Aontas na Mac Leinn in Éirinn, formerly the Union of Students in Ireland, have elected a new Coiste Gnó (Executive Committee).
Aontas na Mac Leinn in Éirinn, formerly the Union of Students in Ireland, have elected a new Coiste Gnó (Executive Committee). The organisation is currently holding their Comhdháil (Congress) in Sligo this week.
Daniel Walsh, AMLÉ’s current Vice President for the Dublin Region, was elected President, beating out current TUSSU president Dara Lenihan by 46 votes.
Emma Muldoon Ryan was re-elected as Vice President for Academic Affairs, facing no opposition. Muldoon Ryan was elected to the position last year in a by-election after previously serving as Education Officer in the MTU Cork Students Union.
Also elected unopposed was Zuzanna Chadzinska from DCU, as the new Vice President for Welfare. Chadzinska is the only incoming member of the AMLÉ executive to not have served as a sabbatical officer of any student’s union.
Former DCUSU President Karl Ormsby beat out former TCDSU Welfare Officer Hamza Bana in the race for VP for Equality & Citizenship by only 20 votes.
For the first time since 2012, a position in AMLÉ has had its nominations re-opened in an uncontested election. 158 votes were cast to re-open nominations (RON) for VP for Campaigns against the 68 for TUSSU Midwest Officer Gearóid Folan. A by-election will be planned to fill the empty seat.
Notably, the organisation also passed a constitutional amendment reworking their officer structure. The former position of Vice President for Campaigns has been replaced with the new Vice President for Citizenship & Social Liberation, while the Vice President for Welfare has been replaced with the position of Vice President for Equality, Diversity, & Inclusion. While these positions won’t technically exist until next year, those elected to the previous VP for Equality & Citizenship and VP for Campaigns positions will likely be tasked with setting an example for the relationship between these new positions.
Pádraig mac Brádaigh was re-elected as Leas-Uachtarán don Ghaeilge, defeating QUBSU Undergraduate Education Officer Eli McBriarty.
In the race for VP for Postgraduate Affairs, TUSSU Postgraduate Affairs Officer Jos Gijbels defeated UCDSU’s own Graduate Officer Shreyansh Jagtap by 69 votes in the first round. Controversial former DCUSU Health and Science representative Alex Candon withdrew from the race after ballots had been printed, and therefore still received 32 votes.
VP for Dublin Region and VP for Border, Midlands, and West (BMW) were both elected unopposed, with DCUSU Wellbeing Officer Lauren Joyce taking the Dublin position and ATUSU President Emil Kindl winning the BMW.
The position of VP for the Southern Region tied 27 to 27 between SETUSU Entertainments Officer Avii Olasogba and UCC student Shauna Dalton saw Olasogba win out by one redistributed RON vote.