As the end of my three-and-a-half year relationship with Trinity News draws to close, I would like to offer an epilogue to what has been a defining year for the paper. I am proud to leave our Mandela House newsroom as a digital-first operation, breaking stories as they happen. Our monthly print issue this year, I hope, has informed, entertained, and set the standard for student-led news and analysis. Staff numbers have reached new levels, our profile has grown both within and beyond campus, while our online presence allowed us to reach more readers than ever before. Our aims – to produce daily online content, develop new talent and hold figures in positions of authority to account – have been realised. I am especially pleased about the number of strong female writers who have joined our ranks this year and come to define the voice of a paper dominated for so long by male students.
With the end of this chapter in sight, I wish to offer my thanks to those who have worked so hard on behalf of Trinity News over the past year. I thank my editorial staff for their energy and dedication, for putting up with my late night phone calls and often unreasonable requests with good humour. Their presence in the office this year has made my job infinitely more enjoyable. I thank my predecessors, Elaine McCahill and Ronan Burtenshaw, and my first news editor, Manus Lenihan, for training me as a journalist, generously advising me and always believing in me. I thank our staff writers and illustrators for dropping essays and social commitments to write and draw for us. Their commitment to and pride in this paper drives me more than anything else.
Heartfelt thanks are also due to my family and what friends I have left for their support during a year in which contact has been minimal. My boyfriend deserves a special note for his endless encouragement and understanding. Finally, I wish my successor, Matthew Mulligan, the best of luck with his editorship. He brings a wealth of experience in student media to the position and will be an innovative custodian of the paper.
I began writing for Trinity News in January 2012 with an article submitted under the email heading “awkward attempt at a journalistic piece”. My subsequent experience as a staff writer, news editor and now as editor of the paper has defined my time in college, and taught me more about writing, resilience and the importance of critical thinking than any other. It has been the honour of my life to edit the 61st volume of Trinity News. To all who supported us this year – our staff, alumni and readers – I offer my genuine thanks.