University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 students, it is Ireland's largest university, and amongst the most prestigious universities in the country. Five Nobel Laureates are among UCD's alumni and current and former staff. Additionally, four Irish Taoiseach (Prime Ministers) and three Irish Presidents have graduated from UCD, along with one President of India. UCD originates in a body founded in 1854, which opened as the

Catholic University of Ireland The Catholic University of Ireland (CUI; ga, Ollscoil Chaitliceach na hÉireann) was a private Catholic university in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1851 following the Synod of Thurles in 1850, and in response to the Queen's University o ...

on the feast of St. Malachy with

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...

as its first rector; it re-formed in 1880 and chartered in its own right in 1908. The Universities Act, 1997 renamed the constituent university as the "National University of Ireland, Dublin", and a ministerial order of 1998 renamed the institution as "University College Dublin – National University of Ireland, Dublin". Originally located at

St Stephen's Green St Stephen's Green () is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard. It was officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880 by ...

in the Dublin city centre, all faculties have since relocated to a campus at Belfield, six kilometres to the south of the city centre. In 1991, it purchased a second site in Blackrock. This currently houses the

Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School The UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School is the graduate business school of University College Dublin (UCD) and is located in Blackrock, Dublin, Ireland, on the site of the former teacher-training Carysfort College. Undergraduate bu ...

. A report published in May 2015 showed the economic output generated by UCD and its students in Ireland amounted to €1.3 billion annually.

History

UCD can trace its history to the institution founded in 1854 as the

. Renamed University College in 1883 and put under the control of the

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

in 1883, It became University College Dublin in 1908, a constituent college of the National University of Ireland under the Universities Act. John Henry Newman by Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Bt

John Henry Newman by Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Bt

Catholic University of Ireland

After the

Catholic Emancipation Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...

period of Irish history, Archbishop of Armagh attempted to provide for the first time in Ireland higher-level education for followers of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and taught by such people. The Catholic Hierarchy demanded a Catholic alternative to the University of Dublin's Trinity College, whose Anglican origins the Hierarchy refused to overlook. Since the 1780s, the University of Dublin had admitted Catholics to study; a religious test, however, hindered the efforts of Catholics in their desire to obtain membership of the university's governing bodies. Thus, in 1850 at the Synod of

Thurles Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles. The cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Arc ...

, it was decided to open a university in Dublin for Catholics. As a result of these efforts, a new "Catholic University of Ireland" opened in 1854 on

, with

appointed as its first rector. The Catholic University opened its doors on the feast of St Malachy, 3 November 1854. In 1855, the Catholic University Medical School was opened on Cecilia Street. As a private university, Catholic University was never given a royal charter, and so was unable to award recognised degrees and suffered from chronic financial difficulties. Newman left the university in 1857. In 1861, Bartholomew Woodlock was appointed Rector and served until he became

Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in 1879. Henry Neville was appointed Rector to replace Woodlock. In 1880, the

Royal University of Ireland The Royal University of Ireland was founded in accordance with the ''University Education (Ireland) Act 1879'' as an examining and degree-awarding university based on the model of the University of London. A Royal Charter was issued on 27 Apri ...

was established and allowed students from any college to take examinations for a degree.

Foundation of University College Dublin

In 1882, Catholic University reorganised, and the St. Stephen's Green institution (the former Arts school of the Catholic University) run by the Irish Jesuits, was renamed University College, and it began participating in the Royal University system. In 1883, Fr William Delany SJ was appointed the first president of University College. The college attracted academics from around Ireland, including Fr. Gerard Manley Hopkins and

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

. Some notable staff and students at the school during this period included Francis Sheehy-Skeffington,

Patrick Pearse Patrick Henry Pearse (also known as Pádraig or Pádraic Pearse; ga, Pádraig Anraí Mac Piarais; 10 November 1879 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist, republican political activist and revolutionary who ...

Hugh Kennedy Hugh Edward Kennedy (11 July 1879 – 1 December 1936) was an Irish Cumann na nGaedheal politician, barrister and judge who served as Chief Justice of Ireland from 1924 to 1936, a judge of the Supreme Court from 1924 to 1936 and Attorney Gener ...

Eoin MacNeill Eoin MacNeill ( ga, Eoin Mac Néill; born John McNeill; 15 May 1867 – 15 October 1945) was an Irish scholar, Irish language enthusiast, Gaelic revivalist, nationalist and politician who served as Minister for Education from 1922 to 1925, Cea ...

Kevin O'Higgins Kevin Christopher O'Higgins ( ga, Caoimhghín Críostóir Ó hUigín; 7 June 1892 – 10 July 1927) was an Irish politician who served as Vice-President of the Executive Council and Minister for Justice from 1922 to 1927, Minister for External ...

Tom Kettle Thomas Michael Kettle (9 February 1880 – 9 September 1916) was an Irish economist, journalist, barrister, writer, war poet, soldier and Home Rule politician. As a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for ...

, James Ryan,

Douglas Hyde Douglas Ross Hyde ( ga, Dubhghlas de hÍde; 17 January 1860 – 12 July 1949), known as (), was an Irish academic, linguist, scholar of the Irish language, politician and diplomat who served as the first President of Ireland from June 1938 t ...

and John A. Costello. GerardManleyHopkins

In 1908, the National University of Ireland was founded and the following year the Royal University was dissolved. This new university was brought into existence with three constituent University Colleges – Dublin, Galway and Cork. Following the establishment of the NUI, D. J. Coffey, Professor of Physiology, Catholic University Medical School, became the first president of UCD. The Medical School in Cecilia Street became the UCD Medical Faculty and the Faculty of Commerce was established. Under the Universities Act, 1997, University College Dublin was established as a constituent university within the National University of Ireland framework. In 1911, land donated by Lord Iveagh helped the university expand in Earlsfort Terrace/Hatch Street/ St Stephen's Green.

Iveagh Gardens The Iveagh Gardens (; ga, Gairdíní Uí Eachach) is a public park located between Clonmel Street and Upper Hatch Street, near the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Ireland. It is a national, as opposed to a municipal park, and designated as a ...

was part of this donation.

UCD and the Irish War of Independence

UCD is a major holder of archives of national and international significance relating to the Irish War of Independence. In 1913, in response to the formation of the

Ulster Volunteers The Ulster Volunteers was an Irish unionist, loyalist paramilitary organisation founded in 1912 to block domestic self-government ("Home Rule") for Ireland, which was then part of the United Kingdom. The Ulster Volunteers were based in the ...

, Eóin MacNeill, professor of early Irish history, called for the formation of an Irish nationalist force to counteract it. The

Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers ( ga, Óglaigh na hÉireann), sometimes called the Irish Volunteer Force or Irish Volunteer Army, was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists and republicans. It was ostensibly formed in respon ...

were formed later that year and MacNeill was elected its Chief-of-staff. At the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, in view of the

Home Rule Act 1914 The Government of Ireland Act 1914 (4 & 5 Geo. 5 c. 90), also known as the Home Rule Act, and before enactment as the Third Home Rule Bill, was an Act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom intended to provide home rule (self-governm ...

and the political perception that it might not be implemented, the leader of the Home Rule Party, John Redmond, urged the Irish Volunteers to support the British war effort as a way of supporting Irish Home Rule. This effort on behalf of Home Rule included many UCD staff and students. Many of those who opposed this move later participated in the Easter Rising. Several UCD staff and students participated in the rising, including Pádraig Pearse, Thomas MacDonagh, Michael Hayes and James Ryan, and a smaller number, including

and

Willie Redmond William Hoey Kearney Redmond (13 April 1861 – 7 June 1917) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP), was a lawyer and soldier Denman, Terence in: McGuire, James and Quinn, James (eds): ''Dictionary of Iris ...

, fought for the British in

. Many UCD staff, students and alumni fought in the Irish War of Independence. Following the signing of the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...

, four UCD graduates joined the

government of the Irish Free State A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

. UCD graduates have since participated in Irish political life – three of the nine

Presidents of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Ireland and the supreme commander of the Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms.Constitut ...

and six of the fourteen Taoisigh have been either former staff or graduates.

Expansion

In 1926, the University Education (Agriculture and Dairy Science) Act transferred the

Royal College of Science The Royal College of Science was a higher education institution located in South Kensington; it was a constituent college of Imperial College London from 1907 until it was wholly absorbed by Imperial in 2002. Still to this day, graduates from th ...

in Merrion Street and Albert Agricultural College in Glasnevin to UCD. In 1933, Belfield House was purchased for sporting purposes.

Move to Belfield

In 1940, Arthur Conway was appointed president. By the early 1940s, the college had become the largest third-level institution in the state and the college attempted to expand the existing city-centre campus. It was later decided that the best solution would be to move the college to a larger greenfield site outside of the city centre and create a modern

campus university A campus university is a British term for a university situated on one site, with student accommodation, teaching and research facilities, and leisure activities all together. It is derived from the Latin term campus, meaning "a flat expanse of ...

. This move started in the early 1960s when the faculty of science moved to the new park campus at Belfield in a suburb on the south side of Dublin. The Belfield campus developed into a complex of modern buildings and inherited Georgian townhouses, accommodating the colleges of the university as well as its student residences and many leisure and sporting facilities. One of UCD's previous locations, the ''Royal College of Science'' on Merrion Street is now the location of the renovated Irish Government Building, where the Department of the

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the o ...

(Irish prime minister) is situated. University College Dublin also had a site in

Glasnevin Glasnevin (, also known as ''Glas Naedhe'', meaning "stream of O'Naeidhe" after a local stream and an ancient chieftain) is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, situated on the River Tolka. While primarily residential, Glasnevin is also home t ...

for much of the last century, the Albert Agricultural College, the southern part of which is now occupied by

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin'' in 1975, it enrolled its ...

, the northern part is where

Ballymun Ballymun () is an outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland, at the northern edge of the Northside, the green-field development of which began in the 1960s to accommodate a housing crisis in inner city areas of Dublin. While the newly built housing was ...

town is located.

Architecture

The new campus was largely designed by A&D Wejchert & Partners Architects and includes several notable structures, including the UCD Water Tower which was built in 1972 by John Paul Construction. The Tower won the 1979 Irish Concrete Society Award. It stands 60 metres high with a dodecahedron tank atop a pentagonal pillar. The Tower is part of the UCD Environmental Research Station.

1950–2000

In 1964, Jeremiah Hogan was appointed president and Thomas E. Nevin led the science faculty to move to a new campus at Belfield. Also that year, UCD became the first University in Europe to launch an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

programme. In 1967,

Donogh O'Malley Donogh Brendan O'Malley (18 January 1921 – 10 March 1968) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and rugby union player who served as Minister for Education from 1966 to 1968, Minister for Health from 1965 to 1966 and Parliamentary Secretary ...

proposed a plan to merge UCD and Trinity. Between 1969 and 1970, the Faculties of Commerce, Arts and Law moved to Belfield. In 1972, Thomas Murphy was appointed president. In 1973, the library opened. In 1980, the college purchased Richview and 17.4 acres and the architecture faculty moved there. In 1981, the Sports Complex opened. In 1986, Patrick Masterson was appointed president. During the 1990s, some of the students of Women's Studies petitioned to rename their Gender Studies building after

Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington Johanna Mary Sheehy Skeffington (née Sheehy; 24 May 1877 – 20 April 1946) was a suffragette and Irish nationalist. Along with her husband Francis Sheehy Skeffington, Margaret Cousins and James Cousins, she founded the Irish Women's Franchis ...

to honour her contribution to women's rights and equal access to third-level education. Her husband Francis Sheehy-Skeffington was himself an alumnus of the university and Hanna of the Royal University, a sister university of UCD. Their campaign was successful and the building was renamed the Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington Building. In 1990, the UCD purchased Carysfort College, Blackrock, and became the location of the Smurfit Graduate school of business. The first student village, Belgrove, opened that year as well. In 1992, the second student village, Merville, opened and the Centre for Film studies was established. In 1993, Art Cosgrove was appointed president. In 1994, O'Reilly Hall was opened. In

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, UCD, together with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), owns a branch campus within George Town, the capital city of the State of Penang. Established in 1996, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and University College Dublin Malaysia Campus (RUMC) offers a twinning programme in Medicine where students spend the first half of their course in either RCSI or UCD, before completing their clinical years at RUMC.

2000s

In 2003, NovaUCD, a Euro Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre opened. In 2004, Hugh Brady was appointed president. In 2006, UCD Horizons begins. In 2009, Trinity and UCD announce the Innovation Alliance. In 2010, NCAD and UCD form an academic alliance. In 2012 the expanded Student and Sports Centre opened. In 2012, the college closed the athletics track and field facilities and students demanded an apology. In 2013, the UCD O'Brien Centre for Science opened and the UCD Sutherland School of Law opened. It is now the largest

Common Law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipres ...

law school in the European Union. In 2015, UCD opened a global centre in the US. In 2019, UCD became the first Irish university to launch a Black Studies module, coordinated by Dr Ebun Joseph and Prof Kathleen Lynch. In March 2022 Prof Andrew Deeks resigned to take up the role of vice-Chancellor at Murdoch University, in Perth, Western Australia. Prof Mark Rogers was appointed acting president.

Academic

Colleges and schools

UCD consists of six colleges, their associated schools (37 in total) and multiple research institutes and centres. Each college also has its own

Graduate School Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

, for postgraduates. List of colleges and their respective schools following restructuring in September 2015. ; UCD College of Arts and Humanities : UCD School of Art History and Cultural Policy : UCD School of Classics : UCD School of English, Drama and Film : UCD School of History and Archives : UCD School of Irish, Celtic Studies and Folklore : UCD School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics : UCD School of Music ; UCD College of Business : UCD School of Business ::UCD Lochlann Quinn School of Business ::UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business ; UCD College of Engineering and Architecture : UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy : UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering : UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering : UCD School of Civil Engineering : UCD School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering : UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering ; UCD College of Health and Agricultural Sciences : UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science : UCD School of Medicine : UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems : UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science : UCD School of Veterinary Medicine ; UCD College of Social Sciences and Law : UCD School of Archaeology : UCD School of Economics : UCD School of Education : UCD School of Geography : UCD School of Information and Communication Studies : UCD School of Law : UCD School of Philosophy : UCD School of Politics and International Relations : UCD School of Psychology : UCD School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice : UCD School of Sociology ; UCD College of Science : UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science : UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science : UCD School of Chemistry : UCD School of Computer Science : UCD School of Earth Sciences : UCD School of Mathematics and Statistics : UCD School of Physics

UCD College of Business

The UCD College of Business is made up of the Quinn School of Business, the

, and UCD Business International Campus. The former constituent school, the UCD Quinn School of Business (commonly The Quinn School), is the building in which the UCD College of Business's undergraduate programme is based. It is located in a three-story building on the Belfield campus and is named after Lochlann Quinn, one of the main financial contributors to the school. Other donors included Bank of Ireland, AIB, Irish Life & Permanent, Accenture,

KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...

, PwC,

Dunnes Stores Dunnes Stores is an Irish multinational retail chain that primarily sells food, clothes and household wares. In addition to its main customer base in Ireland, the chain also has operations in Spain, and formerly in England and Scotland. The f ...

and

Ernst & Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewat ...

. When first opened in 2002, it claimed to be the only business school in Europe with a specific focus on technology and

e-learning Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edtech, it often refer ...

UCD Horizons

At the beginning of the 2005/2006 academic year, UCD introduced the ''Horizons'' curriculum, which completely semesterised and modularised all undergraduate courses. Under the new curriculum, students choose ten core modules from their specific subject area and two other modules, which can be chosen from any other programme at the university.

UCD Professional Academy

UCD is also home to UCD Professional Academy, which offers career development through a broad range o
professional diplomas
Subject areas include Business, IT, Management, Marketing and Design.

Reputation

Patrons and benefactors

The initial patrons and benefactors of UCD were the Catholic Church. Undergraduate fees are funded in part by the Irish State (for EU citizens) and by students themselves. Amongst the most recent patrons include actor Gregory Peck, who was a founding patron of the School of Film. Other benefactors include Lochlann Quinn (

UCD Quinn School of Business University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 students ...

), Michael Smurfit (

Peter Sutherland Peter Denis Sutherland (25 April 1946 – 7 January 2018) was an Irish businessman, barrister and Fine Gael politician who served as UN Special Representative for International Migration from 2006 to 2017. He was known for serving in a variety ...

(Sutherland School of Law), Tony O'Reilly (O'Reilly Hall) and

Denis O'Brien Denis O'Brien (born 19 April 1958) is an Irish billionaire businessman, and the founder and owner of Digicel. He was listed among the World's Top 200 Billionaires in 2015 and was Ireland's richest native-born citizen for a period of several ye ...

(O'Brien Science Centre).

Rankings

In the 2022 ''

QS World University Rankings ''QS World University Rankings'' is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The QS system comprises three parts: the global overall ranking, the subject rankings (which name the world's top universities for the ...

'', UCD was ranked as 173rd in the world The 2020 ''QS World University Rankings'' for employability and reputation rate UCD as first in Ireland and 78th in the world. The 2022 ''

Times Higher Education World University Rankings The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'' (often referred to as the THE Rankings) is an annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' (THE) magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarelli ...

'' placed UCD in the range of 201–250. It also ranked it 22nd in the 2021 Impact Rankings. The ''QS'' Subject Ranking: Veterinary Science, 2018 ranked UCD 24th globally and first in Ireland. The 2022 '' U.S. News & World Report'' ranked UCD as the second best university in Ireland and 244th globally. UCD's Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School is ranked 21st in the Financial Times' ranking of leading European Business Schools in 2019. The business school's Masters in International Management is ranked eighth in the world. UCD was The Sunday Times University of the Year 2006 and 2020.

Research and innovation

UCD had a research income of €114.1 million during 2013/14. The School of Physics hosts research groups in Astrophysics, space science and relativity theory (members of the

VERITAS Veritas is the name given to the Roman virtue of truthfulness, which was considered one of the main virtues any good Roman should possess. The Greek goddess of truth is Aletheia (Ancient Greek: ). The German philosopher Martin Heidegger argues ...

and

INTEGRAL In mathematics, an integral assigns numbers to functions in a way that describes displacement, area, volume, and other concepts that arise by combining infinitesimal data. The process of finding integrals is called integration. Along wit ...

experiments) and Experimental particle physics (participating in the Large Hadron Collider experiments

LHCb The LHCb (Large Hadron Collider beauty) experiment is one of eight particle physics detector experiments collecting data at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. LHCb is a specialized b-physics experiment, designed primarily to measure the paramet ...

and CMS).

Research institutes

Amongst the research institutes of the university are: *

Centre for Cybersecurity & Cybercrime Investigation The University College Dublin Centre for Cybersecurity & Cybercrime Investigation (UCD CCI) is a centre for research and education in cybersecurity, cybercrime and digital forensic science in Dublin, Ireland. The UCD Centre for Cybersecurity & ...

* UCD Conway Institute * UCD Institute of Food & Health * UCD Earth Institute * UCD Energy Institute * UCD Geary Institute for Public Policy * UCD Humanities Institute * UCD Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Institute – for the Study of Irish History and Civilisation. Founded in 2000 as part of the UCD-OFM (Orders of Friars Minor) Partnership which also initiated the transfer of the priceless Irish

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

archive to UCD, which included the papers of Eamon De Valera.

External collaborations

Wide partnerships in which UCD is involved include: * Adaptive Information Cluster (with DCU) * Centre for Innovation and Structural Change (with

NUI Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

and DCU) * Centre for research on adaptive nanostructures and nanodevices (with TCD and UCC) * CTVR Centre for Telecommunications Value-Chain-Driven Research (with DCU, TCD,

NUI Maynooth The National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann Mhá Nuad), commonly known as Maynooth University (MU), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. It w ...

, UCC, UL, DIT and Sligo IT). * National Digital Research Centre (with

and

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

). * National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (with

and Sligo IT). *Programme for Research on Grid-enabled Computational Physics of Natural Phenomena (with DCU, TCD, UCC DIAS,

, HEAnet,

Met Éireann Met Éireann (; meaning " Met of Ireland") is the state meteorological service of Ireland, part of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. History The history of modern meteorology in Ireland dates back to 8 October 1860, whe ...

Armagh Observatory Armagh Observatory is an astronomical research institute in Armagh, Northern Ireland. Around 25 astronomers are based at the observatory, studying stellar astrophysics, the Sun, Solar System astronomy and Earth's climate. In 2018, Armagh Obs ...

and Grid Ireland). * Advanced Biomimetic Materials for Solar Energy Conversion with the

University of Limerick The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a public research university institution in Limerick, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in 1989 in accordance w ...

Airtricity SSE Airtricity (previously Eirtricity) is an energy company founded in Ireland in 1997, and now a subsidiary SSE plc. SSE Airtricity supplies and distributes electricity and gas to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. History The com ...

, OBD-Tec and Celtic Catalysts.

Current and former campus companies

The most prominent UCD-related company is the

IE Domain Registry The .'IE'' is the domain name registry for the .ie country code top-level domain. Their work includes protecting, supporting and promoting the web presence of all .ie domain names. They administer and manage the .ie namespace in the public inter ...

; many UCD academics continue to sit on the board of directors. UCD originally gained control of the

.ie .ie is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) which corresponds with the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code for Ireland. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) list the Computing Services Computer Centre of University College Dublin as its spo ...

domain in the late 1980s. The NovaUCD initiative is UCD's innovation and technology transfer centre, funded through a public-private partnership. In 2004,

Duolog Duolog Technologies was an Irish-based company that developed electronic design automation tools that assist with the integration of complex System-on-Chip (SoC), ASIC and FPGA designs. In 2014, Duolog was acquired by ARM Holdings plc, a multinat ...

relocated its Dublin headquarters to NovaUCD.

Satellite development

The Educational Irish Research Satellite 1 or EIRSAT-1 is a 2U CubeSat under development at UCD and will be Ireland's first satellite.

Student life

Students' Union

The students' union in the college has been an active part of campaigns run by the National Union, USI, and has played a role in the life of the college since its foundation in 1974. The Union has also taken stances on issues of human rights that have attracted attention in Ireland and around the world; in particular, it implemented a ban of

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...

products in Student Union controlled shops on the basis of alleged human and trade union rights abuses in Colombia. This ban was overturned in 2010.

Sport

UCD has over 60 sports clubs based on campus with 28 sports scholarships awarded annually. UCD competes in the most popular Irish field sports of Gaelic Games, Hurling, Soccer and

Rugby Union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

. UCD is the only Irish university to compete in both the major Irish leagues for rugby and soccer with University College Dublin A.F.C. and

University College Dublin R.F.C. University College Dublin Rugby Football Club is based in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and plays in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League (rugby union), All-Ireland League. They play their home games at UCD Bowl. The club was founded in ...

competing in the top leagues of their respective competitions.

UCD GAA UCD GAA or University College Dublin Gaelic Athletic Association club is a Dublin based Gaelic games club in University College Dublin. The UCD hurling club was founded in 1900 and boasted the mottos "Ad Astra" and "Cothrom Féinne". The first ...

have won the most

Sigerson Cup The Sigerson Cup is the trophy for the premier Gaelic football championship among Higher Education institutions (Universities, Colleges and Institutes of Technology) in Ireland. It traditionally begins in mid January and ends in late February. ...

(Gaelic Football) whilst they have the second most

Fitzgibbon Cup The Fitzgibbon Cup ( ga, Corn Mhic Giobúin) is the trophy for the premier hurling championship among higher education institutions (universities, colleges and institutes of technology) in Ireland. The Fitzgibbon Cup competition is administered ...

(hurling) wins, both the major University competitions in the sports in Ireland. UCD sport annually compete in the Colours Match with

in a range of sports, most notably in rugby. The rugby side has won 35 of the 57 contests. UCD RFC has produced 13

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

as well 70 Irish Rugby International and 5 for other nations. In 1985, UCD drew with Everton F.C. in the first round of the

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...

, which Everton went on to win. Other notable team sports in the college basketball side,

UCD Marian UCD Marian is an Irish basketball team based in Dublin. The team competes in the Super League and plays its home games at the UCD Sports Centre. The team is a division of UCD Marian Basketball Club and is directly associated with the University C ...

, victors in the 2012 Irish Basketball Superleague. The Belfield campus is home to a wide range of sports facilities. Facilities include the National Hockey stadium (which has previously hosted the Women's Hockey World Cup Finals and the Men's Hockey European Championship Finals) and

UCD Bowl UCD can refer to: Education *University College Dublin, Irish university **University College Dublin A.F.C., the university's association football club **University College Dublin RFC, the university's rugby union club **UCD GAA, the university G ...

a 3,000 capacity stadium used for rugby and soccer. UCD has one of the largest fitness centres in the country, squash courts, tennis courts, an indoor rifle range, over twenty sports pitches (for rugby, soccer and Gaelic games), an indoor climbing wall and two large sports halls. The Sportscenter was added to in 2012 with the competition of an

Olympic-size swimming pool An Olympic-size swimming pool conforms to regulated dimensions that are large enough for international competition. This type of swimming pool is used in the Olympic Games, where the race course is in length, typically referred to as "long cour ...

, a

tepidarium The tepidarium was the warm (''tepidus'') bathroom of the Roman baths heated by a hypocaust or underfloor heating system. The speciality of a tepidarium is the pleasant feeling of constant radiant heat which directly affects the human body from t ...

and a revamped fitness center as part of the re-development of the UCD Student Centre. Ucdswimming

UCD hosted the

IFIUS IFIUS (International Federation for Interuniversity Sport) was a democratic non profit organisation whose main objective was to organise the yearly World Interuniversity Games, in which teams of students from different Universities and Colleges wo ...

World Interuniversity Games in October 2006.

Leinster Rugby

Leinster Rugby's headquarters and training facility are located on campus, housing the academy, senior squad and administrative arms of the rugby club. Their facilities include an office block and a high performance facility, located next to the Institute of Sport and Health (ISH). They also use UCD's pitches. It was completed in 2012 at a cost of 2.5 million euro.

Societies

UCD has currently more than sixty student societies. They cater for many interests ranging from large-scale party societies such as Ag Soc, Arts Soc, Commerce and Economics Society, ISS (and its subgroup AfricaSoc), INDSoc(Indian Society) and MSoc(Malaysian Society) who have the largest student communities of Indian and Malaysian students in Ireland. There are also religiously interested groups such as the Christian Union, the Islamic Society, the Atheist and Secular Society, a television station Campus Television Network, academic-oriented societies like the Economic Society, UCD Philosophy Society, Mathsoc, Classical Society, and An Cumann Gaelach, an Irish-language society and such charities as St. Vincent de Paul, UCDSVP. There are two main societies for international students, ESN UCD (part of the Erasmus Student Network) and the International Student's Society. Many UCD societies engage in voluntary work on-campus and across Dublin. For example, the UCD Student Legal Service is a student-run society that provides free legal information clinics to the students of UCD. Irish political parties are represented on campus including Ógra

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...

, Young

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

, and UCD Labour Youth. The college has two debating unions. The oldest societies are the Literary and Historical Society, which is currently in its 160th session, An Cumann Gaelach who are entering their 110th session, the Commerce & Economics Society who are entering their 105th session and the Law Society which was founded in 1911. The L&H and Law Society are the major debating societies of the college and two of the leading ones in Ireland. Ireland's most prestigious competition, the Irish Times Debate the L&H has 11 team wins and 12 individual ones with the Law Society achieving 2 team wins and 2 individual wins respectively. The two societies have also been successful further afield at the UK and Ireland

John Smith Memorial Mace The John Smith Memorial Mace (known as the Observer Mace from 1954 to 1995) is an annual debating tournament ( British Parliamentary format) contested by universities in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The equivalent competition for second ...

(formerly The Observer Mace) with the L&H winning 5 titles and Lawsoc 2 titles. UCD has hosted the

World University Debating Championships The World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) is the world's largest debating tournament and one of the largest annual international student events in the world. WUDC is held in the British Parliamentary Debate format (involving four team ...

twice, most recently in 2006. At the start of the 12/13 Academic Year, the Literary and Historical Society achieved a membership of 5143 becoming the largest student society in UCD and in Europe. The UCD Dramsoc is the university drama society, it is noted for an active membership and a number of notable alumni. The university also has a successful sinfonia called University College Dublin Symphony Orchestra. Chris O'Dowd

Student publications and media

Newspapers

UCD has two student newspapers currently published on campus, the broadsheet ''University Observer'' and the tabloid ''College Tribune''

= ''The University Observer''

= ''

The University Observer ''The University Observer'' is a broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the campus of University College Dublin, Ireland, once every three weeks. Launched in 1994 by University College Dublin Students' Union, the newspaper was an immedi ...

'' won the Newspaper of the Year award at the National Student Media Awards in April 2006, an accolade it has achieved many times, most recently in April 2014. Founded in 1994, its first editors were Pat Leahy and comedian

Dara Ó Briain Dara Ó Briain ( , ; born 4 February 1972) is an Irish comedian and television presenter based in the United Kingdom. He is noted for performing stand-up comedy shows all over the world and for hosting topical panel shows such as ''Mock the W ...

. Many figures in Irish journalism have held the position of editor including ''The Irish Times'' duty editor Roddy O'Sullivan and political editor Pat Leahy, AFP business reporter Enda Curran, ''

The Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. ...

'' political editor Daniel McConnell, RTÉ News reporter Samantha Libreri;

Virgin Media News Virgin Media News (formerly TV3 News and then 3News Ireland) is the news division of Virgin Media Television in Ireland, owned by Liberty Global. The news division produces news and current affairs programming for free-to-air channels Virgin ...

political correspondent Gavan Reilly; and TV researcher Alan Torney. The efforts of its staff were noted by the prestigious '' Guardian'' Student Media Awards with a nomination for "Best Newspaper", the first Irish student publication to receive such recognition. In 2001, in addition to several Irish National Student Media Awards, the ''University Observer'' under McConnell and Curran took the runner up prize for "Best Publication" at the Guardian Student Media Awards in London. To date, ''The University Observer'' has won 29 Irish Student Media Awards. The main sections within the paper are campus, national and international news, comment, opinion and sport. In addition, each issue is accompanied by an arts and culture supplement called ''O-Two'', with music interviews, travel, fashion and colour pieces. ''The University Observer'' is funded by the UCD Students' Union, but its content, in theory, remains editorially independent.

= ''College Tribune''

= The ''

College Tribune The ''College Tribune'' is a student newspaper which serves Ireland's largest third level institution, University College Dublin. It was established in 1989 with the assistance of journalist and broadcaster Vincent Browne who was attending the ...

'' was founded in 1989, with the assistance of noted political commentator Vincent Browne. Then an evening student at UCD, Browne noted the lack of an independent media outlet for students and staff and set about rectifying this with the establishment of a student newspaper. The paper was initially established with links to the '' Sunday Tribune'', though over time these links faded and ultimately, the ''Tribune'' would long outlast its national counterpart. The paper has since its inception supported itself financially through commercial advertising in its print edition. Operating under such a model theoretically allows the paper and its staff to maintain genuine editorial independence from both university authorities and the Students' Union. The ''Tribune'' has been recognised on a number of occasions at the national student media awards, particularly in sports writing, of which the paper maintains a strong tradition. In addition to winning Student Newspaper of the Year at the 1996 USI & Irish Independent Media Awards, then editor Conor Lally was also awarded Student Journalist of the Year. 2003 saw ''Tribune'' stalwart Peter Lahiff win Diversity Writer of the Year at the

Guardian Student Media Award The ''Guardian'' Student Media Awards were an annual UK-wide student journalism competition run by ''The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name i ...

s, to-date the only Irish based recipient of a Guardian award. ''College Tribune'' sections include news, sport, features, arts, film and entertainment, music, fashion, business, and politics & innovation. These are contained in both the paper proper and its arts culture supplement ''The Trib''. The paper is also noted among students for the launch of ''The Evil Gerald'', a satirical 'paper within a paper'.

Radio and television

UCD also has a student radio station,

Belfield FM Belfield FM is University College Dublin's student radio station. The station began broadcasting in 1990. It was initially run as a part of the UCD Students' Union, under the remit of the entertainments office, before becoming an independent e ...

, broadcasting throughout the academic year online on the station's website. The station is independently run by the UCD Broadcasting Society and has produced well known Irish radio presenters such as

Ryan Tubridy Ryan Tubridy (born 28 May 1973), nicknamed 'Tubs ' is an Irish broadcaster. He presents ''The Ryan Tubridy Show'' and '' The Late Late Show''. Tubridy previously presented RTÉ 2fm breakfast radio show ''The Full Irish'', which at its end was ...

and

Rick O'Shea Paul Crossan (born 7 May 1973, also known as Rick O'Shea) is an Irish radio personality. He was born in Drimnagh, Dublin 12, grew up in Crumlin, and attended Drimnagh Castle Secondary School and later UCD. He has been a presenter on RTÉ 2fm ...

(of RTÉ fame) and Barry Dunne of

98FM 98FM is a local radio station in Dublin, Ireland, operated by Bauer Media Audio Ireland, under a sound broadcasting contract from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. The station broadcasts on the 98.1 MHz FM frequency. 98FM's broadca ...

. Belfield FM is the successor to UCD FM, which was operated within the entertainment office of the students' union as a service for students. Initially launched in 1992, the station rebranded in 2000 and has operated since then under the current name. As a result of the implementation of the students' union's new constitution at the beginning of the 2012 / 2013 academic year, the station now operates as a student society.

Historical newspapers

*''The Student'' *''University Gazette'' *''Confrontation'' *''Campus'' *''UCD News'' *''Student Voice'' *''Gobshout'' *''Catholic University News and Times'' *''Hibernia'' *''Comhthrom Féinne'' *''Comhar''

UCD scarf colours

In later years students have been given a scarf of St Patrick's blue, navy and saffron at the President's Welcome Ceremony when they are officially welcomed. These colours have replaced "Faculty" colours and are now worn at graduation also.

Notable people

Presidents

* William Delany SJ (1883–1888 and 1897–1909) *

Robert Carbery Robert Carbery SJ (1829–1903) was an Irish Jesuit priest, who served as Rector of Clongowes Wood College, and President of University College Dublin. Born in Youghal, County Cork in 1829. He studied for a time at Trinity College, Dublin, then at ...

SJ (1888–1897) * Denis Coffey, Dean of Medicine (1910–1940) * Arthur W. Conway (1940–1947) * Michael Tierney (1947–1964) * Jeremiah Hogan (1964–1972) * Thomas Murphy (1972–1985) * Patrick Masterson (1986–1993) *

Art Cosgrove Art Cosgrove, (born 1 June 1940) in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland, was president of University College Dublin (UCD) between 1994 and 2003. Education He was educated at the Abbey Christian Brothers' Grammar School, Newry.https://www.ucd.ie ...

(1993–2003) * Hugh R. Brady (2004–2013) * Andrew J. Deeks (2014–2022) * Mark Rogers(Acting President 2022- )

Alumni

File:Revolutionary Joyce.jpg,

1903, writer File:Brian O'Driscoll 2.jpg,

Brian O'Driscoll Brian Gerard O'Driscoll (born 21 January 1979) is an Irish former professional rugby union player. He played at outside centre for the Irish provincial team Leinster and for Ireland. He captained Ireland from 2003 until 2012, and captained the ...

2001, rugby player File:Gabriel Byrne 07TIFF.jpg,

Gabriel Byrne Gabriel James Byrne (born 12 May 1950) is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, audiobook narrator, and author. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined London's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's s ...

, actor File:Neil Jordan by David Shankbone.jpg,

Neil Jordan Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish film director, screenwriter, novelist and short-story writer. His first book, ''Night in Tunisia (short story collection), Night in Tunisia'', won a Somerset Maugham Award and the Guardian ...

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

-winning film director and producer File:Seán MacBride 1984.jpg,

Seán MacBride Seán MacBride (26 January 1904 – 15 January 1988) was an Irish Clann na Poblachta politician who served as Minister for External Affairs from 1948 to 1951, Leader of Clann na Poblachta from 1946 to 1965 and Chief of Staff of the IRA from 19 ...

, recipient of the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

1974 File:Peter-Sutherland-2011.jpg,

, first Director- General of the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and ...

Former presidents of Ireland

(faculty) *

Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh (; 12 February 1911 – 21 March 1978) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician, judge and barrister who served as the fifth president of Ireland from December 1974 to October 1976. His birth name was registered in English ...

Patrick Hillery Patrick John Hillery ( ga, Pádraig J. Ó hIrghile; 2 May 1923 – 12 April 2008) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as the sixth president of Ireland from December 1976 to December 1990. He also served as vice-president of the Eur ...

Former Taoisigh (Prime Ministers) of Ireland

* John A. Costello *

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...

* Garret FitzGerald *

John Bruton John Gerard Bruton (born 18 May 1947) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1994 to 1997, Ambassador of the European Union to the United States from 2004 to 2009, Leader of Fine Gael from 1990 to 2001, Leader o ...

Brian Cowen Brian Bernard Cowen (born 10 January 1960) is an Irish former politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2008 to 2011. Cowen was elected to Dáil Éireann in 1984, for the constituency of Laois–Offaly and served in a ...

Contemporary politicians and current members of Cabinet

Richard Bruton Richard Bruton (born 15 March 1953) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin Bay North since 2016, and previously from 1982 to 2016 for the Dublin North-Central constituency. He is the Chairman of th ...

Stephen Donnelly Stephen Donnelly (born 14 December 1975) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has served as Minister for Health since June 2020. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Wicklow constituency since 2011. On his election to Dáil Éireann, D ...

* Charles Flanagan *

Seán Fleming Seán Fleming (born 27 February 1958) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has served as Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs since December 2022. He previously served as Minister of State at the Department of Finance from ...

* Emer Higgins * John McGahon * Mairead McGuinness * Charlie McConalogue * Paul Murphy * Cian O'Callaghan * Jim O'Callaghan *

Éamon Ó Cuív Éamon Ó Cuív (; born 23 June 1950) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway West constituency since the 1992 general election. He previously served as Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2011 to 2 ...

* Anne Rabbitte *

Éamon Ryan Eamonn or Éamon or Eamon may refer to: *Eamonn (given name), an Irish male given name *Eamon (singer) (born 1983), American R&B singer-songwriter and harmonicist * ''Eamon'' (video game), a 1980 computer role-playing game for the Apple II *"Éamon ...

Neale Richmond Neale Richmond (born 15 March 1983) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Minister of State since 2023. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Rathdown constituency since the 2020 general election. He previously served as ...

* Róisín Shortall * Brendan Smith *

Eóin Tennyson Eóin Tennyson (born 17 May 1998) is a Northern Irish Alliance Party politician who has served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Upper Bann since the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election. Early life and career Tennyson a ...

* Barry Ward

International affairs

In International affairs UCD's alumni include: * Anne Anderson, first female Ambassador of Ireland to the US, UN, EU, France and Monaco * Catherine Day, former Secretary-General of the European Commission, the first woman to hold the position * Dermot Gallagher, Secretary-General of the Department of Foreign Affairs, and Ambassador of Ireland to the USA * Mahon Hayes, lawyer, diplomat and the only Irish person to serve on the

International Law Commission The International Law Commission (ILC) is a body of experts responsible for helping develop and codify international law. It is composed of 34 individuals recognized for their expertise and qualifications in international law, who are elected by t ...

, one of the founders of Amnesty International and recipient of the 1974 Nobel Peace Prize. *

, one of the major negotiators in the foundation of the World Trade Organization, and its first Director-General * V. V. Giri the fourth President of India * Ryan Crocker, a Career Ambassador within the United States Foreign Service, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. * James Dooge (alumnus and faculty), chairman of the "Dooge Report" which led to the Single European Act and the Treaty of Maastricht Seven of Ireland's former European Commissioners are alumni. Irish revolutionaries Pádraig Pearse and Thomas MacDonagh, two of the leaders of the Easter Rising and signatories of the

Proclamation of the Irish Republic A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...

were, respectively, a student and member of faculty at the university. As well as former president Douglas Hyde and Pádraig Pearse, UCD Professor Eóin MacNeill had a key role in the Gaelic revival in Ireland. Since the foundation of the Irish state in 1922, UCD has produced the largest number of Justices of the Supreme Court of Ireland, the largest number of Chief Justices and the largest number of

Attorneys General of Ireland Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...

of any Irish institution of higher education. Alumna Síofra O'Leary is Judge at the European Court of Human Rights and three of the six current justices of the Supreme Court are UCD alumni.

Healthcare

In 2008,

Tony Holohan William Gerard Anthony Holohan is an Irish public health physician who served as Chief Medical Officer of Ireland from May 2008 to 1 July 2022. Fergal Bowers described him as being "as familiar as Dr Anthony Fauci in the US and arguably as i ...

was appointed Chief Medical Officer for Ireland. In 2010, UCD School of Medicine graduate and cardiothoracic surgeon

Eilis McGovern Eilis McGovern FRCSI is an Irish consultant cardiothoracic surgeon. She established Ireland's third public cardiac unit and was the 168th President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. She became the National Director for medical traini ...

was elected 168th President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and thereby became the first female President of any surgical Royal College in the world.

Writers and artists

Distinguished writers include

, Kate O'Brien, Austin Clarke,

Benedict Kiely Benedict "Ben" Kiely (15 August 1919 – 9 February 2007) was an Irish writer and broadcaster from Omagh, County Tyrone. Early life Kiely was born near Dromore, County Tyrone and was a student at the Christian Brothers School in Omagh. In 1 ...

, Pearse Hutchinson,

Thomas Kinsella Thomas Kinsella (4 May 192822 December 2021) was an Irish poet, translator, editor, and publisher. Born outside Dublin, Kinsella attended University College Dublin before entering the civil service. He began publishing poetry in the early 1950s ...

, James Plunkett (Kelly), John Jordan,

John McGahern John McGahern (12 November 1934 – 30 March 2006) was an Irish writer and novelist. He is regarded as one of the most important writers of the latter half of the twentieth century. Known for the detailed dissection of Irish life found in w ...

, Paul Lynch and Hugh McFadden. Dee Forbes, Director General RTÉ and Miriam O'Callaghan, presenter of RTÉ's leading current affairs show, Prime Time, are alumni, as are comedians

Dermot Morgan Dermot John Morgan (31 March 1952 – 28 February 1998) was an Irish comedian and actor, best known for his role as Father Ted Crilly in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Father Ted''. Early life Morgan was born in Dublin, the son of Hilda "Holly" (née ...

(1952–1998) and

who were major figures in the university's debating scene for many years.

Sport

UCD has produced a number of well-known athletes, mainly in the popular Irish field sports of Gaelic games and

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

. Many played within the university's club sides such as

who played for

The club has produced numerous

including O'Driscoll, with several others attending as students. Notable GAA athletes include

Rena Buckley Rena Buckley is an Irish sportswoman who played at senior level for both the Cork county ladies' football team and the Cork county camogie team. She has also represented Munster in the Gael Linn Cup and Ireland at international rules. Betwee ...

, one of the most decorated players in GAA history, having won a total of 17 All-Ireland senior medals; Seán Murphy, a medical school graduate and member of the Gaelic Football Team of the Millennium; and

Nicky Rackard Nicholas Rackard (28 April 1922 – 10 April 1976) was an Irish hurler whose league and championship career with the Wexford senior team spanned seventeen years from 1940 to 1957. He established many championship scoring records, including bein ...

, included in the Hurling Team of the Century. Kevin Moran, formerly a Gaelic football but also a soccer player for Manchester United, graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in 1976.

Business

Alumni involved in business include: * David J. O'Reilly, formerly CEO and Chairman of the Chevron Corporation * Lucy Gaffney, Chairperson of Communicorp Group Limited * Niall FitzGerald, former CEO and Chairman of

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...

* Pearse Lyons (1944–2018), founder and President of

Alltech Alltech is an American company, headquartered in Nicholasville, Kentucky, with operations in animal feed, meat, brewing, and distilling. Alltech develops agricultural products for use in both livestock and crop farming, as well as products for the ...

* Tony O'Reilly, who previously served as the CEO of

H. J. Heinz Company The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six contin ...

as well as owning Independent News & Media *

, founder of

Digicel Digicel is a Jamaican and Caribbean mobile phone network and home entertainment provider operating in 33 markets worldwide. Digicel has operated in several countries, including Guyana, Fiji, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Suriname, a ...

* Andrew Mulvey-Mescall former CEO of

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

* Alison Darcy, clinical psychologist and founder of Woebot

Religious Figures

A number of catholic religious figures, studied or played significant roles in UCD, include Cardinals

Tomás Ó Fiaich Tomás Séamus Cardinal Ó Fiaich KGCHS (3 November 1923 – 8 May 1990) was an Irish prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the Catholic Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh from 1977 until his death. He was created a Cardinal ...

and

Desmond Connell Desmond Connell (24 March 1926 – 21 February 2017) was an Irish cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church. He was an Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland. Cardinal Connell was one of a number of senior clergy to have been heavily criticised ...

as well as the founding rector Cardinal Newman. Clerical students from

Clonliffe College Holy Cross College (also known as Clonliffe College), located in Clonliffe Road, Drumcondra was founded in 1854 as the Catholic diocesan seminary for Dublin by Cardinal Paul Cullen. History The College was founded in 1859 by the then Archbish ...

All Hallows College All Hallows College was a college of higher education in Dublin. It was founded in 1842 and was run by the Vincentians from 1892 until 2016. On 23 May 2014, it was announced that it was closing down, due to decreasing student numbers. The sale ...

, St. Joseph's, Blackrock (Vincentians), the Holy Ghost Fathers (Spiritans) in

Blackrock College Blackrock College ( ga, Coláiste na Carraige Duibhe) is a voluntary day and boarding Catholic secondary school for boys aged 13–18, in Williamstown, Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland. It was founded by French missionary Jules Leman in 186 ...

and Kimmage Manor, St. Mary's Priory (Dominicans) and the Jesuit

Milltown Park Milltown () is a suburb on the southside of Dublin, Ireland. Milltown was the site of several working mills on the River Dodder and is also the location of the meeting of the River Slang with the Dodder. It is located adjacent to other suburban ...

(and Rathfarnham Castle) would have studied for degrees in UCD, while studying Theology in their seminaries, theology prohibited by the Royal University and National University of Ireland until 1996. * Bishop Michael J. Cleary B.A., C.S.Sp., arts graduate, Bishop of Banjul, Gambia. * Cardinal

, former Archbishop of Dublin, graduate and professor in UCD, and Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and Sociology * Bishop James Corboy SJ, First Roman Catholic Bishop of Monze, Zambia (1962–1992), Rector of Milltown (1959–1962) * Bishop Robert Patrick Ellison B.Sc. C.S.Sp. Science graduate, Bishop of Banjul, Gambia. * Rev. Prof. Thomas A. Finlay SJ, graduate of UCD, and Professor of Classics, Philosophy and Political Economy * Fr. Aengus Finucane, missionary, one of the founders of Concern Worldwide * Fr. John Fogarty, B.Sc., C.S.Sp., 24th Superior General of the

Spiritans , image = Holy Ghost Fathers seal.png , size = 175px , caption = The seal of the Congregation depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Trinity. , abbreviation ...

(2012–2021) * Rev. Dr. Desmond Forristal, co-founder of Radharc films * Fr. Francis Griffin C.S.Sp., first non-French Superior General of the Spiritans * Fr. Michael Hurley SJ, co-founder of the

Irish School of Ecumenics The Irish School of Ecumenics (ISE) is an institute of Trinity College Dublin, dedicated to the study and promotion of peace and reconciliation in Ireland and throughout the world. The school is located in Dublin and Belfast, and consists of eight ...

* Bishop James Kavanagh, auxiliary bishop of Dublin, a graduate of UCD and Lecturer. * Archbishop

Ambrose Kelly Bishop Ambrose Kelly C.S.Sp (born 24 June 1900, died 12 February 1952) was a member of the Holy Ghost Fathers, and served as Archbishop of Freetown and Bo, in Sierre Leone. Born in 1900 in Newhaven, Sussex, England, to Irish parents, Kelly was e ...

C.S.Sp, served as Archbishop of Freetown and Bo, in Sierre Leone. * Sr. Dr. Maura Lynch, catholic nun, doctor, women's rights advocate, in Angola and Uganda * Archbishop

James Leen James Leen C.S.Sp. (1888–1949) was an Irish member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, who served a Bishop of Port Louis in Mauritius. Born in 1888 in Abbeyfeale, Co. Limerick he studied at Rockwell College Co. Tipperary.Bishop of Port Louis in

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

(1926–1949). * Bishop

Daniel Liston Daniel Liston (1900–1986) was an Irish member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, who served a Bishop of Port Louis in Mauritius from 1949 until 1968.

B.A., C.S.Sp., (1900–1986), served a Bishop of Port Louis in

(1949–1968). * Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin * Bishop

John Joseph McCarthy Bishop John Joseph "J.J." McCarthy C.S.Sp. (27 April 1896 – 13 January 1983),Bishop J.J. McCarth ...

B.A., C.S.Sp., Bishop of Nairobi, Kenya * Fr.

Peter McVerry Fr Peter McVerry, SJ (born 1944) is an Irish Roman Catholic priest, notable for battling homelessness in Ireland.

SJ, founder of the Peter McVerry Trust is a science graduate from UCD. * Archbishop

John Charles McQuaid John Charles McQuaid, C.S.Sp. (28 July 1895 – 7 April 1973), was the Catholic Primate of Ireland and Archbishop of Dublin between December 1940 and January 1972. He was known for the unusual amount of influence he had over successive govern ...

B.A., M.A., H.Dip.Ed., C.S.Sp., Archbishop of Dublin (1940–1972) * Sr. Dr Mary Aquinas Monaghan, Columban missionary in China and Hong Kong, a specialist in the treatment and management of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

. * Sr. Dr.

Lucy O'Brien Lucy O'Brien (born 13 September 1961)Author Biography, O'Brien, Lucy – She Bop: The definitive history of women in rock, pop, and soul, London: Penguin, 1995 is a British author and journalist whose work focuses on women in music. Early musi ...

, missionary nun and medical doctor in Africa. * Rev. Prof. E. F. O'Doherty, experimental psychologist, professor of psychology, and registrar of UCD. * Cardinal

, Archbishop of Armagh. * Cardinal

Maurice Piat Maurice Piat CSSp GCSK (born 19 July 1941) is a Mauritian Roman Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Port Louis, Mauritius, since 1993; he is also a professed member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit. Piat was ordained a priest in ...

CSSp, GCSK, Archbishop of Port Louis, Mauritius * Archbishop

Dermot Ryan Dermot J. Ryan (26 June 1924 – 21 February 1985) was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Ireland from 1972 until 1984. Early life and education Born Dermot Joseph Ryan in 1924, to Andrew Ryan a medical doctor and Therese nee McKenna, in ...

, Archbishop of Dublin, UCD Professor of Oriental Languages * Sr. Dr. Mona Tyndall, medical doctor and missionary nun in Nigeria and Zambia Amongst the number of humanitarians to attend are

John O'Shea John Francis O'Shea (; born 30 April 1981) is an Irish professional football coach and former player. He was known for his versatility in playing several positions on either side of the pitch or the centre. Born in Waterford, O'Shea joined Man ...

founder of GOAL and Tom Arnold the CEO of Concern Worldwide. Former faculty include Dennis Jennings of the School of Computing, considered to be an Internet pioneer for his leadership of

NSFNET The National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET) was a program of coordinated, evolving projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) from 1985 to 1995 to promote advanced research and education networking in the United States. The p ...

, the network that became the

Internet backbone The Internet backbone may be defined by the principal data routes between large, strategically interconnected computer networks and core routers of the Internet. These data routes are hosted by commercial, government, academic and other high-ca ...

. Other notable faculty include Patrick Lynch, logician and philosopher

Jan Łukasiewicz Jan Łukasiewicz (; 21 December 1878 – 13 February 1956) was a Polish logician and philosopher who is best known for Polish notation and Łukasiewicz logic His work centred on philosophical logic, mathematical logic and history of logic. ...

, and Professor of Science and Society

James Heckman James Joseph Heckman (born April 19, 1944) is a Nobel Prize-winning American economist at the University of Chicago, where he is The Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and the College; Professor at the Harris School of Pu ...

who won the

Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel ( sv, Sveriges riksbanks pris i ekonomisk vetenskap till Alfred Nobels minne), is an economics award administered ...

in 2000.

UCD in popular culture

In literature

’s novel ''

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man ''A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man'' is the first novel of Irish writer James Joyce. A ''Künstlerroman'' written in a modernist style, it traces the religious and intellectual awakening of young Stephen Dedalus, Joyce's fictional al ...

'' is partially set in UCD (when it was sited on Earlsfort Terrace) where Stephen Dedalus (now the name of the IT building) is enrolled as a student. Joyce's posthumously-published autobiographical novel '' Stephen Hero'' contains stories of his time in UCD. Flann O'Brien's novel ''

At Swim-Two-Birds ''At Swim-Two-Birds'' is a 1939 novel by Irish writer Brian O'Nolan, writing under the pseudonym Flann O'Brien. It is widely considered to be O'Brien's masterpiece, and one of the most sophisticated examples of metafiction. The novel's title ...

'' features a UCD student who writes a meta-novel wherein the author is put on trial by the characters of his novel.

Maeve Binchy Anne Maeve Binchy Snell (28 May 1939Born 1939 as per biography, ''Maeve Binchy'' by Piers Dudgeon, Thomas Dunne Books 2013; (hardcover), pp. 4, 280, 302; (ebook) – 30 July 2012) was an Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, colum ...

's novel, '' Circle of Friends'', deals with three female friends starting college in UCD in the 1950s. However, shots of Trinity College were used in the 1995 film. The second

Ross O'Carroll-Kelly Ross O'Carroll-Kelly is a satirical fictional Irish character, a wealthy South County Dublin rugby union jock created by journalist Paul Howard. The character first appeared in a January 1998 column in the '' Sunday Tribune'' newspaper and la ...

novel, ''The Teenage Dirtbag Years'', follows Ross as he enters UCD.

In music

Christy Moore wrote a tongue in cheek song about UCD's Literary and Historical Society called "The Auditor of the L and H". Johnny Jurex & The Punk Pistols, predecessors to Rocky De Valera & The Gravediggers had a song called "Anarchy in Belfield" which they played at their only gig during Rag Week in 1976.

In film and television

Conor McPherson Conor McPherson (born 6 August 1971) is an Irish playwright, screenwriter and director of stage and film. In recognition of his contribution to world theatre, McPherson was awarded a doctorate of Literature, Honoris Causa, in June 2013 by the Un ...

's third film ''Saltwater'' was filmed in Belfield, UCD. In '' Boston Legal'', Season 2, Episode 21 "Word Salad Day", there is a reference to a study from UCD that "found that the effects of divorce on children are far more damaging than the death of a parent" although it is not clear whether this is University College Dublin or

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...

References

External links

*
Students' Union website

The Library of University College Dublin
at Google Cultural Institute
UCD Ephemera Collection: a collection of ephemera primarily associated with the history and development of UCD.
A UCD Digital Library Collection. {{Coord, 53, 18, 30, N, 6, 13, 20, W, region:IE_type:edu, display=title National University of Ireland Educational institutions established in 1908 Education in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown 1908 establishments in Ireland