s Trinity Arts Festival was particularly special.

After studying at the acclaimed Łódź Film School in Poland, McCullough worked on several successful documentary productions including Here Was Cuba (2013) and The Farthest (2017). Her drama work notably consists of the beloved television series Normal People (2020) and An Cailín Ciúin (2022), the first Irish language film to be nominated for an Academy Award.

In her talk to students on Friday 17th February, McCullough outlined her journey to become the prestigious cinematographer of today. Initially starting with a passion for photography, she had a strong eye for composition, and a film course in Dún Laoghaire then progressed to Łódź Film School.

Here, McCollough noted the difference in gender. She was only one of four women in her film course in Ireland, however in Łódź the gender divide was less prominent, with female professionals having a greater spotlight. She acknowledged that while the Irish film indus -

try is still largely dominated by older men, there is an accelerating change towards greater inclusivity and diversity.

With particular relevance to Trinity, McCullough recounted her fond experience of filming Normal People, with an amiable crew that differentiated from the more relentless and harsher environment that typically accompanies drama productions.

After being asked for advice on how young filmmakers can break into industry jobs, she encouraged the use of social media to reach out to working professionals, and to share personal work. With phone camera technology being highly advanced, McCullough advocated for amateurs to make and develop their own work, garnering as much experience and technique as possible.

Kate McCullough attended the BAFTA awards in London with the cast and crew of An Cailín Ciúin, with the film itself being nominated for Best Film not in the English language and Best Adapted Screenplay.

In Their Opinion: Sibling Rivalry Done Right in UCD Dramsoc Theatre

Álanna Hammel

LITERATURE EDITOR

Lofi Hip Hop Beats are playing through the Dramsoc Theatre in the University College Dublin (UCD) Student Centre. An unmade bed lies on stage, and near it a school desk with an Irish dictionary and an abandoned school bag. Those few visual cues alone would remind anyone of their experience as a secondary school student preparing for the end of that chapter in their academic lives. It’s just as well because both of the characters we meet in In My Opinion , directed by Nessa Molumby and written by Laoise Molumby, are coming towards the end of their secondary school experience and both have completely different attitudes to the situation… even if they are sisters.

The diligent, focused fifth year Áine (played by Emmanuella Fatunbi) dreams of college. For her, college is her opportunity to reinvent herself and finally participate in some form of a social life. At school, she struggles to converse with her peers and constantly feels as if she is “boring” them.

“I could take bland, but not boring,” she admits in a heartrending monologue, one that Fatunbi knew would tug on her audience’s heartstrings thanks to her powerful performance.

In comparison, her younger sister Caoilfhionn (played very well by Eri Farrell) is preoccupied with her social life, and anything school-related other than lunchtime is the least of her concerns. Not only has

she established herself as the most popular girl in her own year, she has dipped her toe in the social pools of her sister’s year, much to the annoyance of Áine.

Eri Farrell’s performance as the boisterous younger sister exhibits years of acting experience along with a clear ability to portray complex characters within the realms of student theatre and one-act plays. Having said that, throughout the play we see another side of Caoilfhionn as she admits her true thoughts about school, her family’s expectations and how she is constantly being compared to her older sister.

Although the total run-time of the play is forty-five minutes, the two sisters fill the time frame with fights, squabbles, tiffs and

monologues, eventually making up and forgiving each other after all that sibling rivalry.

This play does not solely have one sibling relationship on the screen – sisters Nessa and Laoise Molumby are behind the play itself, and this shines through in their work. Despite the play being based on two sisters who fail to see eye to eye, these two have a great relationship in real life, insists director Nessa.

There are six years between the two and Laoise is still in school currently studying in fifth year, just like her character Áine. Any member of the audience would agree that it is surreal for a young writer to create such a deep, physiological relationship that avoids cliches and cringeworthy moments, unlike what seems to be the majority of sibling relationships in theatre.

Even the closing scene where the two sisters fall out over makeup – a common occurrence in many homes – seems so original and authentic. Nessa Molumby establishes that the main aim during the production of the play was to make the relationship as enjoyable as possible for the audience without falling into traps and clichés.

Perhaps one of the most genius features of the production is its use of props. Áine is seen dressed in blue, whereas Caoilfhionn is covered in red. This immediately establishes the contrast between the two siblings. Not only that, but their belongings follow this trend. In typical “siblings that share a room” fashion, Caoilfhionn’s red blanket may appear on Áine’s neatly made bed. This use of props is a subtle one, and it works extremely well.

Consequently, In My Opinion is a stellar play revolving around an original relationship between two sisters that could not be more different. The play is thoroughly enjoyable, riddled with contemporary references to modern living and tongue-in-cheek humour – so much so that your cheeks will be hurting by the end of it!

This production displays the talent of a director that knew exactly what they were doing, along with a writer that has a blindingly bright future ahead of them. On top of that, with the two rising stars playing both characters with a mastery and prowess of acting, it is clear that these sisters will go far. “In my opinion”, this play has it all.

Five of the Best: Libraries in Dublin

Álanna Hammel

EDITOR

We all love a good library. Aside from our vast selection on campus, Dublin offers some incredibly aesthetically pleasing libraries, along with some that seem to provide a selection of books that will have your arms full upon leaving! Not sure where to begin? Here is the list of perfect places to start!

LexIcon Library and Cultural Centre, Dún Laoghaire

Take the 46A or the DART to Dún Laoghaire to be blown away by the colossal LexIcon Library and Cultural Centre. Having cost €36 million for its construction, the library was quite a controversial build. The library opened in 2015. It has over 80,000 books between the adult and children’s sections, over sixty computers to avail of, a floor dedicated to local interest, and at least one hundred study spaces (although the majority of them remain full throughout the day). It is not only a book lover’s dream, but anyone would fall in love with interior design which would encourage any student to study.

The National Library of Ireland

Located on Kildare Street, the National Library of Ireland is slightly different from the other libraries in this list. You need a Reader’s Ticket in order to visit their reading room. This is an easy process, and can be completed by filling out a form online! Various exhibitions also take place in the National Library of Ireland, with the two most recent including an exhibition on Seamus Heaney entitled “Listen Now Again” along with “The Life and Work of William Butler Yeats”. The exhibits are informative and fascinating, though the chance to visit the beautiful building designed by Thomes Newenham Deane is reason enough to apply for a Reader’s Ticket!

Malahide Library

A personal favourite for many. Scottish-American industrialist Andrew Carnegie and American business magnate J. D. Rockefeller had a competition on who out of the two could be most philanthropic. Carnegie’s decision to prove he was the one

who was most philanthropic was to build libraries all over the world, and Malahide Library just happens to be one of these! Carnegie libraries are in Dublin, Belfast, Waterford, East Cork, Kerry and West Limerick, with other Dublin examples including Skerries, Swords, Dundrum and many others.

Pearse Street Library

Not only is its proximity to Trinity an advantage, but it goes without saying that the exterior and interior design of Pearse Street Library is absolutely stunning. The Gilbert Library (the library’s official name) doubles as both a public library and a city archive. Once again, this library has a beautiful reading room, but not just that! The archives of the Mansion House fund and papers of notable theatrical figures such as Jimmy O’Dea and Michéal Mac Liammóir are all kept in this library. The library was originally designed by city architect C.J. McCarthy and was then extended almost a century later by his successor.

Rush Library

What once was St. Maur’s Church is now Rush Library. The insides are still left untouched; exactly what you would imagine a church to look like, except filled with books and study spaces. Even the outside is recognisable as what would have been a churchyard and what could be a graveyard now surrounding the library.

LITERATURE

Trinity to Run Public Lecture Series on Ukrainian History and Culture

Ailbhe Noonan EDITOR

Trinity has announced that it will run a public lecture series on Ukrainian history and culture to mark the one year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine in collaboration with the Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies and DU History.

The lecture series, titled Understanding Ukraine, will feature a total of seven lectures and will run every Thursday evening from February 9th to March 30th.

The lectures will focus on key moments in Ukrainian history including the formation of the Kievan Rus, the expansion of the Pol -

ish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russian colonisation and Ukraine’s experiences with Salisism. They will also include information on Ukraine’s literary scene, modern cultural traditions, the Ukrainian language and the significance of the country’s Jewish heritage.

In a press statement, Dr. Balázs Apor, an Associate Professor in European studies, said: “We want to provide students, colleagues and the general public with an introductory overview of Ukraine’s complex history and rich cultural heritage”.

He continued: “There has been a growing interest in

the country’s past and present since the beginning of the Russian invasion, but there is limited availability of courses on Eastern Europe and specifically, on Ukraine in Irish universities”.

“The series hopes to respond to this gap, and provide audiences with an essential understanding of the

cultural and historical mosaic of Ukraine.” More information on the courses as well as how to register can be found on eventbrite.

Award-Winning Musical Fun Home to Run in Gate Theatre

Álanna

Hammel

LITERATURE EDITOR

The award-winning musical Fun Home, based on the graphic novel of the same name by Alison Bechdel, will be playing in the Gate Theatre from July 1st until August 26th.

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic is a graphic memoir based on Bechdel’s childhood spent in a funeral home, with a particular emphasis on the peculiar relationship the cartoonist had with her father. The tragicomedic tragicomic dips into Bechdel’s sexuality with various literary allusions. Fun Home may be a recognisable title to some TCD students as the graphic novel is on the syllabus for the Junior Fresh English module Writing Childhoods. The graphic novel was first published in 2006, and has won several awards since including the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book, the Stonewall Book Awards’ Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award and the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Memoir.

Alison Bechdel is well-known for coining the Bechdel test – a basic measure of the representation of female characters on the screen as a mark of progress within the industry and with media representation. The test depends on whether a piece includes two women who are explicitly named and, at some point during the film, speak about a topic other than a man.

Bechdel’s tragicomic novel was first adapted into a piece of theatre by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori. In August 2009, the musical was workshopped for the first time at the Ojai Playwrights Conference. The Broadway musical opened in 2015. Thus far, Fun Home has won Best Musical and Best Original Score at the Tony Awards, and in 2016 received the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

This production is directed by Róisín McBrinn. Previews will be held from the 1st to the 5th of July, and opening night is the 6th of July. Tickets are €15 and available to book on the Gate Theatre’s website.