University College Dublin Students' Union
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| Established | 1974 |
|---|---|
| Institution | University College Dublin |
| President | Barry Colfer |
| Other Sabbatical Officers | Campaigns & Communications: Ciara Brennan, Education: Ronan Shanahan, Welfare: Vivian Rath, Entertainments: Stephen Quinlivan |
| Location | Student Centre, UCD, Dublin 4. |
| Members | 20,000 |
| Affiliated to | Union of Students in Ireland |
| Homepage | www.ucdsu.ie |
University College Dublin Students' Union (UCDSU) is the Students' Union of University College Dublin, and has been an active part of campaigns run by its national equivalent, the Union of Students in Ireland. It was founded in 1974 as the successor of the Student Representative Council and began operations in 1975, under the presidency of Enda Connolly.
All students of UCD who are studying for a degree or postgraduate diploma of the National University of Ireland are, on registration at the university, members. The Union is funded by a membership fee paid at the same time as the student services levy (‘registration fee’) at the start of the academic year. In addition to its campaign work the Union also provides some services such as five Union-run shops; a photocopying bureau; Belfield FM (radio station); Welfare and Education services such as a second-hand bookshop and Niteline phoneline; and the provision of a full-time Accommodation and Employment Officer. UCDSU has offices in the Student Centre and Library Building in Belfield.
The Union is a constituent organisation of, the Union of Students in Ireland (USI).
[edit] Structure
The main Governing Body of UCDSU, subject only to referendums and General Meetings of the members of the Union, is the Union Council, which meets every second week of term. The Union Council is comprised chiefly of the Class Representatives elected in their respective constituencies. These constituencies are elected at a flexible ratio, far lower than a previously arbitrary ratio of one representative per 125 students. The power of Union Council is conferred in a de facto manner on the Union Executive outside of term. The Union Executive, composed of all elected Union Sabbatical and non-Sabbatical Officers as well as the Union Secretary, meets weekly during term and fortnightly outside of it. There are five Sabbatical Officers, who are involved in the day-to-day running of the Union. The President and two nominated Vice-Presidents, as agreed by Executive, are student representatives on the UCD Governing Authority. A Sabbatical term of office is twelve months in duration and commences on July 1st each year, although the incoming Officers are, in accordance with the UCDSU Constitution, given job training by the incumbents from 15 June. Sabbatical elections take place in late February/early March of each year. Sabbatical officers take a year out from academic studies and work full-time for the Union.
The composition of the Union's Council includes:
- The five full-time elected Sabbatical Officers.
- The Class Representatives
- Four nominees chosen by a general meeting of the Students' Consultative Forum (usually with two seats assigned to Societies Reps and two to Sports Clubs)
- One nominee chosen by the Committee of The Students' Club
- One nominee chosen by the committee of the Student Centre 'Centre Bar'
- One nominee of students with disabilities chosen amongst their number by students' registered with the College Disabilities Liaison Office, or such other body as may be recognised for this purpose by the Independent Appeals Board (an element that has been a source of minor controversy in the past, with accusations of positive discrimination)
- The Postgraduate and Evening Students representative
- Directly-elected members of the Union Executive
- Two Residence Representatives
- The five immediate outgoing Union Sabbatical Officers.
- The Programme Representative Officers
The President is the First Officer of the Union in accordance with the Union Constitution, and the other four Sabbatical Officers are equally ranking Vice-Presidents of the Union. The five Sabbatical positions are:
- Union President
- Campaigns & Communications (formerly Deputy President Vice-President)
- Education Vice-President
- Welfare Vice-President
- Entertainments Vice-President
[edit] Officers
[edit] Sabbatical Executive Officers
| Sabbatical Executive Officers (President & Vice-Presidents) | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990/91 | 1991/92 | 1992/93 | 1993/94 | 1994/95 | 1995/96 | 1996/97 | 1997/98 | 1998/99 | 1999/00 | 2000/01 | 2001/02 | 2002/03 | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | 2008/09 | |
| President | Joe Delany | Denis Murphy | Barry Roche | Liam Kelly | Aisling Ni Bhriain | Loghlin Deegan | Shane Fitzgerald | Ian Walsh | John Nisbet | Carol Fahy | Eamonn Ó Lionnain | Aonghus Hourihane | Aonghus Hourihane | Paul Dillon | Fergal Scully | James Carroll | Dan Hayden | Barry Colfer | Aodhán Ó Deá |
| Deputy President - Campaigns and Communications from March 2008 | (no such office) | Christian Hughes | Ross Higgins | Aidan Regan | Ciarán Weafer | Dave Curran | Dave Curran | Ciara Brennan | Dan O'Neill | ||||||||||
| Education | Denis Murphy | Ollie Doyle | Liam Kelly | Shaymus Kennedy | Malcolm Byrne | Garret Tubridy | Cormac Moore | Liam Dockery | Charles McConlogue | Eamonn Ó Lionnain | Michael Shovlin | Aisling Maguire | Abraham Campbell | Oisín Kelly | James Carroll | Jane Horgan-Jones | Brian Doyle | Ronan Shanahan | Paul Lynam |
| Welfare | Elain Butler | Muireann Grogan | Cydney Foote | Noeleen Hartigna | Stephanie Leahy | Shane Fitzgerald | Fiona Hannon | John Nisbet | John Moynes | Alison Gibney | JP Swain | Róisín McKeon | Séamus Ó Maonaigh | Jennifer Allen | Shane Hennelly | Dan Hayden | Barry Colfer | Vivian Rath | Conor Fingleton |
| Entertainments | Mark Collins | Mark Collins | Karl O'Hanlon | Paul Davis | Conor O'Kane | John Mitchell | Darragh Purcell | Darragh Purcell/Niall Donnelly | Scott Millar | Niall Donald | Paul Burke | Eoin Holohan | Marc Ryberg | David Sherry | Gearóid Cashman | Anthony Kelly | Holly Irvine | Stephen Quinlivan | Gary Redmond |
[edit] Non-sabbatical Executive Officers (directly elected by the Union membership)
| Non-sabbatical Executive Officers (directly elected by the Union Membership) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002/03 | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | |
| Irish Language | Colman Mac Shealaigh | Neasa Nic Shealaigh | Sinéad Ní Mhaolmhicil | Órla Ní Threasaigh | Dónal Ó Suilleabháin | Aodhán Ó Deá |
| Finance | Oisin O'Sullivan | Donnachadh Woulfe | Anthony Kelly | Eugeniya Kazakova | Stephen Quinlivan | Natalie Dunne |
| Communications & IT | Philip Gilsenan | Brian O'Farrell | Ciaran Melody | Pierce Farrell | Gary Redmond | Stephen Fitzpatrick |
| Women’s | Aoife Habenicht | Aoife Mulqueen | Tobie Marven/Louise Troy | Michelle Killeen | Carol-Anne Rushe | Aisling O'Connor |
| Postgraduate & Evening Students' Representative (Position reformed in the 2008 constitutional referendum) | Sinead Mac Bride | Dan Finn | James Redmond | Patrick McKay | Denis Ryan | Denis Ryan |
[edit] Executive Officers elected by Union Council
| Executive Officers elected by the Union Council | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002/03 | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | |
| Environmental | (no such office) | Patrick Quinlan | Patrick Quinlan | Molly Walsh | Luke O hEideain | Luke O hEideain |
| LGB | Paul McGann | Tobie Marvin | Sarah O’Sullivan | David Gilsenan | Angela Tuite | Robert Doyle |
| International Students' | Melanie Clune | Michael Langtry | Patrick Wall | Niall Dolan | Laurence Banville | Manuel Youcham |
| Outlying Faculties | (no such office) | Peter Reynolds | Peter Doris | Colm Byrne | Alison Ryan | Colin Scally |
| Disability Rights | Niamh Hayes | Eamonn O'Raghallaigh | Naoise Waldron | Vivian Rath | Jean Daly | Benjamin Boyle |
[edit] Programme Representative Officers
| Programme Representative Officers (directly elected by the students in the associated Programmes) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2006/07 | 2007/2008 | |
| Arts, Celtic Studies & Human Sciences | Paul Lynam & Chris Bond | Scott Ahearn & Jonathan Cosgrove |
| Business & Law | Patrick Rath | Conor King |
| Science | Jane Tiernan | Paul Fannon |
| Health Sciences | Colm Byrne | Isobel O'Connor |
| Engineering & Architecture | Jennifer Murphy | Conor Fingleton |
| Agricultural Science & Veterinary Medicine | Helen Keane | Helen Keane |
| Nursing | Anthony Pender | |
[edit] Union staff appointed on an annual basis
| Staff Officers (appointed by a panel headed by the President in accordance with Article 15 of the Union's constitution) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | 2008/09 | |
| Design & Communications Officer | (no such position) | James Redmond | Patrick McKay | Patrick McKay | Al Kennington | Al Kennington |
| Accommodation & Employment Officer | Finbar Dwyer | Enda Duffy | Shaun Smyth | Michael Pat O’Donoghue | (position merged with Research & Development) | Danielle Pender |
| Research & Development Officer | (previously two separate positions) Anthony Kelly and Dermot Looney respectively | Dan Finn | Peter Doris | (position redefined) | (position merged with Accommodation & Employment) | Colin Scally |
| Publications & Communications Officer | (no such position) | Eoghan O’Duinn | (position abolished) | |||
| Accommodation, Employment, Research and Development Officer | (previously two separate positions) | Gavan Reilly | (position abolished) | |||
| Ents Events & Logistics Coordinator | (no such position) | Gary Redmond | Paul Sweeney | |||
Mr. O'Duinn left no end of year report so his work-rate can only be speculated upon.
[edit] Other Offices and Administrators
The supreme judicial organ of the Union is the Independent Appeals Board as detailed in Article 18 of the Union's Constitution.
The individual who has been the longest involved and longest associated with the Union is Patrick J. O'Flynn, the Union's Chief Returning Officer. Most of the ground-work involved in Union elections and referendums is performed by the Union Returning Officer, an office currently held by Morgan Shelley. Both of these office holders sit on the Independent Appeals Board.
Another position on the Independent Appeals Board is the Chairperson of Council. For 2007-08 the Chairperson of Council is Gavan Reilly and the Vice-Chair is Isobel O'Connor. The Union Secretary is Rory Geraghty while the Vice-Secretary is Treasa Coleman. The Chair of Union Council for the 2006-2007 academic year was Michael D. Clark, the former Union Returning Officer, and the Vice-Chair was the former Communications and IT Officer Gary Redmond. The Union Secretary for 2006-07 was Colin Scally. The Vice Secretary was Isobel O'Connor. These positions are incumbent until the election of their successors at the first Council meeting following Council elections each October.
The Union Financial Administrator, Dave Carmody, is not a Union employee, but is permanently seconded to the Union by the university. He is the only other university employee who sits on the Independent Appeals Board.
The Union Legal Advisor is Leo Mangan of Mangan O’Beirne Solicitors.
A full-time PA is employed by the Union. This position was whimsically re-titled Operations Manager by the 2006-07 Union President Dan Hayden for the final week of the former PA (Clodagh Brennan)'s term of office before being filled on a temporary basis by Shaun Smyth, the co-manager of Dan Hayden's presidential election campaign. Its duties were assumbed on a temporary basis by the Publications and Communications Officer, Eoghan O'Duinn. It is now held by Giselle Jiang.
| Positions Elected at the first Union Council meeting of the year. | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | |||||||
| Chair of Council | Séamus Ó Maonaigh | Shaun Smyth | Fergal Scully / Patrick Carroll | Michael D. Clarke | Gavan Reilly | ||||||
| Vice-Chair of Council | Pierce Farrell | Morgan Shelly | Gary Redmond | Gary Redmond | Isobel O'Connor | ||||||
| Secretary | Robert Morrough | Jane Horgan-Jones | Ciarán Rose /Gavan Reilly | Colin Scally | Rory Geraghty | ||||||
| Vice-Secretary | Aoife Ni Bhrian | Stephen Kelly | Ryan Griffin | Isobel O'Connor | Treasa Coleman | ||||||
[edit] External links
University College Dublin Students' Union — the official website of UCDSU.
Union of Students in Ireland — the website of the Union of Students in Ireland
UCDSU Constitution — The most recently amended form of the Union's Constitution.
[edit] References
Official Union archives, Student Centre, UCD, Dublin 4
