University College Dublin
Encyclopedia
University College Dublin (also known as UCD) ( (COBÁC)) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

's largest, and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

's second largest, university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...

s. It is located in Dublin, the Irish capital.

The university originates in a body founded in 1854 as the Catholic University of Ireland
Catholic University of Ireland
The Catholic University of Ireland was a Catholic university in Dublin, Ireland and was founded in 1851 following the Synod of Thurles in 1850, and in response to the Queen's University of Ireland and its associated colleges which were nondenominational...

 with John Henry Newman as the first rector, 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 in the centre of the metropolis, most of the university's faculties have since been relocated to a 148 hectares (365 acre) park campus at Belfield, four kilometres to the south of the city.

History

The university can trace its history to the institution founded in 1854 as the Catholic University of Ireland
Catholic University of Ireland
The Catholic University of Ireland was a Catholic university in Dublin, Ireland and was founded in 1851 following the Synod of Thurles in 1850, and in response to the Queen's University of Ireland and its associated colleges which were nondenominational...

, was established as UCD in 1880 under the auspices of the Royal University, and received its charter in 1908.

Catholic University of Ireland

In the years following Catholic emancipation in Ireland, a movement led by Cardinal Paul Cullen attempted to provide for the first time in Ireland higher-level education that was both accessible to Irish Catholics and taught by fellow-Catholics. In the 19th century, the question of denominational education in Ireland was a contentious one. It had divided Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...

 and the Young Ireland
Young Ireland
Young Ireland was a political, cultural and social movement of the mid-19th century. It led changes in Irish nationalism, including an abortive rebellion known as the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848. Many of the latter's leaders were tried for sedition and sentenced to penal transportation to...

 Movement for many years. The Catholic Hierarchy wanted to counteract the "Godless Colleges" established in Galway, Belfast and Cork and to provide a Catholic alternative to Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...

. Trinity was Anglican in its origins and, though Catholics had studied there since the 1780s, Trinity had maintained a religious test that excluded them from membership of the college's governing bodies (see Denis Caulfield Heron
Denis Caulfield Heron
Denis Caulfield Heron LL.D QC was an Irish lawyer and Catholic Liberal MP for Tipperary.Born in Newry, County Down, he was educated at Downside Abbey, Stratton-on-the-Fosse....

). In 1850 at the Synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...

 of Thurles
Thurles
Thurles is a town situated in North Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Eliogarty and is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly...

 it was decided to open a Catholic University.

As a result of these efforts a new Catholic University of Ireland was opened in 1854 and Blessed John Henry Newman was appointed as its first rector. Newman had been an integral figure in the Oxford Movement
Oxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a movement of High Church Anglicans, eventually developing into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose members were often associated with the University of Oxford, argued for the reinstatement of lost Christian traditions of faith and their inclusion into Anglican liturgy...

 in the 19th Century. The Catholic University opened its doors on the feast of St Malachy, 3 November 1854. On that day the names of seventeen students were entered on the register and Newman gave the students an address "What are we here for" and prophesied that in later years they would look back with pride on the day. The university opened with three houses: 86 St Stephen's Green, with was known as St Patrick's or University House, under the care of Rev. Dr Michael Flannery; 16 Harcourt Street, known as St Lawrence's under the care of Rev. Dr James Quinn, who also had his school there; and Newman's own house, 6 Harcourt Street, known as St Mary's under Newman's personal supervision.

Amongst the first students enrolled it included the grandson of Daniel O’Connell. Another included William O'Shea
William O'Shea
Captain William Henry O'Shea was an Irish soldier and Member of Parliament.Born in Dublin, O'Shea was a captain in the 18th Hussars of the British Army....

 who would go onto become a Captain in the British Army and was central to the divorce crises which brought down Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell was an Irish landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, and the founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party...

's career in trying to establish Home Rule for Ireland. O'Shea though clashed with Newman and left to go to Trinity, however, after one year. Of the eight original students in Newman's own home, two were Irish, two English, two Scottish and two French. Among them were a French viscount, and Irish baronet Sir Reginald Barnewall, the son of a French countess, the grandson of a Scottish marquis, and the son of an English lord. Later were added to his care two Belgian princes and a Polish count. Many were attracted to the University on the basis of the reputation of Newman.

As a private university the Catholic University was never given a royal charter, and so was unable to award recognized degrees and suffered from chronic financial difficulties. Newman left the university in 1857 and it subsequently went into a serious decline. Dr Bartholomew Woodlock appointed Rector and served until he became Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise in 1879. In this period he attempted to secure a site of 34 acres at Clonliffe West but the scheme collapsed when expansion of the railway system on the north side of Dublin cut across the site. He then turned his attention to expanding along St Stephen's Green and over these years bought from No. 82 to 87.

This trend was reversed in 1880 with the establishment of the Royal University of Ireland. The Royal Universities charter entitled all Irish students to sit the Universities examinations and receive its degrees. Although in many respects the Catholic University can be viewed as a failure, the future University College inherited substantial assets from it including a successful medical school (Cecilia Street) and two beautiful buildings, Newman House on St Stephen's Green and the adjoining University Church.

Foundation of University College, Dublin

In order to avail of the benefits of the Royal University of Ireland
Royal University of Ireland
The Royal University of Ireland was founded in accordance with the University Education Act 1879 as an examining and degree-awarding university based on the model of the University of London. A Royal Charter was issued on April 27, 1880 and examinations were opened to candidates irrespective of...

 arrangement, the Catholic University was re-formed as University College, Dublin. The college rapidly attracted many of the best students and academics in Ireland including Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. was an English poet, Roman Catholic convert, and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous 20th-century fame established him among the leading Victorian poets...

 and James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...

 and quickly began to outperform the other three colleges in the Royal University system - in the fifteen years before the establishment of the National University the number of first class distinctions in Arts awarded by the Royal University to University College was 702 compared with a total of 486 awarded to the combined Queen's Colleges of Belfast, Galway
National University of Ireland, Galway
The National University of Ireland, Galway is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland...

 and Cork
University College Cork - National University of Ireland, Cork
University College Cork is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland. The university is located in Cork....

. Many of the college’s staff and students during this period would later contribute substantially to the formation and development of the future Irish state, the most famous being Francis Sheehy-Skeffington
Francis Sheehy-Skeffington
Francis Skeffington from Bailieborough, County Cavan, was an Irish suffragist, pacifist and writer. He was a friend and schoolmate of James Joyce, Oliver St John Gogarty, Tom Kettle, and Conor Cruise O'Brien's father, Frank O'Brien...

, Pádraig Pearse, Hugh Kennedy
Hugh Kennedy
Hugh Kennedy was the only Attorney-General of Southern Ireland and the first Attorney-General of the Irish Free State, and later the first Chief Justice of the Irish Free State. As a member of the Irish Free State Constitution Commission, he was also one of the constitutional architects of the...

, Eoin MacNeill
Eoin MacNeill
Eoin MacNeill was an Irish scholar, nationalist, revolutionary and politician. MacNeill is regarded as the father of the modern study of early Irish medieval history. He was a co-founder of the Gaelic League, to preserve Irish language and culture, going on to establish the Irish Volunteers...

, Kevin O’Higgins, Tom Kettle, James Ryan, Douglas Hyde
Douglas Hyde
Douglas Hyde , known as An Craoibhín Aoibhinn , was an Irish scholar of the Irish language who served as the first President of Ireland from 1938 to 1945...

 and John A. Costello
John A. Costello
John Aloysius Costello , a successful barrister, was one of the main legal advisors to the government of the Irish Free State after independence, Attorney General of Ireland from 1926–1932 and Taoiseach from 1948–1951 and 1954–1957....

. Student unrest occurred during this period, especially during loyalist speeches by the Chancellor, the Earl of Meath and the playing of "God Save the King" at conferring ceremonies.

In 1908, the Royal University was dissolved and a new National University of Ireland
National University of Ireland
The National University of Ireland , , is a federal university system of constituent universities, previously called constituent colleges, and recognised colleges set up under the Irish Universities Act, 1908, and significantly amended by the Universities Act, 1997.The constituent universities are...

 founded to replace it. This new University was brought into existence with three constituent University Colleges - Dublin, Galway and Cork. By this time the college campus consisted of a number of locations in and around St Stephens Green in Dublins city centre, the main sites being Earlsfort Terrace, Cecilia Street, College of Science Merrion Street, and Newman House on St Stephen's Green.
Under the Universities Act, 1997, University College Dublin was established as a constituent university within the National University of Ireland framework.

UCD and the Irish War of Independence

In 1913 in response to the formation of the Ulster Volunteer Force, Eoin MacNeill
Eoin MacNeill
Eoin MacNeill was an Irish scholar, nationalist, revolutionary and politician. MacNeill is regarded as the father of the modern study of early Irish medieval history. He was a co-founder of the Gaelic League, to preserve Irish language and culture, going on to establish the Irish Volunteers...

, professor of early Irish history (who viewed the movement as a threat to the Home Rule movement), called for the formation of an Irish nationalist force to counteract it. The Irish Volunteers
Irish Volunteers
The Irish Volunteers was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists. It was ostensibly formed in response to the formation of the Ulster Volunteers in 1912, and its declared primary aim was "to secure and maintain the rights and liberties common to the whole people of Ireland"...

 were formed later that year and MacNeill was elected its Chief-of-staff. At the outbreak of the First World War in view of the Home Rule Act 1914
Home Rule Act 1914
The Government of Ireland Act 1914 , also known as the Third Home Rule Bill, was an Act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom intended to provide self-government for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.The Act was the first law ever passed by the Parliament of...

 the majority of the volunteers opted to support the British war effort, including many UCD staff and students. Many of those who opposed this move later participated in the Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...

.

In this way UCD was a reflection of the Irish nationalist community in general, with several staff and students participating in the rising, such as Patrick Pearse
Patrick Pearse
Patrick Henry Pearse was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist and political activist who was one of the leaders of the Easter Rising in 1916...

, Thomas MacDonagh
Thomas MacDonagh
Thomas MacDonagh was an Irish nationalist, poet, playwright, and a leader of the 1916 Easter Rising.-Early life:MacDonagh was born in Cloughjordan, County Tipperary...

, Michael Hayes
Michael Hayes (politician)
Michael Hayes was an Irish politician. He was elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1921 general election and served until 1933. He served as Minister for Education during 1922...

 and James Ryan, and a smaller number, including Tom Kettle and Willie Redmond, fighting for the British in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 during the same period.

Many UCD staff, students and alumni fought in the Irish War of Independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...

 that followed the rising. Following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty
Anglo-Irish Treaty
The Anglo-Irish Treaty , officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the secessionist Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of...

 four UCD graduates joined the government of the Irish Free State. It is notable that the First Dáil Éireann  was located in UCD's Earlsfort Terrace campus from 1919 to 1922, when they moved to their current location in Leinster House
Leinster House
Leinster House is the name of the building housing the Oireachtas, the national parliament of Ireland.Leinster House was originally the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it is a complex of buildings, of which the former ducal palace is the core, which house Oireachtas Éireann, its...

.

The university's graduates have since had a large impact on Irish political life - four of the eight Presidents of Ireland
President of Ireland
The President of Ireland is the head of state of Ireland. The President is usually directly elected by the people for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise certain limited powers with absolute...

 and six of the twelve Taoisigh
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...

 have been either former staff or graduates. Of the fifteen current members of the Irish cabinet, nine are former UCD students.

Move to Belfield

By the early 1940s the College had become the largest third level institution in the state. In an effort to cope with the increased numbers unsuccessful attempts were made to expand the existing city centre campus. It was finally decided that the best solution would be to move the College to a much larger greenfield site outside of the city centre and create a modern campus university
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...

. This move started in the early 1960s when the faculty of science moved to the new 1.4 square kilometres (345.9 acre) park campus at Belfield in a suburb on the south side of Dublin. The Belfield campus has since developed into a complex of modern buildings and inherited Georgian town houses, 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
Irish Government
The Government of Ireland is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.-Members of the Government:Membership of the Government is regulated fundamentally by the Constitution of Ireland. The Government is headed by a prime minister called the Taoiseach...

 Building, where the Department of the Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...

 (Irish prime minister) is situated. University College Dublin had also a site in Glasnevin
Glasnevin
Glasnevin is a largely residential neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland.-Geography:A mainly residential neighbourhood, it is located on the Northside of the city of Dublin . It was originally established on the northern bank of the River Tolka...

 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
Dublin City University is a university situated between Glasnevin, Santry, Ballymun and Whitehall on the Northside of Dublin in Ireland...

, the northern part is where Ballymun
Ballymun
Ballymun is an area on Dublin's Northside close to Dublin Airport, Ireland. It is infamous for the Ballymun flats, which became a symbol of poverty, drugs, alienation from the state and social problems in Ireland from the 1970s...

 town is located.

Timeline

  • 1854 - The Catholic University
    Catholic University
    A Catholic University is a private university run by the Catholic Church or by Catholic organizations like religious institutes. Those with closer ties to the Holy See are called pontifical universities....

     of Ireland opens with Blessed John Henry Newman as the first rector. It is located on St Stephen's Green.
  • 1855 - The Catholic University Medical School was opened in 1855 in Cecilia Street.
  • 1856 - University Church was opened in 1856. Apart from religious services it was used also for public university functions and occasions such as the opening of academic sessions and the making of awards.
  • 1861 - Dr Bartholomew Woodlock
    Bartholomew Woodlock
    Dr. Bartholomew Woodlock DD was an Irish Catholic priest, educator and bishop, a founder of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in Ireland....

     appointed Rector and served until he became Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise in 1879.
  • 1879 - Monsignor Henry Neville, Dean of Cork appointed Rector (while still retaining his role as Parish Priest in a Cork parish).
  • 1880 - The University Education (Ireland) Act 1879 brought in by Disraeli's government led to the establishment of the Royal University of Ireland (incorporated by charter in 1880) which was a non-teaching, degree-awarding institution.
  • 1882/83 - The Catholic University reorganized in order to avail of the indirect endowment from the state through the Royal University of Ireland. The St Stephen's Green institution was renamed University College and its management was transferred to the Jesuits.
  • 1883-1888 - Fr William Delany SJ appointed first president of University College.
  • 1908 - Irish Universities Act brought into being the National University of Ireland
    National University of Ireland
    The National University of Ireland , , is a federal university system of constituent universities, previously called constituent colleges, and recognised colleges set up under the Irish Universities Act, 1908, and significantly amended by the Universities Act, 1997.The constituent universities are...

     with its constituent University Colleges - Dublin, Galway and Cork, and led to the demise of the Royal University and the Jesuit-run University College. Dr Denis Coffey appointed first president of reformed UCD. Coffey was to hold the position for 30 years. The Medical School in Cecilia Street became the UCD Medical Faculty. The campus covers, Earlsfort Terrace, Cecilia Street, College of Science Merrion Street, Albert College Glasnevin and St Stephen's Green.
  • 1908 - The Faculty of Commerce established.
  • 1911 - Land donated by Lord Iveagh helps the university expand in Earlsfort Terrace/Hatch Street/ St Stephen's Green. Iveagh Gardens
    Iveagh Gardens
    The Iveagh Gardens is a public park located just behind the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Ireland.The gardens in their present form were laid out in 1863 by Benjamin Guinness after he had built what is now Iveagh House on St. Stephen's Green...

     are apart of this donation.
  • 1913 - University Park, Terenure became the base of UCD sports clubs between 1913 and 1934 - although the landlord would not sell the site to the university.
  • 1916 - A number of junior staff and students participated in the Easter Rising
    Easter Rising
    The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...

    .
  • 1926- University Education (Agriculture and Dairy Science) Act transferred the Royal College of Science
    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. Alumni include H. G. Wells and Brian May and are distinguishable by the letters ARCS ...

     in Merrion Street
    Merrion Street
    Merrion Street is a major Georgian street on the southside of Dublin, Ireland which runs along one side of Merrion Square. The garden entrance of Leinster House is located on the street, as is Irish Government Buildings, formerly the Royal College of Science for Ireland...

     and Albert Agricultural College in Glasnevin to UCD.
  • 1933 - Belfield House on 44 acres is bought for sporting purposes.
  • 1940 - Dr Arthur Conway appointed president. During this period various plans were developed but failed to succeed to expand along Iveagh Gardens, Hatch Street and Earlsfort Terrace.
  • 1964 - Dr Jeremiah Hogan appointed president (1964–1972). Science moves in to new campus at Belfield. UCD becomes the first University in Europe to launch a MBA programme.
  • 1967 - Minister for Education, Donogh O'Malley, proposes plan to merge UCD and Trinity.
  • 1969-1970 - Faculties of Commerce, Arts and Law move to Belfield.
  • 1972 - Dr Thomas Murphy appointed president (1972–1985).
  • 1973 - The Library (Now known as the James Joyce Library) opens.
  • 1980 - Richview and 17.4 acres bought. Architecture moves in there.
  • 1981 - Sports Complex opens.
  • 1986 - Dr Patrick Masterson appointed president. (1986–1993)
  • 1990 - Engineering building opens. Most, but not all of the Earlsforth terrace, Engineering department moves to Belfield.
  • 1990 - Carysfort College, Blackrock on 19 acres bought and is the location of the Smurfit Graduate School of Business. First student village (Belgrove) opened.
  • 1992 - Second student village (Merville) opened. The Centre for Film Studies established.
  • 1993 - Dr Art Cosgrove appointed president (1994–2003).
  • 1994 - O'Reilly Hall opened.
  • 2003 - NovaUCD, a 110 million Euro Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre opened. The purpose-built centre was funded by a public/private partnership. UCD purchased the Philips site and buildings adjacent to the Belfield campus at Clonskeagh, to facilitate the relocation of the Departments of Civil and Agricultural & Food Engineering from Earlsfort Terrace, bringing more of the remaining off campus elements of the University to Belfield.
  • 2004 - Dr Hugh Brady appointed president. UCD celebrates 150th Anniversary.
  • 2006 - UCD Horizons begins.
  • 2007 - With the completion of the final phase of the Health Sciences Building, the last of the departments remaining at Earlsfort terrace relocate to Belfield.
  • 2009 - Innovation Alliance announced between Trinity and UCD.
  • 2010 - NCAD and UCD
    UCD
    -Education:*University of California, Davis*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...

     forge stronger links. The two institutions will form an academic alliance with new joint courses and research across common areas of interest. NCAD will become a constituent college of UCD once the NUI is dissolved in 2011 whilst remaining on its current site and retaining institutional autonomy.
  • 2012 - Expanded and merged Student and Sports Centre to open containing Olympic Swimming pool, cinema and new gym.
  • 2013 - Sutherland School of Law to open to replace Roebuck castle for the Law faculty.

Colleges and schools


The University consists of five colleges, their associated schools (34 in total) and eighteen research institutes and centres. Each college also has its own Graduate School
Graduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...

, for postgraduates.

List of colleges and their respective schools:
School of Archaeology
School of Art History & Cultural Policy
School of Classics
School of English, Drama & Film
School of History & Archives
School of Irish, Celtic Studies, Irish Folklore & Linguistics
School of Languages & Literatures
School of Music
School of Business
Quinn School of Business
Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business
Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business
The UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School is the business school of University College Dublin, located in Blackrock in Dublin, Republic of Ireland....

School of Law
School of Architecture, Landscape & Civil Engineering
School of Chemical & Bioprocess Engineering
School of Computer Science & Informatics
School of Electrical, Electronic & Mechanical Engineering
School of Geological Sciences
School of Mathematical Sciences
School of Physics
School of Physics (University College Dublin)
The School of Physics at University College Dublin is a major centre for physics research in Ireland. The school currently consists of 20 full-time faculty members, 20 research and technical staff and 40 postgraduate research students...

School of Applied Social Science
School of Economics
School of Education
School of Geography, Planning & Environmental Policy
School of Information & Library Studies
School of Philosophy
School of Politics & International Relations
School of Psychology
School of Social Justice
School of Sociology
School of Agriculture, Food Science & Veterinary Medicine
School of Biology & Environmental Science
School of Biomolecular & Biomedical Science
School of Chemistry & Chemical Biology
School of Medicine & Medical Science
School of Medicine and Medical Science (University College Dublin)
The School of Medicine and Medical Science at University College Dublin, was founded in 1854...

School of Nursing, Midwifery & Health Systems
School of Public Health, Physiotherapy & Population Science

UCD Horizons

At the beginning of the 2005/2006 academic year, UCD introduced the Horizons curriculum, which completely semesterised and modularised all undergraduate programmes enhancing the quality and flexibility of the standard university education. Under the Horizons curriculum, new undergraduate students have greater choice in what exactly they study in their programme. 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 across the entire University (this applies in the majority of programmes, however some exceptions, as in Arts Omnibus and Business & Law, can apply). For example, a student studying Stage 1 Commerce as his primary degree programme can also choose one module (or two) from the Stage 1 Law programme (subject to space availability, timetable constraints and so on).

Alumni

Among its most accomplished alumni and faculty are four former presidents of Ireland; Douglas Hyde
Douglas Hyde
Douglas Hyde , known as An Craoibhín Aoibhinn , was an Irish scholar of the Irish language who served as the first President of Ireland from 1938 to 1945...

, Patrick Hillery
Patrick Hillery
Patrick John "Paddy" Hillery was an Irish politician and the sixth President of Ireland from 1976 until 1990. First elected at the 1951 general election as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála for Clare, he remained in Dáil Éireann until 1973...

, Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh
Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh
Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh served as the fifth President of Ireland, from 1974 to 1976. He resigned in 1976 after a clash with the government. He also had a notable legal career, including serving as Chief Justice of Ireland.- Early life :Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, one of four children, was born on 12 February...

 and Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...

. V. V. Giri
V. V. Giri
Varahagiri Venkata Giri , commonly known as V. V. Giri, was the fourth President of the Republic of India from 24 August 1969 to 23 August 1974.-Early life:...

, the fourth President of India
President of India
The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...

 studied law between 1913 to 1916 before being expelled from Ireland. Six former Taoisigh
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...

 (Prime Ministers) of Ireland attended UCD: Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...

, John A. Costello
John A. Costello
John Aloysius Costello , a successful barrister, was one of the main legal advisors to the government of the Irish Free State after independence, Attorney General of Ireland from 1926–1932 and Taoiseach from 1948–1951 and 1954–1957....

, Charles Haughey
Charles Haughey
Charles James "Charlie" Haughey was Taoiseach of Ireland, serving three terms in office . He was also the fourth leader of Fianna Fáil...

, Garret FitzGerald
Garret FitzGerald
Garret FitzGerald was an Irish politician who was twice Taoiseach of Ireland, serving in office from July 1981 to February 1982 and again from December 1982 to March 1987. FitzGerald was elected to Seanad Éireann in 1965 and was subsequently elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fine Gael TD in 1969. He...

, John Bruton
John Bruton
John Gerard Bruton is an Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 1994 to 1997. A minister under two taoisigh, Liam Cosgrave and Garret FitzGerald, Bruton held a number of the top posts in Irish government, including Minister for Finance , and Minister for Industry, Trade,...

 and Brian Cowen
Brian Cowen
Brian Cowen is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 7 May 2008 to 9 March 2011. He was head of a coalition government led by Fianna Fáil which until 23 January 2011 had the support of the Green Party and independent TDs.Cowen was also leader of Fianna Fáil from 7 May...

. Since the foundation of the Irish state in 1922, UCD has produced the most Justices of the Supreme Court of Ireland, the most Chief Justices and the most Attorney Generals of Ireland. Examples of other well known UCD alumni include writers James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...

 the author of Ulysses
Ulysses (novel)
Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...

, Flann O'Brien
Flann O'Brien
Brian O'Nolan was an Irish novelist, playwright and satirist regarded as a key figure in postmodern literature. Best known for novels such as At Swim-Two-Birds, The Third Policeman and An Béal Bocht and many satirical columns in The Irish Times Brian O'Nolan (5 October 1911 – 1 April 1966) was...

, John Jordan
John Jordan (poet)
John Jordan was an Irish poet born in Dublin on 8 April 1930. He was educated at Synge Street CBS, University College, Dublin and Pembroke College, Oxford. In his teens he acted on the stage of the Gate Theatre, Dublin, before winning a Scholarship in English and French to Oxford University from...

 and Roddy Doyle
Roddy Doyle
Roddy Doyle is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. Several of his books have been made into successful films, beginning with The Commitments in 1991. He won the Booker Prize in 1993....

. Actors Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel James Byrne is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, writer, cultural ambassador and audiobook narrator. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined Londo's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's screen debut came in the Irish soap opera The Riordans and the...

, Dan O'Herlihy
Dan O'Herlihy
Daniel O'Herlihy was an Oscar nominated Irish film actor.-Early life:O'Herlihy was born in Wexford, Ireland in 1919. His family moved to Dublin at a young age...

 and Brendan Gleeson
Brendan Gleeson
Brendan Gleeson is an Irish actor. His best-known films include Braveheart, Gangs of New York, In Bruges, 28 Days Later, the Harry Potter films, The Guard and the role of Michael Collins in The Treaty...

. Film directors include Oscar winner Neil Jordan
Neil Jordan
Neil Patrick Jordan is an Irish filmmaker and novelist. He won an Academy Award for The Crying Game.- Early life :...

 and Jim Sheridan
Jim Sheridan
Jim Sheridan is an Irish film director. A six-time Academy Award nominee, Sheridan is perhaps best known for his films My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father, Get Rich or Die Tryin and In America.-Life and career:...

). Comedians to attend include Dermot Morgan
Dermot Morgan
Dermot John Morgan was an Irish comedian, actor and former schoolteacher, who achieved international renown for his roles as Father Ted Crilly in the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted and a strip club MC in Taffin....

 (noted for playing the title role in Father Ted
Father Ted
Father Ted is a comedy series set in Ireland that was produced by Hat Trick Productions for British broadcaster Channel 4. Written jointly by Irish writers Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan and starring a predominantly Irish cast, it originally aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until 1 May...

) and Dara Ó Briain
Dara Ó Briain
Dara Ó Briain is an Irish stand-up comedian and television presenter, noted for hosting topical panel shows such as The Panel and Mock the Week....

. Amongst the number of humanitarians to attend include, John O'Shea
John O'Shea (humanitarian)
John O'Shea is founder and CEO of GOAL, an Irish non-governmental organization devoted to assisting the poorest of the poor. His first career was as a sports journalist and GOAL retains significant links to the sporting community, especially in Ireland.O'Shea was shortlisted in the top 40 of 2010...

) founder of GOAL (charity) and Tom Arnold
Tom Arnold (economist)
Tom Arnold is an Irish economist and Chief Executive Officer of Concern Worldwide, an international humanitarian relief and development organisation.- CEO of Concern Worldwide :...

 the CEO of Concern Worldwide
Concern Worldwide
Concern Worldwide is Ireland's largest aid and humanitarian agency. Since its foundation over 40 years ago it has worked in 50 countries and currently employs 3,200 staff in 25 countries around the world. Concern works to help those living in the world's poorest countries to achieve real and...

. Cardinals include (e.g. Tomás Ó Fiaich and Desmond Connell
Desmond Connell
Desmond Connell is a cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church. He is a former Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland. He was born in Dublin....

. Noted businessmen include David J. O'Reilly
David J. O'Reilly
David J. O'Reilly , is former chairman and CEO of Chevron Corporation. In 1968, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from University College, Dublin, from which he also received an honorary doctor of science degree in June 2002. He began his career with Chevron Research...

, formerly CEO and Chairman of the Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...

, Tony O'Reilly
Tony O'Reilly
Sir Anthony Joseph Francis O'Reilly is an Irish businessman and former international rugby union player. He is known for his involvement the Independent News & Media Group, which he led from 1973 to 2009, and as former CEO and Chairman of the H.J. Heinz Company. He was the leading shareholder of...

, who previously served as the CEO of H.J. Heinz Company and noted for his ownership of Irish businesses, and Peter Sutherland
Peter Sutherland
Peter Denis Sutherland, KCMG is an Irish international businessman and former Attorney General of Ireland, associated with the Fine Gael party . He is a barrister by profession, and is also Senior Counsel at the Irish Bar...

 (former EU Commissioner, head of the WTO and chairman of BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...

). Others include Eddie O'Connor, economists (e.g. Dr.Garret FitzGerald
Garret FitzGerald
Garret FitzGerald was an Irish politician who was twice Taoiseach of Ireland, serving in office from July 1981 to February 1982 and again from December 1982 to March 1987. FitzGerald was elected to Seanad Éireann in 1965 and was subsequently elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fine Gael TD in 1969. He...

 and Prof.Patrick Lynch
Patrick Lynch (Irish economist)
Patrick Lynch MRIA was an Irish economist. He believed in economic development and the co-ordination of government policy, including fiscal, social and monetary measures to invest in education and joining the European Economic Community...

) and sportspeople (e.g. Brian O'Driscoll
Brian O'Driscoll
Brian O'Driscoll is an Irish professional rugby union player. He is the current captain of the Ireland Rugby team and captained Leinster Rugby until the start of 2008 season. He also captained the British and Irish Lions for their 2005 tour of New Zealand...

).

Rankings

The university is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in the Republic of Ireland on worldwide metrics.
  • Financial Times Global MBA Ranking 2011.
78th globally.
  • Financial Times European Business School Rankings 2010.
30th in Europe.
  • The Economist (Full-time MBA ranking) 2010.
31st globally.
  • Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2011-2012.
159th globally. 67th in Europe.
  • QS World University Rankings 2011.
134th globally.
  • Academic Ranking of World Universities 2011.
301-400 globally.

Research and innovation

The University is a leading research centre within Ireland with a research income of €114.7 million during 2007/8. UCDs research community of approximately one thousand faculty members, one thousand post doctoral researchers and two thousand PhD students work in the various schools and research institutes of the University.

Research Institutes

Amongst the research institutes of the university are:

External collaborations

Wide partnerships in which the university is involved include:
  • Adaptive Information Cluster (with DCU
    Dublin City University
    Dublin City University is a university situated between Glasnevin, Santry, Ballymun and Whitehall on the Northside of Dublin in Ireland...

    )
  • Centre for Innovation and Structural Change (with NUI Galway
    National University of Ireland, Galway
    The National University of Ireland, Galway is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland...

     and DCU
    Dublin City University
    Dublin City University is a university situated between Glasnevin, Santry, Ballymun and Whitehall on the Northside of Dublin in Ireland...

    )
  • Centre for research on adaptive nanostructures and nanodevices (with TCD
    Trinity College, Dublin
    Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...

     and UCC)
  • CTVR Centre for Telecommunications Value-Chain-Driven Research (with DCU
    Dublin City University
    Dublin City University is a university situated between Glasnevin, Santry, Ballymun and Whitehall on the Northside of Dublin in Ireland...

    , TCD
    Trinity College, Dublin
    Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...

    , NUI Maynooth
    National University of Ireland, Maynooth
    The National University of Ireland, Maynooth , was founded by the Universities Act, 1997 as a constituent university of the National University of Ireland. It is Ireland's second oldest university, having been formed from St Patrick's College, Maynooth, itself founded in 1795.The university is...

    , UCC, UL
    University of Limerick
    The University of Limerick is a university in Ireland near the city of Limerick on the island's west coast. It was established in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick and became a university by statute in 1989 in accordance with the University of Limerick Act 1989...

    , DIT
    Dublin Institute of Technology
    Dublin Institute of Technology was established officially in 1992 under the but had been previously set up in 1978 on an ad-hoc basis. The institution can trace its origins back to 1887 with the establishment of various technical institutions in Dublin, Ireland...

     and Sligo IT
    Institute of Technology, Sligo
    Institute of Technology Sligo is a state funded third-level educational institution situated in the city of Sligo, Ireland. The Institute has three Schools and 9 Departments....

    ).
  • National Digital Research Centre
    National Digital Research Centre
    The National Digital Research Centre is a private non-profit company located in Dublin, Ireland, founded in 2006.The NDRC concentrates on applied digital technology with a commercial focus and an emphasis on industry collaboration...

     (with Dublin City University
    Dublin City University
    Dublin City University is a university situated between Glasnevin, Santry, Ballymun and Whitehall on the Northside of Dublin in Ireland...

     and Trinity College, Dublin
    Trinity College, Dublin
    Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...

    ).
  • National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (with Dublin City University
    Dublin City University
    Dublin City University is a university situated between Glasnevin, Santry, Ballymun and Whitehall on the Northside of Dublin in Ireland...

    , Trinity College, Dublin
    Trinity College, Dublin
    Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...

     and Sligo IT
    Institute of Technology, Sligo
    Institute of Technology Sligo is a state funded third-level educational institution situated in the city of Sligo, Ireland. The Institute has three Schools and 9 Departments....

    ).
  • Programme for Research on Grid-enabled Computational Physics of Natural Phenomena (with DCU
    Dublin City University
    Dublin City University is a university situated between Glasnevin, Santry, Ballymun and Whitehall on the Northside of Dublin in Ireland...

    , TCD
    Trinity College, Dublin
    Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...

    , UCC DIAS
    Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies
    The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies Dublin, Ireland was established in 1940 by the Taoiseach of the time, Éamon de Valera under the . The Institute consists of 3 schools: The , the and the . The directors of these schools are currently Professor Werner Nahm, Professor Luke Drury and...

    , NUI Galway
    National University of Ireland, Galway
    The National University of Ireland, Galway is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland...

    , HEAnet
    HEAnet
    HEAnet is the Irish NREN; it provides high-speed Internet access to academic institutions in Ireland direct to European and USA networks...

    , Met Éireann
    Met Éireann
    Met Éireann is the national meteorological service in Ireland, part of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.-History:...

    , Armagh Observatory
    Armagh Observatory
    Armagh Observatory is a modern astronomical research institute with a rich heritage, based in Armagh, Northern Ireland. Around 25 astronomers are actively studying stellar astrophysics, the Sun, Solar System astronomy, and the Earth's climate....

     and Grid Ireland).
  • Advanced Biomimetic Materials for Solar Energy Conversion {with the University of Limerick
    University of Limerick
    The University of Limerick is a university in Ireland near the city of Limerick on the island's west coast. It was established in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick and became a university by statute in 1989 in accordance with the University of Limerick Act 1989...

    , Dublin City University
    Dublin City University
    Dublin City University is a university situated between Glasnevin, Santry, Ballymun and Whitehall on the Northside of Dublin in Ireland...

    , Airtricity
    Airtricity
    Airtricity was founded in 1997 in the Republic of Ireland and now is a renewable energy company owned by Scottish and Southern Energy...

    , OBD-Tec and Celtic Catalysts.

Current and former campus companies

The most prominent university-related company is the IE Domain Registry
IE Domain Registry
The IE Domain Registry is the domain name registry for the .ie country code top-level domain. Formally, the IE Domain Registry Limited is a private company, limited by guarantee, incorporated in Ireland having its registered office and principal place of business in Sandycove, County Dublin...

; many of the university's academics continue to sit on the board of directors. The university originally gained control of the .ie
.ie
.ie is the Internet country code top-level domain for the Republic of Ireland. Registration is open to registrants located in, or with a significant connection to any part of the island, including Northern Ireland....

 domain in the late 1980s.

There are a number of related companies, many concentrated as the NovaUCD initiative, to commercialise research results and opportunities; many of these reflect the university's expertise in the life sciences and information technology. These companies include:
  • Analytical Drug and Data (ADD) (specialising in brain
    Brain
    The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...

     research)
  • Berand (concentrating on the development of new chemicals for disease treatment)
  • BiancaMed (health technology solutions for everyday living)
  • Biosensia
    Biosensia
    is a Point-of-Care In vitro diagnostics company located at on the campus of University College Dublin, Ireland.Founded in 2006, has developed an integrated Point-of-Care in-vitro diagnostic test platform which delivers a rapid test result and has a broad range of diagnostic...

     (Point-of-Care in vitro diagnostics company)
  • Broadcast Learning
  • Businesscale
  • Celtic Catalysts (involved in chiral
    Chirality (chemistry)
    A chiral molecule is a type of molecule that lacks an internal plane of symmetry and thus has a non-superimposable mirror image. The feature that is most often the cause of chirality in molecules is the presence of an asymmetric carbon atom....

     chemistry research)
  • ChangingWorlds (develops multi-access, intelligent portal platforms for mobile operators)
  • Cornerstone Knowledge International
  • Crovan
  • Duolog
    Duolog
    Duolog Technologies is a developer of electronic design automation tools that assist with the integration of complex System-on-Chip, ASIC and FPGA designs.-Overview:...

  • (e)Learning Union
  • Enzolve (an enzyme
    Enzyme
    Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...

     and protein
    Protein
    Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

     commercialisation group)
  • Eventznet
  • Intelligent Health Systems
  • Ildana Biotech is a joint group with Dublin City University
    Dublin City University
    Dublin City University is a university situated between Glasnevin, Santry, Ballymun and Whitehall on the Northside of Dublin in Ireland...

    .
  • Java Clinical Research
  • Lightwave Technologies
  • Locumotion
  • AllaVoca
  • Neosera
  • Novus (financial services management and consultancy company)
  • Spectral Signatures
  • Visor Consulting

Sport

UCD has very strong sporting traditions and a very successful competitive record in a great range of sports. The most successful clubs during 2005/2006 were the Senior Hurling team (winners of the Dublin County Championship), the Senior Hockey team (winners of the Leinster Senior Cup), the Senior Basketball team (University Championship winners), the Ladies Volleyball team (which won the University Championships and the English Student Cup), the Under-20 Rugby team (which won a league and cup double), the table tennis team (which won the Irish Universities Championships for the 7th year in a row), the Soccer teams (winning a variety of cups and leagues), the Senior Men's Cricket Team (Varsity Plate Winners) and the Ultimate Frisbee Open Team (winners of Div 2 UK Nationals). The current U.C.D. five a side soccer champions are Five Young Fun Boys managed by Ciaran Fisher and assisted by Patrick Coman.

The most successful clubs in 2006/2007 were the Table Tennis Club (Irish Universities Champions for the 8th year in a row, Leinster Cup Champions & SuperLeague Champions, qualifying for the ETTU European Cup), the Fencing Club (Intervarsity winners 5th year in a row, Colours winners 10th year in a row, Darius Vasseghi Team Foil Cup winners, Trinity Team Cup Winners) and the Cricket Club (joint inter-varsity winners).

The Belfield campus is home to a wide range of sports facilities, but notably lacks a swimming pool and a running track. 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), two other stadia (one for rugby and one for soccer), 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. It is hoped that a swimming pool will be added before 2010. There are currently over fifty sports clubs in UCD. These cater for archery to windsurfing and just about everything in between. Probably the three largest and most successful clubs are the soccer club
University College Dublin A.F.C.
University College Dublin Association Football Club known commonly as UCD is the football team of University College Dublin. They play in the League of Ireland. The club, founded in 1895 was elected to the league in 1979 under the management of Dr. Tony O'Neill. Since the 2008 season they have...

 (currently the only university team to compete in the top division of the national league in Western Europe), the rugby club (currently playing in the AIB League
AIB League
The Ulster Bank All-Ireland League is the national league system for the 48 senior rugby union clubs in Ireland, covering both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is not, however, the highest level of rugby union in Ireland, as teams representing the four provinces of Ireland play...

 Division 2) and the Gaelic Sports club
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 motto's "Ad Astra" and "Cothrom Féinne". The first team was an amalgamation of students from UCD and...

.

The University hosted the IFIUS
IFIUS
IFIUS is a democratic non profit organisation whose main objective is to organise the yearly World Interuniversity Games, in which studentteams from different Universities and Colleges worldwide compete in different sport competitions.- History :Until 2003 the Games were held on Weekends during...

 World Interuniversity Games
World Interuniversity Games
The World Interuniversity Games is an international sport event, organised each year in October by IFIUS .- IFIUS Games :* 1999 : Antwerp * 2000 : Paris...

 in October 2006.
University College Dublin RFC
University College Dublin A.F.C.
University College Dublin A.F.C.
University College Dublin Association Football Club known commonly as UCD is the football team of University College Dublin. They play in the League of Ireland. The club, founded in 1895 was elected to the league in 1979 under the management of Dr. Tony O'Neill. Since the 2008 season they have...

UCD GAA
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 motto's "Ad Astra" and "Cothrom Féinne". The first team was an amalgamation of students from UCD and...

UCD Marian
UCD Marian
University College Dublin Marian is an Irish basketball club with teams in the Irish Superleague and Divisions 1 - 4.- History :Marian Basketball Club was founded in 1968 when a group of pupils and past-pupils of Marian College, Ballsbridge entered a team in the Dublin Minor Basketball league.....

UCD Fencing Club
UCD Fencing Club
UCDFC is the fencing club of University College Dublin. Founded in 1955 by Prof. Patrick Doherty and Rev. O'Doherty it is one of the oldest clubs in the country and at a current membership of 157, it is also the largest...


Societies

There are currently over fifty student societies in the university. They cater for many interests ranging from large-scale party societies such as Ag Soc, Arts Soc, Commerce and Economics Society and Qsoc. There are religiously-interested groups such as the Christian Union, the Islamic Society and the Secular Humanist Society, a television station Campus Television Network, academic-oriented societies like the Philosophy Society, Mathsoc, Classical Society, Filmsoc and everything in between, including An Cumann Gaelach, an Irish-language society and such charities as St. Vincent de Paul, UCDSVP. All Irish political parties are represented on campus including Young Fine Gael, Ógra Fianna Fáil, The Socialist Party, Sinn Féin, The Green Party and UCD Labour Youth. The college has two debating unions. The oldest student society is the Literary and Historical Society, which is currently in its 156th session. The University College Dublin Law Society
University College Dublin Law Society
The UCD Law Society is one of the largest student societies in Europe. Established in 1911 as 'The Legal and Economic Society', it has over 4100 members drawn from the various faculties of the University. Weekly Tuesday night debates during term are the Society's core activity...

, however, is both the largest debating society in the University, and also holds the largest membership of any society; having 5,248 members in the 09/10 Academic Year. It is now in its Centenary Session and aside from debating it also acts as a mooting, entertainment and professional development society. Away from politics and debating the UCD Dramsoc
UCD Dramsoc
UCD Dramsoc is the student drama society of University College Dublin. The society was founded in 1926 and is currently in its 84th session. Since it was founded, the society has had two central objectives which are key to its ethos; firstly to be a breeding ground for emerging talent by pursuing...

 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
University College Dublin Symphony Orchestra
University College Dublin Symphony Orchestra is an Irish orchestra based in University College Dublin.It plays annually in the National Concert Hall in Dublin.- History :...

.

Students' Union

The students' union
Students' union
A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges and universities, and has started appearing in some high schools...

, UCDSU in the college has been an active part of campaigns run by the National Union, USI
Union of Students in Ireland
The Union of Students in Ireland is the national representative body for third-level students' unions in Ireland. The Union of Students in Ireland is the sole national representative body for students in Ireland but does not represent students from two of the seven Irish Universities, namely...

, and has played a highly significant role in the life of the college since its foundation in 1974.

The Union has also taken significant stances on issues of human rights that have hit the headlines in Ireland and around the world, particularly in becoming the first institution in the world to implement a ban of Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...

 products in Student Union controlled shops on the basis of alleged human and trade union rights abuses in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

. This ban was overturned in 2010.

The Union's main Governing Body is the Union Council which meets every two weeks during term. Council membership consists of 180+ seats for Class Representatives, ten directly elected officers of the Union Executive and five Executive officers elected by Union Council at its first meeting each year. Their term commences on 1 July in the year of their election and lasts for twelve months. Sabbatical elections take place in late February of each year. To date, students from Arts, Social Science and Law have predominated in holding council seats.

Newspapers

The university has two student papers, the broadsheet The University Observer
The University Observer
The University Observer is a fortnightly Berliner-sized newspaper distributed throughout the campus of University College, Dublin . It was launched in 1994 by University College Dublin Students' Union...

and the tabloid College Tribune
College Tribune
The College Tribune is a student newspaper based in University College Dublin. Established in 1989 by one of Ireland's best known print journalists, Vincent Browne, it is UCD's oldest surviving newspaper. It is currently edited by Conor McKenna and Ryan Cullen.The various sections throughout the...

. Both papers are usually published on a fortnightly basis throughout the academic year.
The University Observer

The University Observer
The University Observer
The University Observer is a fortnightly Berliner-sized newspaper distributed throughout the campus of University College, Dublin . It was launched in 1994 by University College Dublin Students' Union...

won the Newspaper of the Year award at the National Student Media Awards in April 2006, an accolade it has achieved many times. Founded in 1994, its first editors were Pat Leahy and comedian Dara Ó Briain
Dara Ó Briain
Dara Ó Briain is an Irish stand-up comedian and television presenter, noted for hosting topical panel shows such as The Panel and Mock the Week....

. Many figures in Irish journalism have held the position of editor including The Irish Times deputy news editor Roddy O'Sullivan, The Sunday Business Post political correspondent Pat Leahy, AFP business reporter Enda Curran, Sunday Independent
Sunday Independent
The Sunday Independent is a broadsheet Sunday newspaper published in Ireland by Independent News and Media plc. The newspaper is edited by Aengus Fanning, and is the biggest selling Irish Sunday newspaper by a large margin ; average circulation of 291,323 between June 2004 and January 2005,...

Chief Reporter Daniel McConnell, RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...

 News reporter Samantha Libreri and TV researcher Alan Torney. The efforts of its staff were noted by the prestigious Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

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 edition includes a pullout 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 remains editorially independent, barring one 'Union Page' per issue.
College Tribune
College Tribune
The College Tribune is a student newspaper based in University College Dublin. Established in 1989 by one of Ireland's best known print journalists, Vincent Browne, it is UCD's oldest surviving newspaper. It is currently edited by Conor McKenna and Ryan Cullen.The various sections throughout the...


The College Tribune was founded in 1988, with the assistance of noted political commentator Vincent Browne
Vincent Browne
Vincent Browne is an Irish print and broadcast journalist. He is a columnist with The Irish Times and The Sunday Business Post and a part time barrister....

, then an evening student in the college, who noted the lack of an independent media outlet for students and the college in general. Financially, it is supported by commercial advertising in the paper and is completely independent of college and union authorities. Former editors include Conor Lally, Crime Correspondent of the Irish Times, The Sunday Times journalist Richard Oakley, former Sunday Tribune reporter Eoghan Rice, Paul Lynch, film critic of the Sunday Tribune, Irish Independent soccer correspondent Daniel McDonnell, and brothers Gary and Fergus O'Shea, both now in the Irish Sun, who were editors in 1996-97 and 2001-02 respectively.

Other past contributors include Dave Kelly, now rugby correspondent with the Irish Independent and Katherine Smyth a former associate producer with BBC Current Affairs. The College Tribune was tied to the national Sunday Tribune through its connections with Vincent Browne, but such links ended in 1999. The Tribune has also been distinguished on several occasions at national student media awards, particularly in sportswriting, where it has a strong tradition. The paper won the Student Newspaper of the Year at the USI/Irish Independent media awards in 1996. The then editor, Conor Lally, won Student Journalist of the Year in 1996. Tribune stalwart Peter Lahiff was a recipient of a Guardian Award for Diversity in 2003, the only Irish-based recipient of any Guardian award to date.

College Tribune sections include news, features, opinion, music, film, sport and colour writing, and it is famous for the launch of the satirical page The Evil Gerald, a 'paper within a paper'. The Gerald was succeeded by The Turbine in 2003, and they have featured such satirical stories as the Provisional IRA dropping its pursuit of a United Ireland in favour of occupation of the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

, and Osama Bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...

 stealing the Magic Door from Bosco
Bosco
Bosco was an Irish children's television programme produced during the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was produced by the Lambert Puppet Theatre. Designed by Jan Mitchell, Bosco was voiced by Miriam Lambert initially; in later years Paula Lambert took over the character...

 which allowed him access to anywhere in the world.

Radio and Television

UCD also has a student radio station, Belfield FM, broadcasting at selected times throughout the academic year across the campus on 107.8 FM and online at the station's website. The station is funded by the students' union and has nurtured current RTE
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...

 presenters Ryan Tubridy
Ryan Tubridy
Ryan Tubridy , affectionately known as "Tubs", is an Irish broadcaster and writer, a presenter of live shows on radio and television in Ireland. He has been described as "one of Ireland's most gifted broadcasters"...

 and Rick O'Shea
Rick O'Shea
Rick O'Shea is an Irish radio personality. He was born in Drimnagh, Dublin 12 and attended and later University College Dublin . He is a DJ on RTÉ 2fm.-Radio:...

. BelfieldFM has become widely recognised as a leader in Irish student media..

Belfield FM was a successor to UCD FM, which had been run out of the Students' Union entertainments office. Launched by Gearoid O'Connor and Enda Curran in 2000 along with senior producers Laura Fletcher (now of RTE), Barry Ward
Barry Ward
Barry Ward born 13 January 1971 in New South Wales, Australia is a former rugby league player. He played for the Bulldogs, Illawarra Steelers, Sydney Roosters and St Helens as a prop and in the second-row....

 (now councillor for FG and Senior Counsel), Aidan Meaghen, Eoghan Casey
Eoghan Casey
Eoghan Casey is a digital forensics investigator and author. He is co-founder of digital forensics company cmdLabs. Casey has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and an M.A. in Educational Communication and Technology from New York University.-Career:Casey...

, Daniel McConnell
Daniel McConnell
Daniel McConnell is a former member of the West Coast Eagles Australian Football League club. He was taken at pick 26 in the 2003 AFL draft by the West Coast Eagles, a second round selection....

 (now of Sunday Independent), it applied for and was granted capital funding of over €20,000 from the college to purchase studio equipment.

At the beginning of the academic year 2005-2006, the creation of a student television station, titled Campus Television Network (CTN) was announced. The station began creating programmes in November 2006 and distributing them online, at its old website, and across the campus in the student bars and student centre. CTN does not actually broadcast any shows themselves, either through the college network or via traditional analogue or satellite methods, rather it allows downloads and viewing of programmes on their website and distributes DVDs to on campus venues. It currently produces a variety of shows from their entertainments show 'Ent...This!' to their fashion shows 'Nu Look' and 'Slick'. CTN can be viewed on its new website at www.ctn.ie.

University College Dublin scarf colours

{| class="toccolours" style="margin: 0 auto; width:90%; font-size: 0.86em"
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! Sailing and Swimming Clubs
! Rugby Club
! Boat Club
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Agricultural science
Agricultural science is a broad multidisciplinary field that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. -Agriculture and agricultural science:The two terms are often confused...


! Arts
ARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....


! Chemical Engineering
Chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...


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! Civil and Environmental Engineering
! Commerce
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...


! Electronic, Electrical, or Mechanical Engineering
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Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...


! Medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....


! Radiography
Radiography
Radiography is the use of X-rays to view a non-uniformly composed material such as the human body. By using the physical properties of the ray an image can be developed which displays areas of different density and composition....


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Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...


! Social Science
! Veterinary Medicine
Veterinary medicine
Veterinary Medicine is the branch of science that deals with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, disorder and injury in non-human animals...


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Presidents of UCD

  • Dr Denis Coffey, Dean of Medicine (1910–1940)
  • Dr Arthur W. Conway
    Arthur W. Conway
    Arthur William Conway FRS was President of University College Dublin between 1940 and 1947.Born in Wexford, he received his early education in St Peter’s College, Wexford and proceeded to enter old University College, Dublin in 1892. He received his BA Degree from the Royal University of Ireland...

    , (1940–1947)
  • Dr Michael Tierney
    Michael Tierney (Professor of Greek)
    Michael Tierney was Professor of Greek at University College Dublin from 1923 to 1947 and President of UCD between 1947 and 1964, and was also a Cumann na nGaedheal politician.- Biography :...

     (1947–1964)
  • Dr Jerimiah Hogan, (1964–1972)
  • Dr Thomas Murphy, (1972–1985)
  • Dr Patrick Masterson
    Patrick Masterson
    Dr. Patrick Masterson is a former president of University College Dublin and the European University Institute.He received a First class degree from University College and then took a Ph.D...

    , (1986–1993)
  • Dr Art Cosgrove
    Art Cosgrove
    Art Cosgrove, in Newry, County Down was President of University College Dublin between 1994 and 2003.-Education:He was educated at the Christian Brothers, Abbey Grammar School in Newry. He graduated from Queen's University Belfast in 1961 with a first class honours BA in History, and attended the...

    , (1994–2003)
  • Dr Hugh R. Brady
    Hugh R. Brady
    Hugh R. Brady, FRCPI, is President and Chief Officer of University College Dublin. He was one of the two Professors of Medicine and Therapeutics in UCD before becoming the eighth President of the University....

    , (2004 - )

In literature

James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...

’s novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a semi-autobiographical novel by James Joyce, first serialised in the magazine The Egoist from 1914 to 1915, and published first in book format in 1916 by B. W. Huebsch, New York. The first English edition was published by the Egoist Press in February 1917...

is partially set in UCD (when it was sited on Earlsfort Terrace) where Stephen Dedalus
Stephen Dedalus
Stephen Dedalus is James Joyce's literary alter ego, appearing as the protagonist and antihero of his first, semi-autobiographical novel of artistic existence A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and an important character in Joyce's Ulysses...

 is enrolled as a student. Joyce's posthumously-published autobiographical novel Stephen Hero
Stephen Hero
Stephen Hero is a posthumously-published autobiographical novel by Irish author James Joyce. Its published form reflects only a portion of an original manuscript, part of which was lost. Many of its ideas were used in composing A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.-External links:*...

contains stories of his time in UCD. Flann O'Brien’s novel At Swim-Two-Birds
At Swim-Two-Birds
At Swim-Two-Birds is a 1939 novel by Irish author 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....

 features a UCD student who writes a meta-novel wherein the author is put on trial by the characters of his novel.Maeve Binchy
Maeve Binchy
Maeve Binchy is an Irish novelist, newspaper columnist and speaker. Educated at University College Dublin, she worked as a teacher then a journalist at The Irish Times and later became a writer of novels and short stories.Many of her novels are set in Ireland, dealing with the tensions between...

's novel, Circle of Friends
Circle of Friends (novel)
Circle of Friends is a 1990 novel by Maeve Binchy. It is set in Dublin and the fictitious town of Knockglen in rural Ireland during the 1950s, and centres around a group of university students.- Characters :...

, deals with three female friends starting college in UCD in the 1950s. However, shots of Trinity College were used in the 1995 film
Circle of Friends (1995 film)
Circle of Friends is a 1995 film directed by Irish filmmaker Pat O'Connor and based on the novel of the same name written by Maeve Binchy.-Plot:...

. The second Ross O'Carroll-Kelly
Ross O'Carroll-Kelly
Ross O'Carroll-Kelly is a fictional wealthy "D4" rugby union player created by journalist Paul Howard.The character first appeared in a January 1998 column in the Sunday Tribune newspaper and later transferred to The Irish Times...

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

In music

Christy Moore
Christy Moore
Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore is a popular Irish folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is well known as one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts...

 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
Conor McPherson is an Irish playwright and director.-Life and career:McPherson was born in Dublin, . He was educated at University College Dublin, McPherson began writing his first plays there as a member of UCD Dramsoc, the college's dramatic society, and went on to found Fly By Night Theatre...

's third film Saltwater was filmed in Belfield, UCD. In Boston Legal
Boston Legal
Boston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC...

, 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"

See also


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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