Senator Niall Ó Donnghaile visited St Mary’s University College on the Falls Road recently to meet with staff and students and to speak about his role in Seanad Éireann. The Seanad is the upper house of the Oireachtas, the Irish legislature, in Dublin. Niall has been a very active Senator since April 2016 and is presently leading a campaign to have a Passport Office for Irish citizens in the north of Ireland. He was accompanied during his visit to St Mary’s by Jim Gibney.

Senator Ó Donnghaile met with the two Sabbatical Officers in the College’s Students’ Union, President Maggie Hagan and Vice-President Ruairí Mooney as well as the College Principal, Professor Peter Finn.

He took a special interest in the cohort of twenty students who are following a year-long postgraduate education programme in Irish-medium teacher education, where he met his former primary school teacher, and now a teacher educator at St Mary’s, Dr Eibhlín Mhic Aoidh. Following a visit to an Irish language class, Niall was introduced to the Áisaonad at St Mary’s which, with the support of Foras na Gaeilge, produces learning materials for Irish-medium schools throughout Ireland. There, he met with Gabhán Ó Dochartaigh who explained the working of the College online daily news report to Irish-medium schools in the north. Finally, he met with PE lecturer, Paddy Tally, and Sports Development Officer, Gavin McGilly, who were preparing seven Liberal Arts students for a six-week placement coaching Gaelic games in Canada.

Niall commented very positively on his Twitter account about the value of his visit and he praised the high quality of education and services he found at the Falls Road College.