Patrick Keegan, candidate for the Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) president, has posted a statement on his instagram account criticising the campaign to re-open nominations (RON).
Keegan said that “some of the messaging coming from the RON campaign borders on misinformation, attempting to paint candidates in an unfair light and misrepresenting their positions”.
He continued: “This kind of rhetoric does not serve students- it only fosters division and weakens the union’s ability to fight for its members.”
Keegan praised TCDSU as “a union of action, advocacy, and representation.” He continued: “The campaign for RON, however, has positioned itself as a contrarian force that fundamentally contradicts itself.”
“They criticise candidates for supporting direct action while simultaneously attacking others for suggesting lobbying as an action.”
Keegan highlights that TCDSU “has fought for students through both direct action and lobbying — both tactics that have historically secured real wins for students”.
This comes in response to criticisms of Keegan’s lack of experience with direct action and of Keegan’s opponent, Seán Thim O’Leary’s focus on lobbying in their manifesto. In a post on the RON campaign instagram, Keegan was criticised for his use of the phrase direct action “without acknowledgement for the creativity involved in the most successful direction actions of the SU/AML in recent months.”
The post continued: “The lack of specificity and experience shown in this regard (issue specific direct action) by Patrick is therefore concerning. While disclosing specific direct actions is difficult, the fallback on the phrase without any elaboration whatsoever is still of alarm.”
Keegan commented on these criticisms, commenting “they have criticized me for having lack of experience in ‘issue specific direct actions,’ despite the fact that I have organized and partaken in probably dozens of direct actions in the past.”
Keegan highlighted his position as current chair and former secretary of Trinity Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) as evidence of his being “particularly involved in organizing our occupations, blockades, protests, and other actions”.
Keegan finished the statement by urging students to vote before the polls close, and by reminding voters that “a strong, functioning SU requires student engagement, not obstruction”.
Fellow presidential candidate Giovanni Li also made a statement on his campaign instagram account regarding the situation. Referring to the election as “this whole fiasco,” Li highlighted that his opponents are “more than capable, despite what RON says”.
He continued: “Everyone can have their own critiques and claims about people, but… don’t just judge them based on their sole policies, judge them for their characters because they are wonderful people.”
Li ended his statement by saying: “I don’t really care if I get elected or not at this point, because we’re at the end. It doesn’t matter what I think, it matters what you think.”
The RON campaign, beginning last week, has gained significant momentum since its launch. Currently, their instagram page has over 600 followers, significantly more than Keegan, O’Leary, or Li’s campaign instagram pages.
A Trinity News snap poll has projected a RON outcome in the presidential election, the results of which will be announced this evening after the close of voting.
