University College Dublin

Not to be confused with University of Dublin, Dublin City University, or Dublin Institute of Technology.

University College Dublin

Irish: An Coláiste Ollscoile, Baile Átha Cliath
Latin: Universitate Hiberniae Nationali apud Dublinum
Motto	Ad Astra (Latin)
Motto in English	To the stars
Type	Public university
Established	1854 (1854)
President	Andrew J. Deeks
Registrar	Mark Rogers
Academic staff	1,484 FTEs
Administrative staff	1,686 FTEs
Students	32,900 (2014/2015)
Undergraduates	16,388 (2013/2014) based on Irish campuses
Postgraduates	8,035 (2013/2014) based on Irish campuses
Location	Dublin, Ireland
Campus	Urban, 133 hectares (330 acres)
Colours
Affiliations	AMBA EUA NUI IUA Universitas 21 UI CESAER
Website	www.ucd.ie

University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) (Irish: An Coláiste Ollscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a research university in Dublin, Ireland. It has over 1,482 faculty and 32,000 students, and it is Ireland's largest university. The university originates in a body founded in 1854 with John Henry Newman as the first rector known as the Catholic University of Ireland, 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 locations across Dublin city, all of the university's faculties have since been relocated to a 133-hectare (330-acre) campus at Belfield, four kilometres to the south of the city centre.

University College Dublin is frequently ranked among the top universities in Europe. There are five Nobel Laureates amongst University College Dublin's alumni and current and former staff. The 2016 QS World University Rankings ranks UCD #176 worldwide, and puts it in the 151-200 bracket, for graduate employability.

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

History

The university can trace its history to the institution founded in 1854 as the Catholic University of Ireland, was established as UCD in 1880 under the auspices of the Royal University, and received its charter in 1908.

Blessed John Henry Newman, first rector of the University

Catholic University of Ireland

See also: Catholic University of Ireland

Newman house, St Stephen's Green, Dublin. The original location of UCD.

The Gardens located behind Earlsfort Terrace donated and renamed in his honour by UCD in 1908

In the years following Catholic Emancipation in Ireland, a movement led by Paul Cullen, Archbishop of Armagh and, later, Archbishop of Dublin (and later created a Cardinal), 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 and the Young Ireland 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 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). In 1850 at the Synod of Thurles 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 John Henry Newman was appointed as its first rector. Newman had been an integral figure in the Oxford Movement 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, which was known as St Patrick's or University House, under the care of The Rev. Michael Flannery; 16 Harcourt Street, known as St Lawrence's under the care of The Rev. 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.

To prepare students for entry to the new University, the Catholic University School was established as a feeder school under the guidance of Bartholomew Woodlock and Cardinal Newman. Among the first students enrolled were the grandson of Daniel O’Connell. Another included William O'Shea who would go on to become a Captain in the British Army and was central to the divorce crises which brought down Charles Stewart Parnell's career in trying to establish Home Rule for Ireland. O'Shea 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, after which the school went into a serious decline. Bartholomew Woodlock was 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.

The decline was halted 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

Government Buildings, Dublin. The former location of the UCD science and engineering faculties. Opened by King George V in 1905

In order to avail of the benefits of the Royal University of Ireland 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 Fr. Gerard Manley Hopkins and James Joyce 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 and 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, Patrick Pearse, Hugh Kennedy, Eoin MacNeill, Kevin O'Higgins, Tom Kettle, James Ryan, Douglas Hyde and John A. Costello. Student unrest occurred during this period, especially during loyalist speeches by the Chancellor, The 12th Earl of Meath, and the playing of "God Save the King" at conferring ceremonies.

Gerard Manley Hopkins, one of the leading Victorian poets of the 19th Century, Professor of Greek and Latin

In 1908, the Royal University was dissolved and a new National University of Ireland 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 Dublin's city centre, the main sites being Earlsfort Terrace, Cecilia Street, College of Science Merrion Street, and Newman House on St Stephen's Green. Following the establishment of the NUI, D. J. Coffey, Professor of Physiology, Catholic University Medical School, became the first president of UCD. 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

The Tierny (Administration) and Newman (Arts) Buildings, Belfield campus, UCD.

UCD Decade of Centenaries website celebrates 100 years since the steps towards independence gathered momentum, in which many staff, students and graduates of University College Dublin played a pivotal role in the discourse and actions that took place. UCD is a major holder of archives of national and international significance relating to the period.

In 1913 in response to the formation of the Ulster Volunteers, Eoin MacNeill, 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 were formed later that year and MacNeill was elected its Chief-of-staff. At the outbreak of World War I in view of the Home Rule Act 1914 and the political perception that it might not be implemented [the Act was suspended for the duration of the war] the leader of the Home Rule Party, John Redmond, urged the Irish Volunteers to support the British war effort as a way of supporting Irish Home Rule. This effort on behalf of Home Rule included many UCD staff and students. Many of those who opposed this move later participated in the Easter Rising.

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, Thomas MacDonagh, Michael Hayes and James Ryan, and a smaller number, including Tom Kettle and Willie Redmond, fighting for the British in World War I during the same period.

Many UCD staff, students and alumni fought in the Irish War of Independence that followed the rising. Following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty four UCD graduates joined the government of the Irish Free State.

The university's graduates have since had a large impact on Irish political life - four of the nine Presidents of Ireland and six of the thirteen Taoisigh have been either former staff or graduates.

Move to Belfield

UCD graduates, 15 July 1944

'Noah's egg' outside the Veterinary School by Rachel Joynt (2004)

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. This move started in the early 1960s when the faculty of science moved to the new 1.4 square kilometres (350 acres) 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 Building, where the Department of the Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) is situated. University College Dublin had also a site in Glasnevin for much of the last century, the Albert Agricultural College, the southern part of which is now occupied by Dublin City University, the northern part is where Ballymun town is located.

Architecture

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

Timeline

• 1854 - The Catholic University 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 - Bartholomew Woodlock appointed Rector and served until he became Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise in 1879.
• 1879 - 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 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 are a part 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.
• 1926- University Education (Agriculture and Dairy Science) Act transferred the Royal College of Science in Merrion Street and Albert Agricultural College in Glasnevin to UCD.
• 1933 - Belfield House on 44 acres is bought for sporting purposes.
• 1940 - 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 - Jeremiah Hogan appointed president (1964–1972). Science moves into 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 - 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 - Patrick Masterson appointed president. (1986–1993)
• 1990 - Engineering building opens. Most, but not all of the Earlsfort 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 - 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 - 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 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 recognised college of UCD. NCAD will remain on its current site and retaining institutional autonomy.
• 2012 - Expanded Student and Sports Centre opened containing an Olympic Swimming pool, cinema and a new gym.
• 2012 - UCD became embroiled in controversy over its sudden closure and destruction of the athletics track and field facilities beside Belfield House less than a day later. The track had been funded and built using private funding.
• 2013 - UCD O'Brien Centre for Science opened replacing much of the 1960s science infrastructure. UCD Sutherland School of Law opened to replace Roebuck Castle for the Law faculty at the South-Western end of the campus.
• 2014 - Andrew J. Deeks appointed President, the first Australian to hold the highest office in an Irish university.
• 2015 - UCD opens global centre in US to enable UCD pursue its new global engagement strategy which aims to place the university in the top ten in the world for global engagement

Academic

Colleges and schools

Health Sciences building, Belfield campus, UCD.

Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, Blackrock

UCD Quinn School Of Business

The University consists of six colleges, their associated schools (37 in total) and multiple research institutes and centres. Each college also has its own Graduate School, for postgraduates.

List of colleges and their respective schools following restructuring in September 2015

UCD College of Arts and Humanities

UCD School of Art History and Cultural Policy

UCD School of Classics

UCD School of English, Drama and Film

UCD School of History

UCD School of Irish, Celtic Studies and Folklore

UCD School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics

UCD School of Music

UCD College of Business

UCD School of Business

UCD Lochlann Quinn School of Business

UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business

UCD College of Engineering and Architecture

UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy

UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering

UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering

UCD School of Civil Engineering

UCD School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering

UCD

UCD College of Health and Agricultural Sciences

UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science

UCD School of Medicine

UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems

UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science

UCD School of Veterinary Medicine

UCD College of Social Sciences and Law

UCD School of Archaeology

UCD School of Economics

UCD School of Education

UCD School of Geography

UCD School of Information and Communication Studies

UCD School of Law

UCD School of Philosophy

UCD School of Politics and International Relations

UCD School of Psychology

UCD School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice

UCD School of Sociology

UCD College of Science

UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science

UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science

UCD School of Chemistry

UCD School of Computer Science

UCD School of Earth Sciences

UCD School of Mathematics and Statistics

UCD School of Physics

UCD 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).

Reputation

Patrons and benefactors

The initial patrons and benefactors of the University were the Catholic Church.

Undergraduate fees are funded in part by the Irish State (for EU citizens) and by students themselves.

Amongst the most recent patrons include actor Gregory Peck who was a founding patron of the School of Film. Other benefactors include Lochlann Quinn (UCD Quinn School of Business), Michael Smurfit (Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School), Peter Sutherland (Sutherland School of Law), Tony O'Reilly (O'Reilly Hall) and Denis O'Brien (O'Brien Science Centre)

Alumni

Notable Alumni

James Joyce 1903, writer Brian O'Driscoll 2001, rugby player Gabriel Byrne, actor Neil Jordan, Oscar-winning film director and producer Seán MacBride, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize 1974 Peter Sutherland, first Director- General of the World Trade Organization

Main article: List of University College Dublin people

Among its most accomplished alumni and faculty are three former presidents of Ireland; Douglas Hyde (as faculty), Patrick Hillery, and Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh (faculty). V. V. Giri, the fourth President of India studied law between 1913 and 1916 before being expelled from Ireland. Five former Taoisigh (Prime Ministers) of Ireland attended UCD: John A. Costello, Charles Haughey, Garret FitzGerald, John Bruton and Brian Cowen. Irish revolutionaries Patrick Pearse and Thomas Macdonough, two of the leaders of the Easter Rising and signatories of Proclamation of the Irish Republic were a student and member of faculty at the University, respectively. As well as former President, Douglas Hyde and Pádraig Pearse, UCD Professor Eoin MacNeill had a key role in the Gaelic revival in Ireland.

Contemporary politicians include five of the seventeen members of cabinet of the Government of Ireland. These include Michael Noonan (Minister for Finance) and Ruairi Quinn (Minister for Education and Skills). Noël Kinsella, a psychology graduate, is the speaker of the Senate of Canada.

In international affairs UCD's alumni include Seán MacBride, one of the founders of Amnesty International and recipient of the 1974 Nobel Peace Prize. UCD law graduate Peter Sutherland, one of the major negotiators in the foundation of the World Trade Organization, served as its first Director-General. Former student Ryan Crocker, a Career Ambassador within the United States Foreign Service, served as Ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq amongst other places and is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Within the institutional frameworks and politics of the European Union UCD has a number of figures. Including Sutherland, six of Ireland's nine European Commissioners are alumni. Catherine Day is the current Secretary-General of the European Commission. Alumnus and faculty member Professor James Dooge was chairman of what became known as the "Dooge Report", which examined the institutional questions in transitioning to the Single European Act, the first major change in the European's projects frameworks since the Treaty of Rome.

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 Attorneys General of Ireland. Nine of the eleven current Justices of the Supreme Court are UCD alumni.

Examples of other well known UCD alumni include writers James Joyce the author of Ulysses, Flann O'Brien (At Swim-Two-Birds), Colm Tóibín (The Master) and Roddy Doyle (Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha). Some notable poets to attend include Gerard Manley Hopkins (faculty), John Montague and John Jordan. Actors Gabriel Byrne, Carroll O'Connor, Dan O'Herlihy, Brendan Gleeson and Chris O'Dowd all attended the University. Film directors include Oscar winner Neil Jordan (The Crying Game) and Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot). Comedians, Dermot Morgan and Dara Ó Briain were major figures in the University's debating scene for many years. Amongst the number of humanitarians to attend include, John O'Shea founder of GOAL and Tom Arnold the CEO of Concern Worldwide. Former religious figures include Cardinals Tomás Ó Fiaich and Desmond Connell as well as the founding rector Cardinal Newman.

Alumni involved in business include David J. O'Reilly, formerly CEO and Chairman of the Chevron Corporation, Niall FitzGerald, former CEO and Chairman of Unilever, Pearse Lyons, founder and President of Alltech and Tony O'Reilly, who previously served as the CEO of H. J. Heinz Company as well as owning Independent News & Media.

UCD has produced a number of well known athletes, mainly in the popular Irish field sports of Gaelic games and rugby union. Many played within the University's club sides such as Brian O'Driscoll who played for University College Dublin R.F.C.. The Club has produced thirteen British and Irish Lions including O'Driscoll, with several others attending as students. Amongst the most notable Gaelic footballers to attend are Seán Murphy, a medical school graduate, a member of the Gaelic Football Team of the Millennium. Notable hurlers include Nicky Rackard, included in the Hurling Team of the Century. Kevin Moran, formerly a Gaelic football but also a soccer player for Manchester United, graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in 1976.

Former faculty include Dennis Jennings of the School of Computing, considered to be an Internet pioneer for his leadership of NSFNET, the network that became the Internet backbone. Other notable faculty include Patrick Lynch, Roger Yates and Jan Łukasiewicz as well as Professor of Science and Society James Heckman who won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2000.

Rankings

As of September 2016

University rankings
Global
ARWU	301-400
Times	201-250
QS	176
Europe
ARWU	100-150
Times	100
QS	75

UCD is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Europe on worldwide metrics.

As of 2015, it was ranked by the QS World University Rankings as the 154th best university in the world and the 66th best in Europe. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked UCD as 176th in the world in 2015-2016.

• QS Subject Ranking: Veterinary Science, 2015

40th globally, 16th in Europe, 1st in Ireland

The Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School of UCD is rated regularly as being among the 100 best schools for Business or Economics worldwide.

• Financial Times Global MBA Ranking 2015.

73rd globally.

• Financial Times European Business School Rankings 2014.

35th in Europe.

• The Economist (Full-time MBA ranking) 2014.

63rd globally.

Awards

• The Sunday Times University of the Year 2006.

Research and innovation

The University is a leading research centre within Ireland with a research income of €114.1 million during 2013/14. UCDs research community of approximately 1,150 academic staff, 630 research funded staff, and 1640 PhD students work in the various schools and research institutes of the University.

Research Institutes

The Conway Institute, Belfield campus, UCD.

Front entrance, NovaUCD

Amongst the research institutes of the university are:

• Complex and Adaptive Systems Laboratory
• Centre for Cybersecurity & Cybercrime Investigation
• UCD Earth Institute

External collaborations

Wide partnerships in which the university is involved include:

• Adaptive Information Cluster (with DCU)
• Centre for Innovation and Structural Change (with NUI Galway and DCU)
• Centre for research on adaptive nanostructures and nanodevices (with TCD and UCC)
• CTVR Centre for Telecommunications Value-Chain-Driven Research (with DCU, TCD, NUI Maynooth, UCC, UL, DIT and Sligo IT).
• National Digital Research Centre (with Dublin City University and Trinity College, Dublin).
• National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (with Dublin City University, Trinity College, Dublin and Sligo IT).
• Programme for Research on Grid-enabled Computational Physics of Natural Phenomena (with DCU, TCD, UCC DIAS, NUI Galway, HEAnet, Met Éireann, Armagh Observatory and Grid Ireland).
• Advanced Biomimetic Materials for Solar Energy Conversion with the University of Limerick, Dublin City University, Airtricity, OBD-Tec and Celtic Catalysts.

Current and former campus companies

The most prominent university-related company is the IE Domain Registry; many of the university's academics continue to sit on the board of directors. The university originally gained control of the .ie 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:

• Duolog

Student life

Students' Union

Glenomena student residences, Belfield campus, UCD.

Main article: University College Dublin Students' Union

The students' union in the college has been an active part of campaigns run by the National Union, USI, and has played a 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 products in Student Union controlled shops on the basis of alleged human and trade union rights abuses in Colombia. This ban was overturned in 2010.

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, Science and Law have predominated in holding council seats.

From 2013, there is a new bar on campus in the Student Union building and near the gym. There is also a faculty bar in Newman building.

Sport

UCD Student Centre 2012

UCD has over 60 sports clubs based on campus with 28 sports scholarships awarded annually.

UCD competes in the most popular Irish field sports of Gaelic Games, Hurling, Soccer and Rugby Union. UCD is the only Irish University to compete in both the major Irish leagues for rugby and soccer with University College Dublin A.F.C. and University College Dublin R.F.C. competing in the top leagues of their respective competitions. UCD GAA have won the most Sigerson Cup (Gaelic Football) whilst they have the second most Fitzgibbon Cup (hurling) wins, both the major University competitions in the sports in Ireland.

UCD sport annually compete in the Colours Match with Trinity College, Dublin in a range of sports, most notably in rugby. The rugby side has won 35 of the 57 contests. UCD RFC has produced 13 British and Irish Lions as well 70 Irish Rugby International and 5 for other nations.

Whilst top flight soccer is semi professional with many players going to England, UCD is still the only University soccer side in the top division of a Western European league. A result of particular note came in 1985, when UCD drew with Everton F.C. in the 1st round of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, which Everton went on to win.

Other notable team sports in the college basketball side, UCD Marian, victors in the 2012 Irish Basketball Superleague.

The Belfield campus is home to a wide range of sports facilities. Facilities include the National Hockey stadium (which has previously hosted the Women's Hockey World Cup Finals and the Men's Hockey European Championship Finals) and UCD Bowl a 3,000 capacity stadium used for rugby and soccer. UCD has one of the largest fitness centres in the country, squash courts, tennis courts, an indoor rifle range, over twenty sports pitches (for rugby, soccer and gaelic games), an indoor climbing wall and two large sports halls. The Sporscenter was added to in 2012 with the competition of an Olympic-size swimming pool, a tepidarium and a revamped fitness center as part of the re-development of the UCD Student Centre.

UCD 50 metre pool

The University hosted the IFIUS World Interuniversity Games in October 2006.

UCD American Football

Leinster Rugby

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

Societies

Tom Kettle, former Auditor of the Literary and Historical Society

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, ISS (and its subgroup AfricaSoc), INDSoc(Indian Society) and MSoc(Malaysian Society) who have the largest student communities of Indian and Malaysian students in Ireland. There are also religiously-interested groups such as the Christian Union, the Islamic Society and the Secular Humanist Society, a television station Campus Television Network, academic-oriented societies like the Economic Society, UCD Philosophy Society, Mathsoc, Classical Society, and An Cumann Gaelach, an Irish-language society and such charities as St. Vincent de Paul, UCDSVP. There are two main societies for international students, ESN UCD (part of the Erasmus Student Network) and the International Student's Society.

Many UCD societies engage in voluntary work on-campus and across Dublin. For example, the UCD Student Legal Service is a student-run society that provides free legal information clinics to the students of UCD.

Irish political parties are represented on campus including Ógra Fianna Fáil, Young Fine Gael, and UCD Labour Youth. The college has two debating unions.

The oldest societies are the Literary and Historical Society, which is currently in its 160th session, and the University College Dublin Law Society which was founded in 1911. Both of these societies are the major debating societies of the college and two of the leading ones in Ireland. Ireland's most prestigious competition, the Irish Times Debate the L&H has 11 team wins and 12 individual ones with the Law Society achieving 2 team wins and 2 individual wins respectively. The two societies have also been successful further afield at the UK and Ireland John Smith Memorial Mace (formerly The Observer Mace) with the L&H winning 5 titles and Lawsoc 2 titles. UCD has hosted the World University Debating Championships twice, most recently in 2006. At the start of the 12/13 Academic Year, the Literary and Historical Society achieved a membership of 5143 becoming the largest student society in UCD and in Europe. The UCD Dramsoc is the university drama society, it is noted for an active membership and a number of notable alumni. The university also has a successful sinfonia called University College Dublin Symphony Orchestra.

Chris O'Dowd former member of UCD Dramsoc

Student publications and media

Newspapers

Two student newspapers are currently published at the university, the broadsheet University Observer and the tabloid College Tribune

The University Observer

The University Observer won the Newspaper of the Year award at the National Student Media Awards in April 2006, an accolade it has achieved many times, most recently in April 2014. Founded in 1994, its first editors were Pat Leahy and comedian Dara Ó Briain. Many figures in Irish journalism have held the position of editor including The Irish Times duty editor Roddy O'Sullivan and political editor Pat Leahy, AFP business reporter Enda Curran, The Irish Examiner political editor Daniel McConnell, RTÉ News reporter Samantha Libreri; Today FM political correspondent Gavan Reilly; and TV researcher Alan Torney. The efforts of its staff were noted by the prestigious Guardian Student Media Awards with a nomination for "Best Newspaper", the first Irish student publication to receive such recognition. In 2001, in addition to several Irish National Student Media Awards, the University Observer under McConnell and Curran took the runner up prize for "Best Publication" at the Guardian Student Media Awards in London. To date, The University Observer has won 29 Irish Student Media Awards.

The main sections within the paper are: campus, national and international news, comment, opinion and sport. In addition, each 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

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

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

Radio and television

UCD also has a student radio station, Belfield FM, broadcasting at selected times throughout the academic year across the campus and surrounds on FM and online on the station's website. The station is independently run by the UCD Broadcasting Society and has produced well known Irish radio presenters such as Ryan Tubridy and Rick O'Shea (of RTÉ fame) and Barry Dunne of 98FM. Belfield FM is the successor to UCD FM, which was operated within the entertainment office of the students' union as a service for students. Initially launched in 1992, the station rebranded in 2000 and has operated since then under the current name. As a result of the implementation of the students' union's new constitution at the beginning of the 2012 / 2013 academic year, the station now operates as a student society.

Historical newspapers

• The Student
• University Gazette
• Confrontation
• Campus
• UCD News
• Student Voice
• Gobshout
• Catholic University News and Times
• Hibernia
• Comhthrom Feinne
• Comhar

University College Dublin scarf colours

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

Presidents of UCD

• Denis Coffey, Dean of Medicine (1910–1940)
• Arthur W. Conway, (1940–1947)
• Michael Tierney (1947–1964)
• Jerimiah Hogan, (1964–1972)
• Thomas Murphy, (1972–1985)
• Patrick Masterson, (1986–1993)
• Art Cosgrove, (1994–2003)
• Hugh R. Brady, (2004 - 2013)
• Andrew J. Deeks, (2014 - )

UCD in popular culture

In literature

James Joyce’s novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is partially set in UCD (when it was sited on Earlsfort Terrace) where Stephen Dedalus (now the name of the IT building) is enrolled as a student. Joyce's posthumously-published autobiographical novel Stephen Hero contains stories of his time in UCD. Flann O'Brien’s novel At Swim-Two-Birds features a UCD student who writes a meta-novel wherein the author is put on trial by the characters of his novel. Maeve Binchy's novel, Circle of Friends, deals with three female friends starting college in UCD in the 1950s. However, shots of Trinity College were used in the 1995 film. The second Ross O'Carroll-Kelly novel, The Teenage Dirtbag Years, follows Ross as he enters UCD.

In music

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

In film and television

Conor McPherson's third film Saltwater was filmed in Belfield, UCD. In Boston Legal, Season 2, Episode 21 "Word Salad Day", there is a reference to a study from UCD that "found that the effects of divorce on children are far more damaging than the death of a parent".

See also

• Education in the Republic of Ireland
• List of universities in the Republic of Ireland
• List of University College Dublin people

External links

• Official website
• Catholic encyclopedia: University College Dublin
• Students' Union website
• The Library of University College Dublin at Google Cultural Institute
• UCD AFC
• UCD Ephemera Collection: a collection of ephemera primarily associated with the history and development of UCD. A UCD Digital Library Collection.