UCD Newman Society invited Maria Steen to give a talk on the topic of abortion.
Yesterday evening, 30th March, UCD Newman Society held an event with Maria Steen for a discussion entitled ‘A Catholic Approach to Abortion’.
UCD Newman Society is a Catholic student-run society. Maria Steen was invited to speak at the society’s Monday Night Dinner, a weekly event that the society hosts in St Stephen’s Chaplaincy. The event typically entails a meal for students accompanied by a talk from a guest speaker.
Maria Steen is a conservative campaigner and a member of the Iona Institute, a religious, socially conservative organisation. Last year, Steen failed in her presidential bid after falling two signatures short of the twenty required from members of the Oireachtas to qualify for the ballot. Steen rose to prominence as a conservative campaigner due to her involvement in the anti-abortion movement in Ireland, and campaigned for a No vote in the 2018 abortion referendum.
In a message sent into the Newman Society group chat, seen by the University Observer, a committee member of the society assured participants that “no non-members of Newman will be given admission” to the event. The member also addressed concerns surrounding the “unlikely event” of a protest occurring, stating that, “While I cannot guarantee that such a [potential] protest will be peaceful, and that members come at their own risk - I would like to encourage you to attend, especially girls”.
The message continued, with further urges for members to “support . . . raising awareness and promoting free speech around this pivotal issue of abortion.”
The message concluded with the statement, “it’s up to people like us to change the culture”.
Despite the concerns expressed by members of the Newman Society, it appears that no protest was held regarding the event.
The event largely appears to have been advertised directly to Newman Society members - via the society’s social media channels and group chat - with students reporting having seen no posters appearing in public spaces on campus.
A student who is a member of the Newman Society disclosed to the University Observer their disappointment with the event being held. “I was shocked to hear that a talk about abortion was being held at UCD, especially at closed doors and only open to members,” the student commented. “I also found it insane that they were encouraging girls to go in the group chat. This happening after previous discussion on abortion that happened in the group chat is indicative of a wider issue.”
In response to a request for comment, UCD Newman Society stated:
"We were delighted to invite Mrs Steen to speak to our Society yesterday evening. Thankfully, the event was very successful with over 100 people attending (our membership is under 200)."
"On the point of security, it would be standard practice for societies to restrict events to members only. Our concern over a protest was because the L&H had a debate last year regarding whether fathers should have a say in whether their child ought to be aborted, and there was a protest for that event. Now, of course, this wasn't a debate, and it was aimed at Catholics specifically (as per the title) regarding what we should do in response to this grave human rights issue. We put up posters around campus but someone took them down within the day. We also advertised the event on our public Instagram account."
UCD Societies Council has been contacted for comment.
This article was updated at 10:00 on Wednesday, April 1st, to include a comment from UCD Newman Society.