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Trinity College Dublin Students' Union

Trinity College Dublin Students' Union (Irish: Aontas Mac Léinn Choláiste na Tríonóide), often referred to by its abbreviation TCDSU (Irish: AMLCT), is a students' union and the recognised representative body for the students of Trinity College Dublin. Its role is to provide a channel between the students and the authorities of the college, as well as to provide services to those students.[1] TCDSU states that every Trinity undergraduate and postgraduate student is a member, covering more than 20,000 students.[1] TCDSU is a constituent organisation of Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn.[3] The day-to-day business of the Union is run out of Teach 6, also known as Teach Mandela.[4][5] The union is led by a team of sabbatical officers with the help of part-time officers, faculty convenors, school convenors and class representatives,[1] alongside a number of permanent staff members.[6] The student body elects a president every spring, who oversees the finances and management of the Union.[7] The president for the 2025/26 academic year was Seán Thim O'Leary,[8] until their resignation at the end of October 2025.[9] Grace McNally was elected president in the resulting bye-election on 28 November 2025.[2]

Trinity College Dublin Students' Union
InstitutionTrinity College Dublin
LocationTeach 6, Trinity College Dublin
Established1968[1]
PresidentGrace McNally[2]
Membersover 20,000[1]
AffiliationsAMLÉ
Websitewww.tcdsu.org

Structure

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TCDSU's representative structure includes sabbatical officers, part-time officers, class representatives, school and faculty convenors, Union Forum, SU Council and oversight/electoral commissions.[1] There are also representatives from the college's various schools and courses who assist with policy development, campaigns and student casework.[1] There are also two commissions designed to hold officers accountable: the Electoral Commission (responsible for elections) and the Oversight Commission (responsible for mandate compliance).[1] As of 2024, there were six sabbatical officer positions: the president, the education officer, the welfare & equality officer, the communications & marketing officer, the entertainments officer[10] and the oifigeach na Gaeilge, the latter of which was introduced in February 2024.[11] TCDSU's sabbatical officers take an intermission of their studies and receive a salary from the union while serving in their roles, but this is not the case for any other roles in the union.[10] Elections for sabbatical officers are held every spring, with all capitated students (including incumbent sabbatical officers) eligible to run and vote.[10] The president, the education officer and the welfare & equality officer are elected members of the college board.[12] The education officer and the three faculty convenors are also elected members of the University Council.[12] In September 2022, Trinity's board approved suspending university engagement with, and services to, the Graduate Students' Union. The capitation committee also suspended GSU funding and reallocated it to TCDSU for postgraduate support.[13] In November 2024, TCDSU's council approved a motion to integrate postgraduates into the union's structures.[14] In October 2025, a referendum on postgraduate representation passed with 87 per cent in favour. The change created a full-time Graduate Officer, codified Postgraduate Taught and Postgraduate Research Officer roles, and introduced undergraduate and postgraduate faculty and school convenors.[15]

Services

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Campaigns

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The union runs a number of campaigns, both at the college level and at the national level. As part of this, the union's officers organise various campaign weeks throughout the year addressing issues like mental health, gender equality and climate change. TCDSU has also been part of lobbying the Irish Government over issues such as the re-introduction of third-level fees[16] and has campaigned against decisions made by the college considered unfavourable to students.[17][18] Previous campaigns have included providing students with information on abortion services (at the time illegal in Ireland)[19] and organising an encampment outside the Book of Kells to pressure the college into divesting from Israeli companies which operate in the Palestinian territories.[20]

Trinity Ents

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The Ents Officer runs Trinity Ents, which organises student social events during the year.[21] Trinity Ents is associated with the annual Trinity Ball. In 2023, TCDSU said the Ents Officer was working with MCD and the Trinity Ball Committee to stage the event.[22]

The University Times

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A student newspaper, The University Times, is funded by the Students' Union.[10] The editor of the University Times is elected in the same way as the sabbatical officers of the union, however they themselves are not a union officer and maintain their editorial independence.[10] Like the sabbatical officers, however the editor of the University Times takes an intermission of their studies and receives a salary from the union while in the position.[10] The University Times has received a number of awards, including Newspaper of the Year 2022 at the National Student Media Awards.[23]

Notable former officers

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Our Structure". Trinity College Dublin Students' Union. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Grace McNally elected TCDSU president". Trinity News. 28 November 2025. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  3. ↑ "About USI". Union of Students in Ireland. 22 August 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  4. ↑ Power, Róisín (10 October 2017). "House Six, the Heartbeat of Student Life". The University Times. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  5. ↑ Gallagher, Maebh (30 November 2021). "TCDSU Votes to Refer to House Six as 'Teach a Sé' in Communications". The University Times. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  6. ↑ "TCDSU Constitution (Schedule 5)" (PDF). Trinity College Dublin Students' Union. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  7. ↑ "Trinity College Dublin Students' Union - Aontas na Mac Léinn, Coláiste na Trionóide - Our Structure". www.tcdsu.org. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  8. ↑ Alderson, Harper (8 July 2025). "New Sabbatical Officers Take Office amid a €1,000 Surprise Student Fee Hike". The University Times. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  9. ↑ Hastings, Charlie; Alderson, Harper; Goldman, Freja (31 October 2025). "Seán Thim Resigns as President of Trinity Students' Union". University Times. Dublin.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "TCDSU Constitution" (PDF). Trinity College Dublin Students' Union. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  11. ↑ Downey, Leah (6 February 2024). "Gaeilge Initiative Referendum Passes with Landslide Majority". The University Times. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  12. 1 2 "TCDSU Constitution (Schedule 6)" (PDF). Trinity College Dublin Students' Union. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  13. ↑ "Special Board Meeting 22 September 2022" (PDF). Trinity College Dublin. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  14. ↑ "TCDSU Council formally approves postgraduate integration into union". Trinity News. 5 November 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  15. ↑ "Both TCDSU Referendums Are Carried". The University Times. 6 October 2025. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  16. ↑ Carbery, Genevieve (1 January 2010). "University student charge a 'fee'". The Irish Times.
  17. ↑ Flynn, Seán (11 November 2009). "Students at TCD campaign over cut in books budget". The Irish Times.
  18. ↑ "TCD students occupy library in protest over cuts". BreakingNews.ie. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011.
  19. ↑ D'Arcy, Naoise (13 October 2021). "'Mary Robinson Told Us to Pack Our Bags': When TCDSU Was Threatened With Prison". The University Times. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  20. ↑ Sharkey, Kevin; Fox, Matt (8 May 2024). "Dublin: Trinity College Dublin protest camp to end". BBC. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  21. ↑ "Officers". Trinity College Dublin Students' Union. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  22. ↑ "Trinity Ball 2023 to be last on campus for 5 years, says TCDSU". Trinity News. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  23. ↑ "Trinity College's University Times named Newspaper of the Year". The Irish Times. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  24. ↑ "Former TCDSU President Averil Power appointed chief executive of Irish Cancer Society". Trinity News. 5 October 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  25. ↑ Cahill, Seán (24 March 2022). "Ivana Bacik Named Labour Leader". The University Times.
  26. ↑ Mulligan, Matthew (12 February 2015). "TCDSU presidents look back". Trinity News. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  27. ↑ "About Lynn – Lynn Ruane". Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  28. ↑ Moreau, Emer (22 September 2021). "Dear Fresher Me: Mark Little". The University Times. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  29. ↑ McNamee, Kathleen (25 February 2016). "From TCDSU to the Seanad, How Student Politics Reach the National Stage". Retrieved 9 July 2025.
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