A poll conducted by Trinity News indicates that the Social Democrats remain the most popular political party among Trinity students for the fifth consecutive year. Conducted alongside the Trinity News TCDSU sabbatical elections opinion poll between 18 and 21 February, this question received responses from 790 students, indicating a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4%.
When asked how they would vote if a hypothetical general election were held tomorrow, 39% of respondents indicated the Social Democrats as their first preference. This support increases notably to 44.9% among female students and 43% among students in the Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (AHSS) faculty. Sinn Féin (13.1%) and People Before Profit–Solidarity are practically tied (12.8%) for second place – however both parties continue to see a decline in popularity on campus. Notably, Sinn Féin have lost 40% of their support since 2022.
Fine Gael’s support remains steady at 8.6%, while Fianna Fáil continues to lag their government counterparts with 4.6% support.
The Labour Party and the Green Party hold support from 5.3% and 4.8% of students, respectively. According to Trinity News polling, Green Party support among Trinity students has more than halved during the term of the previous government, of which the party served as a junior coalition partner.
5.3% of respondents indicated they would opt to not vote or spoil their ballot, whereas 5.2% favoured Independent Candidates. Aontú, far-right parties, and Independent Ireland each attracted less than 1% of first preferences in this poll.
Trinity students’ voting intentions stand in stark contrast with broader trends among young voters in Ireland. According to the Ipsos B&A Exit Poll from last November’s Irish general election, as many as 29% of Irish 18-24 year olds who voted in that election gave Sinn Féin their first preference, in contrast to the 13.1% of Trinity Students who indicated that they would give that party their first preference. Additionally, younger Irish voters were three times more likely as Trinity students to rank Fianna Fáil as their top preference, while on campus the Social Democrats received support at a rate four times higher than that of the typical national cohort of young voters.
As of the 2022 census, 14% of 18-24 year olds usually resident in Ireland are ineligible to cast a vote in a General Election, as only those with either Irish or British citizenship have the right to vote. According to the World University Rankings 2025, 39% of Trinity students are international students, so it is likely that a significant proportion of Trinity students are also ineligible to vote in Irish general elections. Therefore, while these polling are a statistically significant capture of the political preferences of Trinity’s student body, they may not directly translate into voting outcomes in national elections.
