Trinity News (2024)

26/07/2024

The Seanad has been threatened with legal action over its failure to hold a by-election to fill David Norris’ seat which has been vacant since the veteran senator’s retirement in January.

In a letter to senators seen by Trinity News, campaigner Tomás Heneghan demanded that a by-election be called for the Trinity seat “without further delay” given the violation of several high court rulings by the vacancy.

Heneghan, a graduate of the University of Limerick, last year won a supreme court case which ruled that graduates from institutions other than Trinity and the National University of Ireland should enjoy the same right to vote in Seanad elections.

In his letter, sent on Wednesday, Heneghan highlighted that no motion has been filed to initiate a by-election in a “reasonable timeframe”, which is a requirement set by 2010 High Court ruling in Doherty v Government of Ireland. He also cited the 2020 High Court case Senator Ivana Bacik v an Taoiseach which mandates the Seanad consist of 60 members.

According to his letter, Heneghan has also written to Cathaoirleach Jerry Buttimer calling on him to recall the Seanad, which adjourned for summer recess last week, in order to address this issue.

In November, Norris announced that he would be stepping down from his Seanad seat after a record 36 years in an interview with Trinity News.

Click the link in our bio to read more.

27/06/2024

Are you a photographer, videographer, illustrator, podcaster or designer? Join our staff now!

Trinity News is hiring multimedia and design staff for the 2024/25 academic year. Our photographers and videographers regular have their work published to the largest student media following in the UK and Ireland, while our designers shape the brand of Ireland's premiere student news outlet.

All roles offer the opportunity to build a professional portfolio of work and the chance to grow their own private audience and social media following - apply now at the link in our bio.

Applications for multimedia, design and social media teams close on 5pm Saturday, 29 June.

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18/06/2024

Apply to be a part of Trinity News' most dynamic and exciting team today!

We are now hiring section editors for our Life team, Trinity News' arts and lifestyle section.

From Student Living to S*x & Relationships to Food & Drink and Arts & Culture, Life is our most diverse section and benefits from a wide range of input from all corners of the student body.

If you're passionate about capturing and shaping campus life, apply for one of our section editor roles today.

Click the link in our bio for full application guidelines.

Applications close 5pm Saturday, 22nd June.

17/06/2024

Do you want to steer the flagship section of Ireland's premiere student news outlet?

Trinity News' dedicated news coverage has made it a ubiquitous part of daily conversation on campus and beyond. Stories broken by Trinity News have reached national and international attention on several occasions in recent years.

Our News section is also an invaluable snapshot of Life on campus. As well as controversies in College and the students’ union, the news team captures student life through stories about societies, student groups and individual students who are making an impact.

This year we will be structuring our team in three parts: College News, City (Metro) News and Investigations.

We are seeking dedicated and capable writers to join our news team for the 2024/25 academic year. Prior experience in Trinity News is not an absolute requirement for a place on our news team and we encourage expressions of interest from anyone who can demonstrate a passion and determination to be a news reporter.

Click the link in our bio for full application guidelines.

Applications close 5pm Saturday, 22 June.

10/06/2024

President of the Postgraduate Workers’ Organisation and longtime College-based activist Conor Reddy has been elected to Dublin City Council for Ballymun-Finglas.

Reddy, a PhD researcher in Trinity’s School of Medicine, was elected as a People Before Profit-Solidarity representative this evening on the 12th count having received 1,249 first-preference votes.

Speaking to Trinity News, Reddy said he was “delighted to have made such a breakthrough” in the Ballymun-Finglas electoral area.

Reddy received the third-highest vote share of any candidate in the area, defeating candidates from Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin to win the seat.

He said that the election represented “a vote of despair” among much of the electorate, highlighting the rise in votes for “far-right, racist” candidates.

“The area needs change badly,” Reddy added. “We had one of the lowest turnouts in the country, one of the highest amounts of spoiled votes, and you have to look at the reasons why – there’s a huge housing need in Ballymun-Finglas, one in four homeless people in Dublin are from Ballymun.”

“The area’s been neglected, it's been left behind, and people are furious about that.”

Click the link in our bio to read more.

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04/06/2024

Trinity has been ranked 87th in the world by QS 2025 World University Rankings.

Down six places since last year, College has maintained a top-100 position for the third consecutive year.

Despite its high overall ranking, Trinity was ranked just 668th for student-staff ratios, its worst performance by far across nine separate categories.

The rankings compare 1,503 universities across the globe. Trinity performed well on academic reputation and international student numbers, placed at 93rd and 133rd respectively.

Its only improvement in any category was employer reputation, a notable jump from 238th to 195th in the world.

Trinity’s best performance was in employment outcomes at 83rd in the world, down from 70th last year.

College saw a drop of over 100 places for sustainability, from 173rd to 276th.

Provost Linda Doyle used the opportunity to once again take aim at government underfunding of higher education, saying that government has allowed investment in education and research “to take a back seat”.

Click the link in our bio to read more.

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28/05/2024

The trial of a Trinity law professor and Board member accused of murdering a man in a shooting at a farm in Dublin will begin this week at the Central Criminal Court.

Associate professor Dr Diarmuid Phelan is charged with the murder of Keith Conlon at Hazelgrove Farm in Tallaght in February 2022.

A jury for the trial will be sworn in before Justice Eileen Creedon tomorrow afternoon. It is expected that the trial will commence on Thursday and last three weeks.

At the time of his arrest Diarmuid Rossa Phelan was an associate professor in the School of Law, which he first joined in 1994. He was elected as a Trinity Fellow in 2014 and served as a member of Board, the highest authority and governing body of College.

Conlon, a father of four from Kiltalown Park in Tallaght, died in hospital two days after being shot in the head following a verbal altercation with Phelan who owns the farmland where the incident took place.

It will be alleged in court that Phelan “deliberately shot” Keith Conlon’s dog with a legally owned rifle “without any forewarning” after he and two other unarmed men entered lands at Hazelgrove Farm.

Following a “verbal altercation”, Phelan then allegedly fired three shots from a licensed revolver, with the final shot “fired directly” at Conlon, hitting him in the back of the head as he turned to run away.

During a bail hearing, the court heard that Phelan told gardaí in interviews that he accepted he shot Mr Conlon with the licensed firearm but believed he was under threat and was “terrified” at the time.

Phelan was the owner of 10 legally held fi****ms, which have been seized since his arrest.

Click the link in our bio to read more about the case.

22/05/2024

The Irish government has announced that it will recognise Palestine as a state, alongside Norway and Spain.

Taoiseach Simon Harris made the announcement at a press conference outside Government Buildings this morning alongside Tánaiste Micheál Martin and Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan.

Speaking on the decision, Harris said: “This is a historic and important day.”

“In January 1919, Ireland issued a message to the free nations of the world asking for recognition of its right to self-determination.”

“Today, we use the same language to recognise Palestine as a state,” he continued.

Harris explained that whilst Ireland had “hoped to recognise Palestine as part of a two-state peace deal” alongside its existing recognition of the State of Israel, the motivation behind Ireland’s decision to recognise Palestine in this moment was to “keep the hope of that two-state solution alive”.

Harris added: “Both the Palestinian and Israeli people are inherently kind and decent.”

“The only way to stop war and death is by tapping into those qualities in both nations.”

Martin called the recognition of the Palestinian state a “historic moment for Ireland”.

“It is a clear and immutable statement of our deeply-held belief that there can be no peace in the Middle East until the Israeli and Palestinian peoples alike enjoy the same rights to self-determination, statehood, peace, security and dignity,” he said.

Around the same time, similar declarations of recognition for the State of Palestine were made by Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez.

Click the link in our bio to read more.

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22/05/2024

💃 We're hiring 💃

Could you be the next editor of TN Life?

Life is our award-winning student lifestyle and arts section, spanning five vibrant subsections.

For full application guidelines and more information, visit our website through the link in bio, or search trinitynews.ie/applications.
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Applications for other roles and staff positions will open in the coming days and weeks.
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20/05/2024

College has retracted a controversial €214k invoice issued to TCDSU earlier this month.

It has also dropped disciplinary proceedings against union leaders including President László Molnárfi and President-elect Jenny Maguire for their role in protests which disrupted access to the Book of Kells on five occasions.

In a post on X/Twitter, Molnárfi called the retraction of the fine “a win for the right to protest”.

In a statement to Trinity News, he called protest “a fundamental right”.

“If a loss of revenue coincided with peaceful protests as outlined by the College, none of which resulted in any arrests by An Garda Síochána, then such is a cost to the university of operating in a liberal democracy where peaceful protest is both lawful and encouraged.”

It is the latest in a series of wins for the union in a weeks-long battle with the College over various issues including the right to protest, a proposed increase to masters fees, and divestment from Israel.

Sharing that disciplinary action against her and others had been dropped, Maguire said: “Trinity cannot intimidate students from taking action against a college that doesn’t work for them.”

Click the link in our bio to read more.

14/05/2024

Students at University College Cork have established an encampment on the university’s campus demanding that it cut all ties with Israeli institutions amid its genocidal campaign in Gaza.

Tents have been set up on the quadrangle at the centre of the university’s campus, similar to the encampments at UCD and Trinity.

In a statement, the newly-established UCC BDS said that the encampment is a response to the “University’s unwillingness to meet the Students’ Union’s demands for full divestment from the ongoing genocide in Palestine.”

They said that while they welcome UCC’s promise to “divest their financial ties to Israeli companies”, the protestors “continue to demand full divestment from all financial ties to Israeli but also non-Israeli companies that are profiting from the occupation of Palestine.”

The statement demands that UCC “open the books of the Tyndall Institute to show what financial links and research project partnerships exist with Israeli academic institutions, Israeli state institutions and Israeli and non-Israeli companies that are profiting from the occupation of Palestine”.

The protestors further demand that support be given to Palestinian students to continue their studies in UCC. They also demand that UCC “commit to funding research by Palestianins both within UCC and internationally”.

The statement also condemns “the inaction of the Irish government”, and in particular its ties with “capitalist imperialism states” such as “America, [UK] and EU member states”. They stated that “Ireland has acted in lockstep with these states, which can be best seen in the continued use of Shannon airport as a de-facto US military base, enabling the flow of military aid to the Israeli occupation forces.”

It is the fourth such encampment to be established in Ireland, following Trinity, Queen's University Belfast and UCD.

Click the link in our bio to read more.

14/05/2024

Students at University College Cork have established an encampment on the university’s campus demanding that it cut all ties with Israeli institutions amid its genocidal campaign in Gaza.

Tents have been set up on the quadrangle at the centre of the university’s campus, similar to the encampments at UCD and Trinity.

In a statement, the newly-established UCC BDS said that the encampment is a response to the “University’s unwillingness to meet the Students’ Union’s demands for full divestment from the ongoing genocide in Palestine.”

They said that while they welcome UCC’s promise to “divest their financial ties to Israeli companies”, the protestors “continue to demand full divestment from all financial ties to Israeli but also non-Israeli companies that are profiting from the occupation of Palestine.”

The statement demands that UCC “open the books of the Tyndall Institute to show what financial links and research project partnerships exist with Israeli academic institutions, Israeli state institutions and Israeli and non-Israeli companies that are profiting from the occupation of Palestine”.

The protestors further demand that support be given to Palestinian students to continue their studies in UCC. They also demand that UCC “commit to funding research by Palestianins both within UCC and internationally”.

The statement also condemns “the inaction of the Irish government”, and in particular its ties with “capitalist imperialism states” such as “America, [UK] and EU member states”. They stated that “Ireland has acted in lockstep with these states, which can be best seen in the continued use of Shannon airport as a de-facto US military base, enabling the flow of military aid to the Israeli occupation forces.”

Click the link in our bio to read more.

14/05/2024

⚠️ We're hiring ⚠️

Trinity News is hiring for its executive team for 2024/25.

For full application guidelines and more information, visit our website through the link in bio, or search trinitynews.ie/applications.
⁠
Applications for other senior roles and staff positions will open in the coming weeks.
⁠

12/05/2024

Photos from the second day of UCD's Gaza solidarity encampment.

UCD President Orla Feely today released a statement regarding the encampment acknowledging that events in Gaza "have caused shock and deep distress across the University community”.

She added that the university "supports the rights of UCD staff and students to peacefully protest within the law and in compliance with university policies”.

Feely said that UCD has no formal investments with Israel, but does have research links which she added would not be cancelled under principles of academic freedom.

UCDSU President Martha Ní Riada told the University Observer: “I don't think there's much to be taken from that email; it's saying that the university is in a fine position, that they do a lot to support students and academics. But I think she hasn't read our demands properly, because there's a lot more in it than what's in her email.”

Protestors have issued a detailed list of 11 demands, including the severance of all ties, the provision of scholarships to Palestinian students,
and for UCD to call for the dismantling of the state of Israel and the enactment of a one-state solution.

Click the link in our bio to read the full list.

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11/05/2024

Students at UCD have established an encampment on the university’s campus demanding that it cut all ties with Israel amid its genocidal campaign in Gaza.

At 6.30pm, dozens of tents were set up beside the lake at the centre of UCD campus, similar to the encampment in Trinity last weekend.

In a statement, UCDSU and UCD BDS said the encampment is a response to UCD’s refusal to address concerns regarding its stance on Gaza, “including the absence of a call for a permanent ceasefire and a reluctance to review partnerships with Israeli institutions”.

Protestors are demanding that UCD discloses and severs all ties, academic and financial, with Israeli institutions, commits to divest from Israeli companies, and provides scholarships for Palestinian students to attend UCD.

It adds to a global movement of Gaza solidarity encampments which have sprung up on university campuses around the world, beginning in Columbia University and spreading across the US.

Last week TCDSU and Trinity BDS established the first such encampment in Ireland, joining a wave of such protests across Europe.

“This encampment will continue until these demands are met,” UCDSU said.

“As students and academics within UCD we will no longer accept the morally inconsistent and continued feigned neutrality of the university in the face of an ongoing genocide.”

Click the link in our bio to read the protestors' full list of demands.

📸: Revolutionary Communists of Ireland

11/05/2024

More photos of last night's Northern Lights display above Dublin viewed from Milltown Park.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the US has said it is monitoring the sun following a series of solar flares that began on Wednesday, causing the rare phenomenon.

The organisation issued a rare geomagnetic storm watch, the first in nearly two decades, which led to the Northern Lights or aurora borealis being visible across the world, including in Ireland.

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10/05/2024

Photos of the Northern Lights have flooded social media after they illuminated skies across Ireland tonight.

The natural light display has reached much further south than expected, with people in Limerick and Tipperary being able to view the aurora borealis.

The rare phenomenon has occurred due to a geomagnetic storm, as a result of the eruption of solar materials from the sun.

📸: via and

09/05/2024

TCDSU has been in negotiations with College to use revenue from the proposed masters’ fee increase to improve College counselling and health services.

TCDSU President László Molnárfi told Trinity News that “progress is being made” in negotiations with College management over the controversial proposed fee increases.

The proposal was submitted by the union to the board following “a change in attitude from management when it comes to listening to student voices,” according to Molnárfi

The union expects the funding to be spent on improving the waiting times for appointments and understaffing of these two services which he described as “invaluable to both staff and students.”

Molnárfi said that “This represents a step forward in the way in which the university interacts with its student stakeholders.”

“It has been a long-standing problem that fee increases were neither negotiated nor expenditure detailed and agreed on with the Students’ Union,” he continued.

According to Molnárfi, “relevant College committees” including the Board and the Financial Committee, will make a decision on the proposal this month.

He added that TCDSU has “been assured” that “54 courses will have their fees frozen, and seven courses will have their fees decreased”.

Molnárfi also called on Higher Education Minister Patrick O’Donovan to take action, saying he “is ultimately responsible for the chronic underfunding of higher education to provide adequate resources to support our higher-education institutions, students and academic and professional workers”.

The union previously protested against the proposed 2.3% increase to masters’ fees along with a 10% increase for certain masters’ programmes and non-EU courses for the 2025/2026 academic year.

Click the link in our bio to read more.

09/05/2024

Teachtaí Dála from across the party spectrum have celebrated College’s decision to take steps to fully divest from Israeli companies and to establish a taskforce to review its academic ties toIsraeli institutions.

It has been heralded as a landmark win for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, as well as the most prominent success story of a student-led encampment in solidarity with Gaza.

Speaking to Trinity News briefly outside Front Gate, People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett described the agreement between College and the protestors as a “huge step forward in the campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions”.

“It’s a fantastic outcome for those who were involved in the occupation and the encampment”, he said, adding that “it’s to the great credit to the students’ union, individual students, and the Postgraduate Worker Organisation”.

“They have forced the college to do the right thing, to break all relations with a state that is guilty of genocide and apartheid.”

Sinn Féin Spokesperson for Further and Higher Education Mairéad Farrell TD said in a statement to Trinity News that she congratulates the students involved “for taking such a brave stand against the genocide in Gaza and for representing the BDS campaign so well.”

Leader of the Labour Party Ivana Bacik welcomed the agreement between College and the encampment protestors, saying that “it is clear that the protests led by Trinity College Dublin students have made a difference”.

“Their dedication and perseverance should be commended, and their demands for divestment and accountability must be heeded”, Bacik said.

“Trinity students have been leading the charge for accountability and justice. Today’s announcement represents a significant step forward, in keeping with the growing recognition that institutions must reassess their roles in perpetuating injustices and human rights violations."

Click the link in our bio to read more.

📸: .k

08/05/2024

Students celebrate in Front Square after College commits to work towards full divestment from Israel.

Inspired by similar movements in the US, protestors have camped out in Fellows' Square since Friday night demanding that Trinity cut all ties with Israel, and enact reparations for Palestinian students.

It is the first victory of its kind in the world.

08/05/2024

Trinity will work towards total divestment from Israeli institutions following a meeting between senior management and protestors this afternoon.

Protestors at the Trinity BDS encampment unanimously agreed to accept College’s terms on cutting ties.

Protestors have confirmed they will not officially leave the encampment until College issues their own statement, but will likely be gone from Fellows' Square by morning.

More to follow.

08/05/2024

People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith praised the ongoing encampment in Trinity, saying protestors are “on the verge of a meaningful victory”.

The TD visited the site of the Trinity BDS protest this evening, commending protestors for “standing against genocide”.

“It’s wonderful to see,” she told Trinity News, praising the “organisation” of the protest and the amenities offered such as books, board games and large amounts of food.

“But the message is the most important thing and that is about boycott, divestment, and sanctions on Israel.

“It couldn’t come at a more important time, because as we speak, Rafah is being invaded by the IDF.

“Some families are for the sixth time packing up everything and moving in Gaza.

“This has been a war on women and children. So what is happening here, and what is spreading throughout colleges and academia generally across the world, actually, is really important.”

She also praised protestors following College announcing it will divest from Israeli companies on the United Nations blacklist and set up a taskforce to review its academic ties with Israel.

“Fantastic progress could be made, if not on the verge of a victory of winning real, meaningful change in terms of the relationship between Trinity and the Israeli state and Israeli industry,” she said.

Smith said she will bring up the encampment in the Dáil this afternoon while the order of business is being discussed.

Click the link in our bio to read more.

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07/05/2024

Former sabbatical officers of TCDSU have written an open letter to Provost Linda Doyle to express their “utmost support for the current Trinity solidarity encampment”.

They echoed the demands of the encampment that College “boycotts and divests from Israel”, citing “the war crimes being committed by the Israeli government in the Occupied Palestinian Territories”.

“This ongoing encampment represents the will of the students”, they stated, adding that TCDSU has been mandated to abide by Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) guidelines since a student-wide referendum in 2018.

The group of former sabbatical officers referenced support for the encampment amongst current students, Trinity alumni, staff, academics, and members of the Oireachtas.

They further referenced the recent assault on Rafah, in southern Gaza, a city to which many Palestinians were directed to in order to escape bombardment in northern Gaza, which is now also undergoing renewed attacks from Israel.

Rafah is on the Egyptian border, “which is under a severe Israeli blockade that has brought the territory to the verge of famine”, the signatories wrote.

“The demands of Trinity BDS are noble. Trinity must condemn the attack on Gaza, support students from the region and cut financial and academic ties with Israeli institutions. Our university cannot be complicit in genocide.”

Click the link in our bio to read more.

07/05/2024

Coined as a jewel of Ireland’s cultural heritage, the Book of Kells has been housed in Trinity College Dublin since 1661.

Amidst the ongoing Trinity BDS encampment in Fellows' Square, some have questioned why the “national treasure” is not in a national museum or still in its namesake town.

So why exactly is the Book of Kells in the possession of Trinity College Dublin?

Click the link in our bio to read more on the origins of the now infamous volume and how Oliver Cromwell caused it to come to Trinity.

06/05/2024

Trinity BDS and TCDSU have welcomed the College statement pledging to review its ties to Israeli institutions and have committed to “continuing our peaceful encampment until all of our demands are met in full”.

These demands include “amnesty of students involved in protests on campus and the rescinding of the €214,000 bill imposed on the students’ union”.

At the encampment which they are calling “free Trinity”, protestors could be seen celebrating the College statement, including singing and dancing by tents.

In the statement they labelled their meeting with College as “the first proactive engagement the College has had with the BDS group on campus in years” and said this “is a direct result of the pressure and power that student and staff protest has on campus”.

“While we appreciate these steps are being taken, we note that there are more Israeli companies in the endowment fund as well as suppliers and exchanges that the university has ties to. These will be explored further during ongoing negotiations as the camp goes on.”

The statement also highlighted that College has agreed to “treat the encampment as an internal matter, thus ruling out the involvement of Gardaí or legal action”.

They have said this decision will allow them “to enter a new phase of the encampment, where [they] will open up to a whole range of activities and events that will allow Trinity students and staff to become more involved without fear of academic or legal retribution”.

“We’ve witnessed a historic mass movement on the march for seven months, and while our partial victory today is just the first step, it hopefully will be one towards ending Ireland’s complicity in the oppression of Palestinians, bringing them closer to a liberated future,” they said.

TCD BSD and TCDSU also thanked students, staff and the general public for their support and called “on the involvement of all students and staff in our encampment” and on “others to continue movement outside campus”.

Click the link in our bio to read more.

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06/05/2024

College has said that it “welcomes reports of Gaza ceasefire Trinity condemns the onslaught on Gaza and supports International Court of Justice’s finding on genocide”.

In a statement this evening, it has pledged to establish a taskforce investigating its academic ties with Israeli institutions following a meeting with representatives of the ongoing encampment by TCDSU and Trinity BDS.

The taskforce will have an external chair and will include student representatives. College states the task force is in the interest of preserving “academic freedom” and how to engage in matters of human rights.

“Some colleagues will see value in maintaining a free exchange of ideas; others will feel deeply uncomfortable having any relationship at all,” College said.

“These conflicting perspectives must be explored in a formal setting.”

In a statement posted online, College also outlined its plans to divest from its Israeli investments in Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The divestment process is expected to be completed by June and will target groups that appear on the UN blacklist.

It also said eight Palestinian students have been placed on Trinity courses and that “more will follow”.

Click the link in our bio to read more.

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