As UCD society auditors enjoy a well-deserved rest after Freshers’ Week, we compare the sizes and growths of the different societies.

By Ben Sweeney | Oct 24 2025

Figures provided to the University Observer indicate that many UCD societies have grown during the Freshers’ Week period, from 15-19 September. 

The 79 societies present in the ‘Freshers’ tent’ during the period were contacted regarding how many students signed up throughout the week, as well as the number of members the society had the previous year. 49 societies provided both sets of figures, 5 societies provided partial figures, 1 society refused to provide any figures, and the remaining 24 societies did not respond for comment

The membership figures and year-on-year percentage change for each fully responding society are attached below.

From the data, there were 24027 membership sign-ups during Freshers’ Week 2025/26. This represents a 14% growth as the same societies had 21149 sign-ups the year before. However, this growth should increase further as students continue to sign up throughout the year – especially at the ‘Refreshers Day’ which occurs in January. 

The largest UCD society for this year was the Film & Video Society. Their auditor, Óisin Jackson, didn’t seem surprised by the news: “we’re the best, you know?”. He cited the “profound and powerful” nature of cinema as to their success. ‘FilmSoc’ appeals to a “very broad demographic” and their consistency works to their advantage – noting the society has already grown since Freshers’ Week.

Mr. Jackson doesn’t think that the society obtained its large membership by giving away free items: “we offered nothing really. We’re not trying to fatten up campus”. Instead, the society gives students “what they want” - the opportunity to go to the cinema cheaply. Mr. Jackson says you “could pay 15, 16 euro” for a subpar movie in Dublin, or you could attend society events – and receive refreshments - for €2.

On the other hand, the largest growing established society was the People Before Profit (PBP) UCD branch. The society’s vice-auditor, James Ruane, thinks this growth is due to how active the society has been – they ran 3 events during Freshers’ Week alone– but admits PBP was “lacklustre” last year. He also reported a large uptick in international student membership which he saw as “unusual”.

Mr. Ruane commends the left-leaning political societies on campus – some of the largest growing – for their “great ideas”. In particular, he points to their collective solidarity with the Palestinian people as motivating students to sign up. However, he again points to events PBP organised during Freshers’ Week as a factor separating them from the other parties.

The UCD Societies Council were contacted for comment.

All figures in the above table were supplied by each society and not verified by a third-party source. Any inaccuracies are the responsibility of each responding society.