Campaigning for the Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) 2025 elections began today on the steps of the Dining Hall on Front Square.
Candidates across all six races were invited to speak for two minutes in English, with an optional two minutes in Irish also offered.
They were organised in reverse constitutional order, with the University Times Editor starting, with candidates then speaking in alphabetical order.
University Times Editor
After losing this race last year to Brídín Ní Fhearraigh-Joyce, Charles Hastings distanced himself from the current leadership of the University Times (UT) in saying that he had recently learned that in 2017 the paper “was awarded the best non-daily student publication in the world”.
“I don’t know about you, but I haven’t seen that paper in a really, really long time,” he said.
In a very different speech, Sajal Singh, UT’s current features editor, prioritised accessibility. She also pledged to create roles such as an ethnic minorities editor and LGBTQ+ editor in order to make UT “a place where every community and every opinion is adequately represented”.
Oifigeach na Gaeilge
Ag labhairt ar dtús, d’fhogair Niamh Leddy gur teanga “beomhar, spleodrach, agus uathúil í an Ghaeilge” agus tarraing sí aird ar a gealltanas chun Gaeilge a spreagadh i measc na mic léinn. Dar léi ní leor é an Ghaeilge a fhoghlaim, ach ba chóir dúinn ár saoil a chaitheamh trí mhean na Gaeilge. Leis an aidhm seo, gheall sí go mbeadh an Ghaeilge níos feicthe ar an gcampas agus go mbeadh turasaí acadúil chuig an Ghaeltacht níos oscailte sa toghdaí agus í mar Oifigeach na Gaeilge.
Ar an ardán i ndiaidh Leddy, dhírigh Ní Bhriain go géar ar fhadhb na inrochtaineachta sa Seomra Gaeilge agus ar an gcampas go ginereálta. Gheall sí achainí a dhéanamh chuig an gcoláiste chun bealach isteach do chathaoireacha rothaí a chur ar fáil don Seomra, agus spás go hiomlán nua a chruthú muna éiríonn leis an bplean sin. Rinne sí gearán ar an easpa béim a chuirtear ar alumnais Gaelach sa choláiste, go háirithe i gcomparáid le Sally Rooney agus a leithead. Ba mhaith léi freisin áiseanna a chur ar fáil ionas go mbeadh seans ag mic léinn ETIM gaeilge a fhoghlaim, ag luaigh go háirithe an tairbhe a bheadh i gceist le gluais tearmaíochta agus ranganna teagaisc.
(Niamh Leddy highlighted her commitment to allowing students to “live through a vibrant Irish speaking community”, promising to campaign for an increase in Irish speakers on campus. Proclaiming that it’s “not enough to learn through Irish, we have to live through it,” she commits to making academic Gaeltacht trips more accessible for all. With a plan revolving around communication, outreach, and a new Irish buddy system, Leddy aspires to “create national spaces where the language can thrive.”
Aoife Ní Bhriain confidently highlighted her focus on accessibility, promising not only to petition for a wheelchair accessible entrance to Seomra na Gaeilge, but if unsuccessful, to fight for a new Irish language space in the soon-to-be-built student centre on Pearse street. Highlighting a sense of hypocrisy in college celebrating English language alumni while forgetting their Irish counterparts accessibility, Ní Bhriain has a vision to improve Irish resources for STEM students, such as a bilingual glossary for scientific terms, and providing “resources for STEM students to live through Irish.”)
Entertainments Officer
Greeted with enthusiasm from attendees, Yuv Garg began by highlighting his experience as Trinity Hall (Halls) Junior Common Room (JCR) sports officer and president of Trinity Indian Society. He highlighted a few points from his manifesto, such as Pav Irish language events for learners of all levels, sober events, and promising 4 Pav Fests a year. Garg commented that he wants to “use this platform to help people have the time of their lives.”
In a more understated speech, Finn Hallwood highlighted that his campaign is focused on three tenets of diversity, transparency and support, emphasising that he wants events to be “more representative of the whole student body”. Hallwood also mentioned that he would like more transparency throughout the planning of Trinity Ball.
Orla Norton touted her experience as events manager for Trinity French Society, during which she planned events for more than 700 members three times a week. She emphasised the need for a variety of music at club nights and the use of available spaces on campus, such as the Buttery and the Atrium.
John O’Hara, the final candidate to speak, emphasised his experience as the current PRO for Trinity Ents, which has given him direct access to student feedback. O’Hara aims to open an anonymous student submission form to maintain a “continuous and open dialogue with students”. He also stated that he wants to “re-establish how TBall is run,” and acknowledged that the TBall lineups have been declining in recent years.
Communications and Marketing Officer
Channing Kehoe, the sole candidate in the race for communications and marketing officer, summarised their campaign as wanting to “turn ideas into action, activism into engagement and services into tangible support”. They kept their speech under the two-minute limit, and concluded with a promise to keep students informed about what the Union is doing for them.
Welfare and Equality Officer
Nina Crofts, current TCDSU citizenship officer, was the first Welfare and Equality candidate to speak, and was quick to lay out their comprehensive experience across the union, the Hist, and Trinity News. They testified as to “how absolutely draining it is to suffer from mental health problems in college”, and promised to push college to show how much of an effect these issues have on students.
John Garvey left a strong first impression with his opening speech, stating his previous experience as JCR welfare officer and one-to-one casework “sets [him] up well for the job” His key points included aims to expand the Trinity halls consent workshops to campus and to lobby the government to improve current the mandatory sexual education for second level students.
Deirdre Leahy, final year occupational therapy student, promised to improve accessibility across campus because it is the “bare minimum”. She set herself apart from other candidates by highlighting her manifesto points of offering mental health supports to outgoing and incoming Erasmus students and her aim to digitise the College Health booking system.
Bhargavi Magadi rounded off this year’s Welfare and Equality candidates with an anecdote: “When I was registering for college I got a panic attack in the shape of a twenty thousand euro registration fee.”
she listed “the housing crisis, lens reports and marginalisation” as issues she had noticed students struggling with on campus,
Education Officer
In a speech delivered in both Irish and English, Conchúr Ó Cathasaigh outlined his manifesto promises with little to no bells and whistles.
In particular he focused on the issue of generative AI, criticising college for “inconsistent policies on a school to school basis” and promising to work with schools to create “clear student first policies”. He also promised to fight for students’ rights to submit assessments in Irish, saying that Irish language issues should “not just be the job of the Oifigeach na Gaeilge”.
In a slightly less detailed but more energetic speech than his competitor, Buster Whaley said that his campaign is about “solving the problems that stand between students and education”.
He highlighted in particular two ambitious campaign promises, first to introduce modular billing to Trinity, a system he says is “used by almost every other university in the world”. And secondly to “open new student run cafes” in order to provide affordable food options for students and ensure that “students’ studies aren’t impeded by hunger”.
TCDSU President
Patrick Keegan stated that he wants to “focus on the issues that matter” to students. He said that he will adopt a “red line policy on student fees”. He cited his experience with the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, as chair of Trinity BDS, and promised to work to ensure that College “cuts all ties with apartheid state of Israel”. He concluded that “the students’ union is here to work for you; we are run by students, for students”.
Giovanni Li confidently opened his speech with the statement that “I am going to be your TCDSU President for 2025”. Li emphasised that he is not a member of any political party, setting himself apart from Keegan and O’Leary, active members of Sinn Féin and the Social Democrats. He wants to “take back the power we never had as students”.
Seán Thim O’Leary was the last candidate to speak and focused on their personal experience as a “long distance commuter”, and stated that the opinions of students should be “respected as a central consideration, and not as an afterthought or photo-op”. They said that they want to “bring back the student handbook”, as accessing the Union “is often awkward”.
Reporting by Kate Byrne, Stephen Conneely, Charlotte Kent, Conor Healy, Annabelle Wadeson, Emily Sheehan, Faye Madden, Story Pennock and Stella Cullen de Brún.
