Seán Thim O’Leary has experience in the students’ union, but they also have experience as the average Trinity student. A third-year PPES student from County Wexford, O’Leary has served as a class representative since 2022. They were also elected as the first ever Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) archivist, and serve as chairperson for the Social Democrats, the largest political party on campus.
O’Leary’s experiences in college, particularly their experience as a commuter, is what motivated them to run for TCDSU president. With a two-hour commute each way, O’Leary is very familiar with the many struggles that come with being a college student in one of the most expensive cities in Europe. Highlighting housing and transportation as two of the most important issues that Trinity students are facing, O’Leary said: “I think it can’t be understated just how big an issue housing is.”
O’Leary commented on the wide-reaching effects of unaffordable housing in Dublin, and how it affects both the academic and social lives of students.
“College isn’t designed for the realities of accommodation prices being so high… Every student should have the ability to live in Dublin City. They should have the ability to partake in student life.”
And O’Leary is ready to present these issues on a national stage. They believe that “Trinity has a very important role to set the national agenda on student issues and push for just their general improvement across the board”.
“I want the students’ union to take an active role in getting our government to improve the lives of students.”
Through their position as class rep and as archivist, O’Leary feels they “know how the student union runs inside out”.
O’Leary hopes that their attention to detail in matters of policy will be what sets them apart in the three-way race for president, something they developed as a trustee of Courtown Community Council, a charity in County Wexford focusing on community development.
“I have the experience of just annoying the bureaucracy until it eventually bends into doing what people need it to do,” they added. O’Leary, knowing that cutting through the red tape of college to advocate for students is a large part of the union’s duty, believes that their experience with policy and familiarity with lobbying local politicians has equipped them for the role.
O’Leary believes that one of the best ways to create effective change and disruption is through student action, particularly in the form of protests. Highlighting Trinity’s strategic location, O’Leary would plan for more large-scale protests both within and outside of campus walls.
In addition to advocating for students on a national level, O’Leary wants to make change within college. O’Leary wants students to know that the union is there to help them “have issues resolved that they’re having with college admin, and to be an advocate at a national level, but also to take care of the little details of student life.”
O’Leary identified the lack of student spaces and kitchens throughout campus as a specific problem, and also the lack of study spaces, particularly for STEM students who may need large study spaces.
O’Leary wants to run a union that is student focused and that listens to students, commenting that they “don’t think it’s the role of the president to dictate to students their personal preferences as priorities of the union.”
“As president, I would not pretend for any issues to be the final authority on it. I do think when you’re dealing with specific issues faced by people, you need to collect all of their perspectives together and then go forward from that.”
“I’m not going to pretend that I have the answers to every single bit of policy, and I’m not going to pretend that I know everything that’s wrong in the college at the moment, but I want the union to take a proactive role in getting onto students, reaching out to students, getting people’s voices together, and then using that as a basis to push for sustained change at every level that we can.”
Student engagement with the union is very important to O’Leary. They praised current TCDSU president Jenny Maguire for the advances in engagement with health sciences students this year, and hope to continue this high level of contact if elected. O’Leary hopes to, if elected, “codify those kinds of things, so that no matter who happens to have the role of president, health science students are going to be represented”.
O’Leary wants the union to “be a service provider to students”.
“I think the students’ union should take a welfare- and a service-based approach towards taking care of students.”
In March of 2024 O’Leary was one of two class reps who organised a petition to impeach then president Molnárfi in the wake of a council walkout staged by Molnárfi. On this, O’Leary commented that they “brought [the petition] forward from a belief in the principle of democratic accountability.” O’Leary made it a point to highlight that their issue was with the walkout and not with the discussion item or with Molnárfi himself, commenting: “I have the utmost respect for László, and we are certainly on good terms currently.”
O’Leary and Molnárfi worked out their differences coming to an agreement on the wording of the proposed amendment to the students’ union constitution which passed earlier this month; O’Leary seconded the motion that mandated the sabbatical officers to review the wording when it was originally proposed by former president László Molnárfi.
“I’m very happy that 1.5 did get amended, because I do think It’s very important that the student union is able to campaign on student policy issues.”
O’Leary believes that the referendum will allow the union to be political when necessary and “be political in the defense of and in the advancement of student rights.”
When asked whether their involvement in the Social Democrats would inform their performance as president, O’Leary emphasized: “I’m not running as a party candidate, as plainly as I can put it.”
“I have the experience from the party, and yes, it’s going to inform how I end up approaching things. But I’m not running as a Social Democrat.”
When asked how they plan to further the aims of TCD BDS and keep College accountable for their promise to fully divest, O’Leary responded that they plan to let the union’s BDS group “be the leading force” while supporting them from the position of president.
They highlighted the importance of BDS not relying too much on the union, as it ensures that were a union president who is “hostile on that point” be elected, they would not have as much room to “upset what has been shown to be a very popular area of student union policy.”
When asked to sum up their campaign, O’Leary said: “I want to run a service-based, grassroots, welfare-oriented students’ union.”
O’Leary hopes for TCDSU to “be a union that can effectively fight all students’ battles for them. And I want it to be one that leaves the college that bit, I suppose, nicer in terms of quality of life for everyone.”
