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Radical History of UCD

category dublin | education | other press author Tuesday April 28, 2009 14:24author by Jayauthor email matchgrams at gmail dot com

A new blog dedicated to collating the radical and social history of UCD.
Battle of Belfield, 1975.
Battle of Belfield, 1975.

Did you know that Charles Haughey, as a UCD student helped to instigate a riot by burning a Union Jack during Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) celebrations in 1945 in Dublin’s City Centre?

.... in February 1969, 140 UCD students occupied the administrative wing, used a loud speaker system to address fellow students and distributed leaflets from the ”liberated zone of UCD"?

... during Rag Week in 1969, UCD students "raided" RTE?

... Richview Lodge, where the School of Architecture is now based, used to be a Masonic Boys’ School and various freemasony symbols can still be seen around the building today?

... students and the Gardai fought pitched battles up and down the concourse outside the Arts Block and restaurant in 1975 during a protest against the visit of the Taoiseach and US Ambassador?

... the establishment of the Pool Hall ‘The Trap’ and the building of a bus shelter at the No.10 terminus in Belfield only came about due to student direct action?

.... an eighteen year old was stabbed to death at Ireland's first punk festival held in UCD's canteen in 1977?

... in 1977 as part of Rag Week celebrations, over one hundred UCD students invaded Trinity College, the College of Surgeons and Kevin Street College causing £3,200 worth of damage?

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To read more about these events, log on to a new blog - http://ucdhiddenhistory.wordpress.com/

Related Link: http://ucdhiddenhistory.wordpress.com/

Protests against Charles Haughey, 1989.
Protests against Charles Haughey, 1989.

Comments (5 of 5)

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author by UCD studentpublication date Tue Apr 28, 2009 15:33author address author phone

In the mid-1990's a young female student drunkenly wandered through a building site on campus, fell and was impaled to death on steel reinforcement rods.

On the bridge at the entrance to UCD there is a memorial plaque to a girl named Julia "Blithe Spirit" who fell to her death aged 19 in 1990.

author by dunkpublication date Tue Apr 28, 2009 16:19author address author phone

RTE radio show: What if Irish Students in the 1960's had been more radical.
Guests: Margaret McCurtain and Jim Lockhart
Programme 15: 10th December 2006

http://www.rte.ie/radio1/whatif/1105145.html

from previous IMC-IE feature: 40 years ago this month in Paris….Mai 68.
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/87672

Related RTE tv series : http://www.rte.ie/tv/1968/

author by Jaypublication date Tue Apr 28, 2009 18:11author address author phone

UCD Student, do you have a year or any more info for the "mid 1990s.." story?

Dunk, thanks for the links.

author by DAVIDOVICH - UCDpublication date Tue Oct 05, 2010 10:16author email david.odwyer at ucd dot ieauthor address author phone

\does anyone know any more about the student who fell to her death on October 12th 1990?

author by Walkerpublication date Sun Jan 02, 2011 09:51author address author phone

This attached link has a little more information, though nothing concrete. You have to scroll way down to find it.

I notice that the flowers are changed around her birthday - 28/12. She would have been 39 this week, 20 years since she died. She is now dead for longer than she lived, and somebody's heart is still breaking. From all such tragedy, deliver us.

Related Link: http://www.harpinonrugby.net/2005_07_01_archive.html


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