The University Philosophical Society (UPS), commonly known as The Phil, is a student paper-reading and

debating Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...

society in Trinity College,

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Founded in 1683, it describes itself as the oldest student, collegial and paper-reading society in the world. The society is based within the

Graduates Memorial Building The Graduates Memorial Building (GMB) is a neo-Gothic Victorian building, in Trinity College Dublin designed by Sir Thomas Drew in 1897. It is home to Trinity College's oldest student societies: the University Philosophical Society (the Phil), th ...

of Trinity College. Throughout its history, it has welcomed many notable guests and some of its members have included

Ernest Walton Ernest Thomas Sinton Walton (6 October 1903 – 25 June 1995) was an Irish nuclear physicist who shared the 1951 Nobel Prize in Physics with John Cockcroft "for their pioneer work on the transmutation of atomic nuclei by artificially accelerate ...

John Butler Yeats John Butler Yeats RHA (16 March 1839 – 3 February 1922) was an Irish artist and the father of W. B. Yeats, Lily Yeats, Elizabeth Corbett "Lollie" Yeats and Jack Butler Yeats. The National Gallery of Ireland holds a number of his portrait ...

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912), better known by his pen name Bram Stoker, was an Irish novelist who wrote the 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. The book is widely considered a milestone in Vampire fiction, and one of t ...

and

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

Society

The Phil's members meet every Thursday during term to discuss a paper, debate a motion or hear an address. Traditionally a paper-reading society, meetings sometimes continue the format of responses to a paper rather than debate on a motion. Its rooms are within the Graduates' Memorial Building (GMB) of Trinity College, which it has shared with the

College Historical Society The College Historical Society (CHS) – popularly referred to as The Hist – is a debating society at Trinity College Dublin. It was established within the college in 1770 and was inspired by the club formed by the philosopher Edmund ...

(''the Hist'') since the building's construction in 1902, where it provides facilities for its members such as a games and a conversation room. The Phil shares the use of its Bram Stoker Room with the College Theological Society (''the Theo''). It holds most of its meetings in the GMB's

Debating Chamber A debate chamber is a room for conducting the business of a deliberative assembly or otherwise for debating. When used as the meeting place of a legislature, a debate chamber may also be known as a council chamber, legislative chamber, assembly ...

with meetings having an expected audience of above two hundred being held in the larger lecture theatres of the college. The society also hosts social events, internal competitions, sporting events, blood drives and the occasional concert. It also holds debating workshops and developmental competitions for members and school children. It has a "strong history" in intervarsity debating competitions, at both an international and national level. Membership of the society is open to all

Undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

and

Postgraduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

students, as well as all staff members of Trinity College. It offers four year membership to students of the university. The society publishes "The Philander" as an annual freshers' guide to the society.

History

The history of the University Philosophical Society spans over three centuries, several guises, identities and name changes.

Origins

In 1683, natural philosopher and political writer

William Molyneux William Molyneux Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (; 17 April 1656 – 11 October 1698) was an Anglo-Irish writer on science, politics and natural philosopher, natural philosophy. He is noted as a close friend of fellow philosopher John Lock ...

(b. 1656) founded the

Dublin Philosophical Society The Dublin Philosophical Society was founded in 1683 by William Molyneux with the assistance of his brother Sir Thomas Molyneux and the future Provost and Bishop St George Ashe. It was intended to be the equivalent of the Royal Society in London ...

, with the assistance of his brother Sir Thomas Molyneux and future Provost St George Ashe. They intended it to be the equivalent of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in London (with which it maintained cultural ties) as well as the Philosophical Society at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. The society was traditionally a paper reading society; however it also included many demonstrations of the latest science and mathematical endeavour of that era. The first meeting on 15 October 1683 was in the Provost's lodgings at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

, a location where members continued to meet. Sometime after December 1683, Provost

Robert Huntington Robert Huntington (12February 16372September 1701) was an English churchman, orientalist, and manuscript collector who served as the 14th Provost of Trinity College Dublin from 1679 to 1683. He was later Bishop of Raphoe. Early life and educ ...

became the society's first Senior Patron, promising protection and assistance, a role the Provost of Trinity College still holds. While at the time no particular precedent existed for Trinity College to recognise it, it can be considered the college's first such society. On 1 November 1684

William Petty Sir William Petty (26 May 1623 – 16 December 1687) was an English economist, physician, scientist and philosopher. He first became prominent serving Oliver Cromwell and the Commonwealth of England, Commonwealth in Cromwellian conquest of I ...

was elected as the first President of the society, and

elected as its first Secretary. The current numbering takes this as the first session of the University Philosophical Society.

Reformation in the 19th century

In November 1842, to mark the original session date the Dublin Philosophical Society was fully reformed under its original name, traditionally meeting on Mondays, to cater for those Trinity College students too young to join other societies in Dublin. The first meeting took place in Marlborough Street. At the time, undergraduates were not allowed to join most College societies, such as the

. It then became the Dublin University Philosophical Society in February 1843 when it was recognized by the college, with then Provost Franc Sadleir reassuming the traditional role of Senior Patron. During this time the society had its rooms in No. 4 (now House 4) in

Parliament Square Parliament Square is a square at the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Laid out in the 19th century, it features a large open green area in the centre with trees to its west, and ...

with larger meetings taking place within the Examination Hall. In 1860, the Dublin University Philosophical Society changed its name to the University Philosophical Society. The society claims to be the oldest, student, paper-reading, and collegial society in the world. As of the 1960s, the society still dated its foundation back to 1853, describing the 1969 session as its "116th". The current numbering of sessions emphasises the societies’ historical connection to the Dublin Philosophical Society, and treats the foundation of The University Philosophical Society as a reinstatement of that society, rather than the foundation of a new society. Among the notable events held was the demonstration of an early

telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...

by Stephen Yeates in 1865.

20th century

The society suffered greatly, with the rest of Trinity College during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

was still part of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

during the outbreak of the war and so many Irish enlisted. However, there was a diverse mixture between members who predominantly described as being part of the

Protestant Ascendancy The Protestant Ascendancy (also known as the Ascendancy) was the sociopolitical and economical domination of Ireland between the 17th and early 20th centuries by a small Anglicanism, Anglican ruling class, whose members consisted of landowners, ...

and those who believed more in

Irish republicanism Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish Republic, Irish republic, void of any British rule in Ireland, British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously ...

. The meetings and overall strength of the society was massively diminished during the period, with there being no Inaugural Meeting from 1913 until 1919 after the end of the war. From 1913 to 1916 ten officers of the society resigned their positions to enlist.

Minutes Minutes, also known as minutes of meeting, protocols or, informally, notes, are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing. They typically describe the events of the meeting and may include a list of attendees, a statement of the activit ...

from the time mention that many more members of the society would go on to enlist, however their names went unrecorded. In 1919 the names of eight past officers and members of council of the society who had been killed during the war was read aloud at the Opening Meeting. * James Austin, President 1913-1914. * AEL West, President 1915-1916. * Reverend Everard Digges La Touche, Secretary 1907-1908. * JHF Leland, Treasurer 1909-1910. * Walter Osborne Varian, Treasurer 1915-1916. * JS West, Registrar 1914-1915. * Francis George McGibney, Member of Council 1912-1913. * William Kee, Member of Council 1914-1915. The

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

began shortly after the beginning of 1919, public and political will to remember those lost during the war was weak. This meant that the names of many more members of the society who were also killed during the

went unrecorded by the society. The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, had a lesser effect on the society, though one notable President of the early 1940s was lawyer, Nigerian independence activist and Supreme Court Chief Justice Udo Udoma. In 1953, the society held a centenary celebration, commemorating its "First Hundred Years".

Dublin University Elizabethan Society ("The Eliz")

The first female students were admitted to the

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

in 1904; however, they were unable to join any of the student societies that existed at the time. In response to this, the Dublin University Elizabethan Society (more commonly known as ''The Liz'' and later, ''The Eliz'') was founded in 1905 by the first woman student of the university Isabel Marion Weir Johnston. The society was a female-only debating society, having sent teams to the Irish Times National Debating Championship from relatively early in the competition's history. It also hosted many debates, paper discussions, group discussions and the Eliz Garden Party (within Fellow's Square), considered one of the social highlights of

Trinity term Universities Trinity term is the third and final term of the academic year at the University of Oxford,Ninette de Valois Dame Ninette de Valois (born Edris Stannus; 6 June 1898 – 8 March 2001) was an Irish-born British dancer, teacher, choreographer, and director of classical ballet. Most notably, she danced professionally with Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russ ...

, dancer and founder of

The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

, who visited in late 1964 to celebrate the society's 60th year. The society had its rooms in House 6 in

, housing many amenities for female students within the college, including one of only a handful of female toilets on the campus. Over the years there were numerous debates within both the University Philosophical Society and the Dublin University Elizabethan Society regarding a merger of both societies into one. There was strong individual opposition within both societies however, with a vote in 1968 by the Eliz rejecting a merger. However, in 1981 the Dublin University Elizabethan Society merged with the University Philosophical Society, which vastly increased female membership and increased debating within the society. Previously, the highest ranking female officer of the Phil was accorded the honorary title of President of the Elizabethan Society as a symbolic gesture but beginning in 2024, elections were held to elect the Chair of the 119th session.

Inclusion of women

Trinity News ''Trinity News'' is Ireland's oldest student newspaper, published from Trinity College Dublin. It is an independent newspaper, funded by Trinity Publications, which reports on the news and views of the students and staff of Dublin University, a ...

’ edition of 25 November 1953, an anonymous female contributor declared that "The bar to the admission of women to

he other He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

major societies ...is a real deprivation to everyone––to College women, to the members of the societies, themselves and, most important, to the University". The 1953/54 session of the Phil made long-overdue advances in gender equality. Women were at last allowed to attend public business meetings and to speak at them, provided that Standing Orders were suspended. At the end of that session, membership was opened up to women. This final breakthrough proved short-lived as the College Board voted down female membership in early 1955 for that year – although it had no direct constitutional jurisdiction in this matter – pending possible reorganisation of the Major Societies. Although it was perhaps an understandable decision from the Board's point of view, the Board never subsequently enacted such restructuring. At periodic intervals, mergers were suggested between the Phil and the Hist; the Phil and the Eliz; and the Phil, the Student Representative Council (SRC), and the Eliz. Nothing ever came of these proposed mergers and the Phil and Hist remain separate entities. Due to a number of factors, including divisions between the various factions, the College never addressed this issue, nor did they address the creation of student union-type facilities, as are commonplace in the debating unions of other institutes of higher education. It was not until the 1963/64 session that a further vote was taken by the Phil on the admission of women, although it was lost by only three votes. However, some advances were made: from that session onwards, it was agreed that women could reply to papers read to the Society. In 1965, Joanna Walmsley became the first woman to present a paper to the society, entitled "Tolstoy––Realist or Moralist?". One of concerns raised over the years had been that the Society's facilities were generally inadequate for a larger mixed membership. In session 1967/1968. opposition caused then-President of the Phil Gordon Ledbetter to resign over the issue. At the first Council meeting and a subsequent private business meeting in the following session (1967/68), this concern again featured prominently. Many in the Phil also felt that the way forward could be achieved by revisiting the idea of a merger with the Eliz to form a Major Society. However, regardless of the issue of finding satisfactory accommodation for such a body, the Eliz still were not sufficiently interested in such a proposal. In subsequent years the existing compromise with regard to female participation was found to be unsatisfactory within the active membership. A motion calling for women to be admitted as full members was proposed and debated at a private business meeting on the 30th of November 1967 and was passed. President of the Phil Geoff Goolnik remarked that restrictions on female membership had in actuality been a matter of convention, as gender had never been mentioned in the Laws of the Society, unlike those of the Eliz and the Hist. At the following private business meeting held on the 5th of December, three women were proposed and voted in as members, including President of the Eliz Elizabeth Hall. Hall was nominated by Goolnik and the motion was seconded by Auditor of the Hist ‘Gully’ Stanford in his capacity as an Ordinary Member of the Phil. Gráinne Monks was the first female member to address the society after the full inclusion of women, and she was elected the first female Member of Council in February 1968.

21st century

Today the University Philosophical Society is one of the largest student societies within the college and in Ireland. Its meetings include weekly paper readings and debates. Additionally it invites many internationally-esteemed guests to address the society each year, including such public figures as

Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino ( ; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Known for his intense performances on stage and screen, Pacino is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. His career spans more than five decades, duri ...

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...

, and

Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...

Governance

The Phil is governed by a Council elected by the members of the society each year. There are nine officers: President, Secretary, Treasurer, Registrar, Debates Convenor, Librarian, Steward, Schools Convenor, and Auteur. All officers are directly elected. In addition to the officers there are fifteen Members of Council. The Members of Council serve as deputies to the officers, aid in the execution of their responsibilities, and perform any other such work necessary for the efficient running of the society. Seven are directly elected each year. One of these seven is then selected by the council to serve as Vice President of the society. The Senior Member of Council is also elected in the same manner as the officers of the society and is delegated the responsibility of co-ordinating the other Members of Council. The newly elected Council may then add up to seven further Members of Council via

co-option Co-option, also known as co-optation and sometimes spelt cooption or cooptation, is a term with three common meanings. It may refer to: 1) The process of adding members to an elite Social group, group at the discretion of members of the body, us ...

Bram Stoker Club

In addition to its usual events, the society added a subcommittee, the Bram Stoker Club (more commonly known as Bram), to its organisation in 2011. Named after one of the Phil's most illustrious presidents (

), the club holds weekly afternoon paper-readings on a range of topics. These paper-readings have served to carry on the long tradition of the society, which had fallen slightly out of fashion in recent years. In January 2013, the club was incorporated into the official

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

s of the University Philosophical Society by majority vote. This was then officially recognised by the Dublin University Central Societies Committee in March of the same year. It had its first foray outside of college in 2013, entering the winning team of John Engle and Liam Brophy in that year's Irish Times National Debating Championship. During the 4th Session, the club welcomed three living descendants of its namesake Bram Stoker. Noel Dobbs, Robin MacCaw and Dacre Stoker met with members of the club and society at large. Each presented papers on the history of Bram Stoker and legacy of

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

within their family. Also in attendance was distant relative and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

David Norris. Finally, the Stoker family presented the club with portrait of Bram Stoker by Dublin artist Damian Byrne and a plaque specifying the connection between the society and their ancestor.

Competitive debating

External debating competitions

The society has a presence on the competitive debating circuit. Having first won the Irish Times National Debating Championship in 1961 the society has gone on to win and place in several other well known debating competitions. These include the John Smith Memorial Mace,

World Universities Debating Championship The World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) is the world's largest international debating tournament and one of the largest annual international student events. WUDC is held in the British Parliamentary format (involving four teams of t ...

, Irish National Law Debates, Cork IV and the UCD Vice Presidents' Cup IV.. In 2022, Dylan McCarthy and Jack Palmer from the Phil won the European Universities Debating Championships in Zagreb, becoming the second Irish team to win the championships and the first from Trinity.

Internal debating competitions

The society runs several internal debating competitions each year. These consist of: *The Eamon O'Coine Memorial Maiden Speaker's Competition (or "Maidens"); for first-time speakers in college. *The Jeremy Clarkson Memorial Debating Competition (or "Clarkies"), consisting of a series of regular weekly debates.; satirically named after TV presenter

Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English television presenter, journalist, farmer, and author who specialises in Driving, motoring. He is best known for hosting the television programmes ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), T ...

. Formerly known as The Maggies, after former

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

*The Elizabethan Society Memorial Pro-Am Competition (or "Lizzies"); a competition whereby experienced debaters (Pros) are teamed with less experienced speakers (Ams). * The Isabel Marion Weir Johnston Memorial (or "Izzy's"); is an internal competition for all members of the society. It is named in honour of the first woman to enter Trinity where she went on to found the Elizabethan Society which later merged with the Philosophical Society. *The J.P Mahaffy Memorial (or "Mahaffy's"); named after former President of the society

John Pentland Mahaffy Sir John Pentland Mahaffy (26 February 1839 – 30 April 1919) was an Irish classicist and polymathic scholar who served as the 34th Provost of Trinity College Dublin from 1914 to 1919. Early life and education He was born near Vevey in Switzer ...

internal debating competition for Junior Freshman ("fresher") teams of two.

Trinity Intervarsity

Each year, normally in January, the society jointly with the Hist hosts the Claire Stewart Trinity IV. Before 2015 this consisted of the Trinity Invitational and the Dean Swift Intervarsity. In 2015, the Trinity Invitational was replaced with Trinity Women's Debating Competition.

Phil Speaks

The 'Phil Speaks Debating and Public Speaking Initiative', commonly known as 'Phil Speaks', is a campaign aimed at promoting, as well as developing skills in public speaking and oratory. Formed by the society in 2004 the initiative combines in-school oratory workshops, with Pro–Am (Professional-Amateur) learning competitions to encourage these skills in students of all secondary

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

s throughout

. At the end of the contest, the society hosts the Phil Speaks Competitive Weekend modelled on the format of a University Intervarsity Competition held within the

, with the grand final taking place in the

Awards

Annually, the society internally awards the author of the best paper and the best chamber speaker from its membership, medals of oratory and

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

. The society also awards the Gold Medal of Honorary Patronage and the Bram Stoker Medal to various guests each year. Among the awards received by the society are awards from the internal Central Societies Committee of Trinity College, including the "best event" award for 'This House Believes that Society is Failing People with Disabilities' in 2019 and "best large society" in 2015. The society has also received a "Best individual (Large Society)" award, from the Board of Irish College Societies (BICS), in 2013.

Honorary patrons

Through its years in college, the Society has recorded the presence of many notable guests, the most distinguished of whom are named honorary patrons of the society. Included amongst these are multiple

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

laureates, both before and after their receipt of the Prize, such as

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

, Heads of State and of Government, notable actors and musicians, as well as well-known intellectuals. Guests have also included all

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

since

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who led four governments as Taoiseach: December 1979 to June 1981, March to December 1982, March 1987 to June 1989, and June 1989 to February 1992 ...

Controversies

A number of guests, invited by the Phil over the years, have courted controversy. Contributors to its debates included

Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980), was a British aristocrat and politician who rose to fame during the 1920s and 1930s when he, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, turned to fascism. ...

during his residence in Ireland. In 1988, the Society invited then–

Holocaust denier Denial of the Holocaust is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that asserts that the genocide of Jews by the Nazis is a fabrication or exaggeration. It includes making one or more of the following false claims: *Nazi Germany's "Final Solution" wa ...

David Irving David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938) is an English author and Holocaust denier who has written on the military and political history of World War II, especially Nazi Germany. He was found to be a Holocaust denier in a British court ...

to speak. A large protest by students, staff, Jewish groups, socialists, and anti-Nazi activists resulted in the meeting being relocated to a hotel conference room and held in the small hours of the morning. The traditional vote of thanks to Irving for his paper was defeated, which is rare in the society's history. David irving

The address of

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n politician

Jörg Haider Jörg Haider (; 26 January 1950 – 11 October 2008) was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Au ...

to the society in late 2002 led to a protest by self-described anti-fascist activists, which continued through the debate, with noise being made outside the chamber and interjections in the society's proceedings within. An invitation to

British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a Far-right politics, far-right, British fascism, fascist list of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and is led by Adam ...

(BNP) official Tony Wentworth was revoked after threats of physical action by leftist groups. Another guest to generate controversy was Islamist

Anjem Choudary Anjem Choudary (, aka Abu Luqman; born 18 January 1967) is a British Islamist who has been described as "the face" of militant Islamism or the "best known" Islamic extremist in Britain. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2024 after being ...

, who hailed the

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

terrorists as martyrs. Former Taoiseach

John Bruton John Gerard Bruton (18 May 1947 – 6 February 2024) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1994 to 1997 and Leader of Fine Gael from 1990 to 2001. He held cabinet positions between 1981‍ and 1987, including twice ...

threatened to withdraw from a Phil debate later that year over this invitation, which was not withdrawn. Bruton later became an Honorary Patron of the Society, and Anjem Choudary has been invited to speak at the Phil's lectern several times. In 2011, the Phil encountered controversy when it invited BNP leader

Nick Griffin Nicholas John Griffin (born 1 March 1959) is a British far-right politician who was chairman of the British National Party (BNP) from 1999 to 2014, and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for North West England from 2009 to 2014. Follow ...

to speak at a Thursday night debate on immigration. After raging protests, talks with college officials and physical threats made to the members and council the invitation was reluctantly withdrawn by the President of the 327th session, Eoin O'Liathain. In a press statement the Phil said that "it is unfortunate that circumstances have arisen under which the planned debate can no longer go ahead without compromising the safety of staff and students". Despite these challenges the session would go on to be voted Best Society in Trinity College that year. In 2015, members of the Phil were asked by the President to collect copies of ''

The University Times ''The University Times'' (often abbreviated as ''UT'' or ''the UT'') is a student newspaper. Published from Trinity College Dublin, it is financially supported by Trinity College Dublin Students' Union but maintains a mutually agreed policy of ...

'' after the newspaper printed details of confidential correspondence that had been supplied to the newspaper in the understanding that it would not be referred to in an article. While ''The University Times'' subsequently agreed to withdraw the edition of the paper in question from circulation, after their breach of journalistic standards, ''

'' falsely reported that members of council had discussed calling a motion to impeach the president as a result of the society's actions in collecting the newspapers. A motion of confidence in the president was later passed at a general meeting of the society. The incident was cited as one of the factors leading to Samuel Riggs, then the editor of ''The University Times'', agreeing to take a permanent leave of absence from his position as well as the resignation of two senior Trinity News editors.

Notable members

Academia

* Robert Stawell Ball, ex-Sch., Royal Astronomer of Ireland and Lowndean Professor of Astronomy and Geometry at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. President, 1860–61. * Valentine Ball, geologist. Treasurer, 1863–64. * J.B. Bury, ex-Sch., historian, classicist, Byzantinist and philologist. * George Coffey, scholar of Irish history and cultural revivalist. President, 1880–81. * William Macneile Dixon, British academic and author, Regius Professor of English Language and Literature, Glasgow. President, 1889–90, Librarian, 1888–89. * Mervyn A. Ellison, ex-Sch., astronomer and authority on solar flares. President, 1931–32, Treasurer, 1930–31. * William Hugh Ferrar, classical scholar. Treasurer, 1855–56. *

, ex-Sch., classicist and polymath scholar. President, 1858–59. *

Vincent Arthur Smith Vincent Arthur Smith (3 June 1843 – 6 February 1920) was an Irish Indologist, historian, member of the Indian Civil Service, and curator. He was one of the prominent figures in Indian historiography during the British Raj. In the 1890s, he w ...

Indologist Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is ...

, historian and member of the

Imperial Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...

. President, 1868–69. * W. J. M. Starkie, Greek scholar. * William Stokes, doctor and professor of surgery. *

John Lighton Synge John Lighton Synge (; 23 March 1897 – 30 March 1995) was an Irish mathematician and physicist, whose seven-decade career included significant periods in Ireland, Canada, and the USA. He was a prolific author and influential mentor, and is cr ...

, mathematician and physicist. Treasurer, 1917–18. *

, ex-Sch., physicist and Nobel Laureate. Member of Council, 1925–26. *

Trevor West Timothy Trevor West (8 May 1938 – 30 October 2012) was an Irish mathematician, academic and politician. Biography He was born on 8 May 1938 in County Cork, the eldest of four sons of Timothy Roberts West, headmaster of Midleton College, and ...

, Sch., mathematician and Senator. Treasurer, 1959–60, Registrar, 1958–59. *

William Wilde Sir William Robert Wills Wilde Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, FRCSI (March 1815 – 19 April 1876) was an Irish Otology, oto-Ophthalmology, ophthalmologic surgeon and the author of significant works on medicine, archaeology and folklore ...

, Irish otolaryngologist and ophthalmologist and polymath, father of Oscar Wilde, member * Bertram Windle, British anatomist, archaeologist, scientist and writer. Librarian, 1877–78.

Arts

* Norman Rodway, ex-Sch., actor. *

, artist and father of

William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th century in literature, 20th-century literature. He was ...

Broadcasting and Journalism

Daire Brehan Daire Brehan (7 August 1957, in Dublin – 30 August 2012, in London) was an Irish actress, broadcaster and barrister who presented a variety of BBC Radio programmes during the 1990s including ''Language Live'', for BBC Radio 5, '' You and You ...

, Irish broadcaster, barrister and actress. Secretary, 1976–77. *

Sarah Carey Sarah Carey is an Irish people, Irish columnist, broadcaster and communications consultant. She writes for the Irish Independent. From March 2011 until August 2017 she presented ''Talking Point'' on Newstalk. She is a former columnist for ''The ...

, columnist and broadcaster. Registrar, 1991–92. * Ken Early, journalist and sports broadcaster. Steward, 1998–99. * Alex Massie, prominent Scottish journalist. Steward, 1996–97.

Law

James Campbell, 1st Baron Glenavy James Henry Mussen Campbell, 1st Baron Glenavy, (4 April 1851 – 22 March 1931), was an Irish lawyer, politician in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, British Parliament and later in the Oireachtas of the Irish Free State. He was also Lord ...

Lord Chancellor of Ireland The Lord High Chancellor of Ireland, commonly known as the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, was the highest ranking judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 until the end of 1800, it was also the hi ...

Attorney-General for Ireland The Attorney-General for Ireland was an Kingdom of Ireland, Irish and then, from 1801 under the Acts of Union 1800, United Kingdom government office-holder. He was senior in rank to the Solicitor-General for Ireland: both advised the Crown on ...

Solicitor-General for Ireland The Solicitor-General for Ireland was the holder of an Kingdom of Ireland, Irish and then (from the Act of Union 1800) United Kingdom government office. The holder was a deputy to the Attorney-General for Ireland, and advised the Crown on Irish ...

, Member of Parliament and later first Chairman of the Free State Senate. * Richard Cherry, Attorney-General for Ireland and Liberal MP. Secretary, 1879–80. * Gerald Fitzgibbon, ex-Sch., Solicitor-General for Ireland, 1877–78 and

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Just ...

. Secretary, 1857–58. * Jonathan Pim (1858-1949), Solicitor-General for Ireland, Attorney-General for Ireland and

Lord Justice of Ireland The Lords Justices (more formally the Lords Justices General and General Governors of Ireland) were deputies who acted collectively in the absence of the chief governor of Ireland (latterly the Lord Lieutenant) as head of the executive branch o ...

in the aftermath of the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...

. President, 1883–84, Secretary, 1882–83, Librarian, 1881–82. * Udo Udoma, former Justice of the Nigerian Supreme Court, former Chief Justice of Uganda. President, 1942–43, Secretary, 1941–42, Librarian, 1940–41.

Literature

* Edmund John Armstrong, poet. President, 1864–65. *

, ex-Sch., dramatist and poet, Nobel Laureate. *

Kate Cruise O'Brien Katherine Alexandra Cruise O'Brien (26 May 1948 – 26 March 1998) was an Irish writer. The third and youngest child of Irish politician and diplomat Conor Cruise O'Brien and Christine Foster, she was born in Dublin, and grew up in Howth. She went ...

, author. *

Edward Dowden Edward Dowden (; 3 May 18434 April 1913) was an Irish critic, professor, and poet. Biography He was the son of John Wheeler Dowden, a merchant and landowner, and was born at Cork, three years after his brother John, who became Bishop of Edi ...

, poet and critic. President, 1862–63, Secretary, 1861–62. *

Standish James O'Grady Standish James O'Grady (18 September 1846 – 18 May 1928) was an Irish author, journalist, and historian. O'Grady was inspired by Sylvester O'Halloran and played a formative role in the Celtic Revival, publishing the tales of Irish mythology, a ...

, author, journalist and historian. Secretary, 1866–67. *

, novelist and short story writer. President, 1868–69, Secretary, 1867–68. *

, author, playwright and poet. *

Gabriel Fielding Alan Gabriel Barnsley (pen name Gabriel Fielding, 25 March 1916 – 27 November 1986) was an English novelist whose works include: ''In the Time of Greenbloom'', ''The Birthday King'', ''Through Streets Broad and Narrow'' and ''The Women of Gui ...

, author and poet. Nom de plume of Dr Alan Barnsley 1935–1939. Winner Silver Medal in Oratory 1939.

Nobility

* Charles Austin Thomas Robert John Joseph ffrench, 6th Baron ffrench, 1868–1955. Deputy Lieutenant of County Galway. * Charles Edward MacDermot, The Mac Dermot,

Prince of Coolavin Prince of Coolavin was a title first applied by popular usage to Charles MacDermot, 1707–1758, then head of the MacDermot family of Moylurg. Coolavin () is a barony in south County Sligo in Ireland. Up to the late 16th century the head of th ...

, 1904–47. Registrar, 1883–84. His son and successor, Charles John MacDermot (Prince of Coolavin, 1947–79), was also a member. * Martin Morris, 2nd Baron Killanin, Conservative peer. Secretary, 1888–89.

Politics and government

Gerald Brunskill Gerald Brunskill may refer to: * Gerald Brunskill (politician) (1866–1918), Irish politician, MP (1910) * Gerald Brunskill (British Army officer) (1897–1964), British Army officer {{hndis, Brunskill, Gerald ...

, Unionist MP. Treasurer, 1887–88, Registrar, 1886–87. * Nessa Childers MEP, Member of European Parliament. Registrar, 1977–78, SMC 1976–77. * Paschal Donohoe TD,

Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform The Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation () is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digital ...

. Secretary, 1993–94. *

Cecil Harmsworth, 1st Baron Harmsworth Cecil Bisshopp Harmsworth, 1st Baron Harmsworth (23 September 1869 – 13 August 1948), was a British businessman and Liberal politician. He served as Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department in 1915 and as Under-Secretary of State for ...

, Liberal MP, businessman and brother of press barons Lord Northcliffe and Lord Rothermere. Registrar, 1889–90. * Caesar Litton Falkiner, Unionist MP. President, 1885–86, Treasurer, 1884–85, Librarian, 1883–84. *

George Noble Plunkett Count George Noble Plunkett (3 December 1851 – 12 March 1948) was an Irish nationalist politician, museum director and biographer, who served as Minister for Fine Arts from 1921 to 1922, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1919 to 1921 and Ce ...

, anti-treaty republican, member of the

First Dáil First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and Ireland's first Minister for Foreign Affairs, 1919–21. *

James Wallace Quinton James Wallace Quinton (1834–1891) was a British colonial administrator who served as Chief Commissioner of Assam from 1889 until his death. He was murdered by a hostile crowd whilst trying to impose British rule in the sovereign state on Manipu ...

, chief commissioner of Assam from 1889 until his murder by rebels in

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

in 1891. President, 1855–56, Secretary, 1854–55. * Robert Rowlette, TD, Senator and doctor. Secretary, 1895–96.

Religion

* Hugh Dunlop Brown, President of the

Irish Baptist Association The Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland (ABC, ABCi and ABCI) is a Baptist Christianity in Ireland, Christian Christian denomination, denomination based in Ireland. The headquarters is in Moira, County Down, Moira, Craigavon. History Th ...

, theologian and prominent unionist. * John Baptist Crozier,

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

bishop. President, 1874–75, Secretary, 1873–4, Treasurer, 1872–73. * Ralph Creed Meredith, chaplain to

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

and

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. President, 1910–11, Secretary, 1909–10. * Charles D'Arcy, ex-Sch., Anglican bishop. Treasurer, 1883–84. * James Walsh, Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, 1908–18.

References

External links

TCDPhil.com

Assorted records of the Society
{{authority control 1683 establishments in the British Empire Organizations established in 1683 Philosophical societies Philosophical Society, University Trinity College Dublin