The Central Societies Committee (CSC) has approved a Trinity branch of the Workers’ Party as a society.
A group of Trinity students began looking for CSC approval of the Trinity branch in November after “a surge in sign ups to the Workers’ Party from Trinity students over the course of the last year,” according to Josh Brady, a student involved.
The group collected 300 signatures in less than a week, according to Brady. Only 200 are required to present an application to the CSC. “We met the CSC executive in week four of Hilary term to justify the society. We were very quickly approved after the meeting,” said Brady.
The society will be hosting an Emergency General Meeting (EGM) on Tuesday, February 20, to appoint a committee. The newly approved society requires an auditor, secretary, treasurer, public relations officer (PRO) and several ordinary committee members (OCMs). “At the moment we will be concentrating on getting members for society and generating interest for next year,” said Brady.
In a Facebook post announcing the approval of Workers Party TCD, the CSC referred to the party as “an all-Ireland party that promotes Marxism–Leninism and the prospect of a democratic, secular, socialist Republic of Ireland. They are committed to cultivating understanding of these aims on campus.”
Founded in 1970, the socialist party self-describes as an “alternative” to what is currently offered by Ireland’s other political parties. According to their mission statement, the party envisages “an Ireland free from the injustices of unemployment, poverty, racism and sexism”. They view the principal cause of inequality as capitalism.
“It was really great to get approval,” said Brady to Trinity News. “This is the party’s first student society in ten years so it was really great to see such enthusiasm from students to see the society again. I think it’s interesting to see students express an interest in Socialism. We feel there is an appetite for these kind of politics that can only be properly exploited by having a Workers’ Party society on campus.”
“A good deal of work and effort went into getting recognised so it was nice to see our efforts were fruitful,” he said. Speaking on the society’s plans for the coming year, Brady stated: “We are planning on having events on imperialism, nuclear power, and housing in the following weeks. However, next year we are hoping to have some more adventurous events.”
Richard O’Hara, Workers’ Party National Organiser, expressed similar sentiments regarding the approval of the society in Trinity. “We’re very happy to have re-established ourselves in student politics in Trinity College,” told Trinity News today.
“We believe this is reflective of the fact that the Workers’ Party has been growing steadily in Dublin over the last number of years and of the increasing popularity of socialist ideas, especially amongst young people.”
“Socialism makes sense to young people,” said O’Hara. “This generation will undoubtedly be worse off in terms of living standards than their parents and has been politicised by the ever-worsening housing crisis, the fight to separate church and state, especially in relation to abortion rights and the increasing prevalence of low-wage and precarious work.”
O’Hara stated that the party is “heavily involved in campaigning on these issues and in particular have been to the forefront of campaigning for a solution to the housing crisis in Dublin.”
The Workers Party currently has no Teachtaí Dála (TDs). The party’s two city councillors are Cllr. Ted Tynan from Cork North Central and Cllr. Eilis Ryan, representing Dublin Central
