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As reports of disturbances emerge from UCD’s end-of-trimester exams, News Reporter Ben Sweeney investigates what happened.
On 23 December, UCD sent students an email apologising for issues during the 2025 Autumn trimester exams at the Royal Dublin Society (RDS). The email, sent three days after exams concluded, outlined “noise, traffic, and parking limitations” which caused disruptions during the period. This followed an email sent on 28 November, which indicated likely traffic and parking restrictions but failed to mention further disturbances.
Andrew, a postgraduate law student, told the University Observer that he was distracted within five minutes of an exam starting due to noise. He recalls hearing funfair-like sounds such as music and people “cheering or screaming”, with the sounds loud enough to make him pause his writing. While acknowledging that the interruptions did eventually stop, Andrew felt “squeezed” in how much time he had to complete the paper.
Another student who reported disruptions was Jack, a fourth-year student, who felt the noise negatively impacted an exam he had. He compared the atmosphere to a nightclub, noting the “thumping” music – made worse by how challenging his exam was. Noises were not confined to a single area, he says, and the exam hall was surrounded by disturbances.
He compared the atmosphere to a nightclub, noting the “thumping” music – made worse by how challenging his exam was. Noises were not confined to a single area, he says, and the exam hall was surrounded by disturbances.
Matt Mion, UCD Students’ Union (UCDSU) Education Officer, says that the Union was shocked and disappointed to hear about exam disruptions, noting that they received “a huge amount of complaints” from students. However, he believes that UCD is not wholly at fault and that the RDS management team bears greater responsibility. This sentiment is also clear in UCD’s emails, stating that the RDS “failed to manage according to our standards for exams”.
Mr. Mion believes that there is a strong argument that procedural irregularities, a term relating to improper exam procedures being followed, occurred. He has received communication from a senior member of the UCD Assessment Team that students may have grounds for appeal. He expects that these appeals would be successful but highlights that he cannot guarantee anything due to the unprecedented nature of the events.
However, Mr. Mion also revealed that UCD and the UCDSU were aware of potential interruptions three weeks prior to the exam period. Despite this, the UCDSU did not appear to explicitly publicly notify students of possible interruptions as it was “too late in the game” to change conditions and they did not want to add unnecessary stress. Instead, they only alerted students who contacted the Union specifically, and posted images of a RDS map to their Instagram page which suggested disruptions. This post was made 2 days before exams began.
While steps were taken to minimise disturbances during exams, with staff reportedly providing earplugs to students upon request to counter noise issues, their availability was not widely broadcast and students described them as “crap”. Overall, many students believe that UCD failed to facilitate appropriate exam conditions, with Andrew believing that one of the University’s most important responsibilities is to provide a quiet area to complete exams.
UCD will not have to fear disruptive RDS exam conditions indefinitely as exams are scheduled to be moved on-campus in a new sports facility, reportedly opening in 2027. However, while steps have been taken to ensure appropriate conditions are provided for the Spring trimester exams, Mr. Mion fears that future Christmas exams in the RDS may be marred by the same problems.
The UCD Assessment Team and the RDS were contacted for comment.