On 12 March 2014, Gerry Nolan, Head of Security at NUI Galway, shut down a Christian Union Society information table.
3,000-word account describes a litany of abuses and corruption
The National University of Ireland, Galway (NUI Galway) is ranked among the top 1% of universities in the world. Founded in 1845, NUI Galway is the largest and oldest university in the west of Ireland.
With over 110 student societies on campus, NUI Galway lays claim to “a rich and varied student life offering a wealth of experience outside the classroom”. The university advertises its student societies as “officially the best in the country” and “the best free/affordable entertainment in Galway”.
The university regularly affirms its commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. A statement on the NUI Galway website reads as follows: “Our aim is to be one of the best universities in the world in which to work, study and contribute to learning, scholarship, and research. In order to achieve that goal, the knowledge and ambitions of all staff and students must be harnessed, and their different perspectives must be included to further develop a supportive and encouraging environment for study, teaching, and research.” University President Dr James J. Browne made the following remarks in December 2014 when speaking at an education conference at NUI Galway: “We must try to create a shared sense of community, a shared model, which is the basis of any democratic society. This university understands that issue, and is trying to address it.”
Lifelong Disbarment
On Monday 10 November 2014, four Christian students were disbarred for life from membership of all student societies at NUI Galway. The sanction was handed down by the University Societies Coordination Group (USCG). It is believed that this marked the first time in the history of the university that the sanction of lifelong disbarment had been imposed on a student or students.
My name is Isaac Burke. I am one of the four students. This is our story.
Enoch Burke, Ammi Burke, Kezia Burke and I were well-known and well-respected members of the university community. In October 2014, only days before the disbarment, Ammi Burke had graduated first out of 85 students in the LLB (Bachelor of Laws) class of 2014. In January of 2014, Enoch Burke and I had been shortlisted for the Student’s Union Enterprise Awards. Kezia Burke was starting her third year of studies; in her second year, she had been ranked first out of approximately 800 students in the university-wide Bachelor of Arts programme. As a Hardiman Scholar and award-winning student researcher, I was regularly engaged by the university to promote degree programmes of the College of Science in secondary schools.
Our story begins long before November 2014. All four of us were active members of the Christian Union Society at NUI Galway during the 2012-2013 academic year. The main function of the Christian Union Society was the promotion of the Christian faith on campus.
University Abortion Referendum
In March 2013 a referendum was held among the student body on the issue of abortion. As Christians we are opposed to abortion and hence we designed a simple website and a number of posters for placing on the poster boards and poster booths around the campus. We appealed to the sanctity of life and Exodus 20:13 from the Scriptures as the basis for our position. One of our posters read simply “Give a choice to the most vulnerable”. Approximately 80 posters in all were placed around the campus.
We were unprepared for the scale of lawlessness that was to follow. Within 24 hours, more than 50 of our posters had been ripped down. Many of the remaining posters were defaced or deliberately covered over.
On Tuesday 5 March 2013 we lodged a complaint in writing with the Security Office of the university. We had observed Kiran Emrich, a socialist activist, ripping down one of our posters on the previous day and we named him in the complaint to the Security Office at NUI Galway. As of today, almost five years later, we have yet to receive any word from the Security Office on the status of this complaint. The intimidation and harassment continued unchecked throughout the referendum week. It is no wonder that we lost the referendum campaign 32% to 68%.
In the following weeks, all four of us were elected onto the committees of the Christian Union Society and the Life Society for the 2013-2014 academic year.
Intimidation and Harassment Re-emerge
The new academic year began in September 2013. As we began to advertise our public meetings and events, the intimidation and harassment that we had experienced in March 2013 re-emerged. Posters advertising our events were systematically ripped down or defaced, week after week. We contacted the Societies Office at NUI Galway looking for help but the officials there did not address the problem. Examples of posters we used during this term are available here, here and here.
By October 2013, we were struggling to operate as student groups on campus. The only way we could be sure that one of our posters would remain on a poster board was to personally stand or sit near that poster board for hours on end. To do this naturally meant that lectures had to be missed and study time sacrificed. The weekly cycle of intimidation and harassment began to have a detrimental effect not only on the operation of the Christian Union Society and the Life Society, but also on our wellbeing as students.
Incidents Reported to Security Office and Vice-President Dr Pat Morgan
On Wednesday 30 October 2013, at approximately 12.15pm, Enoch Burke observed Luke Watson, a PhD student at NUI Galway and Research Associate at Orbsen Therapeutics, ripping down a Life Society poster in the IT building. The poster advertised a public meeting of the Life Society that was to take place the following day. Mr Watson proceeded to curse and threaten Mr Burke and make offensive gestures before leaving the scene.
We reported this incident to the Security Office. Head of Security Gerry Nolan refused to investigate the matter. In his reply to our complaint, he stated: “if no cameras show an incident, which is the case here, we cannot advance the enquiry”.
On Friday 15 November 2013, I lodged a complaint with Dr Pat Morgan, the Vice-President for the Student Experience. The complaint can be read here. I asked Dr Morgan to take steps to remedy the problem of poster ripping. I stressed “the ongoing nature of the problem”. Two weeks later, I was instructed to fill out an official complaint form. I complied promptly with this request and re-submitted the complaint. It was not until 19 May 2014, over six months later, that I received the findings of this complaint. I was informed by email from Societies Officer Ríona Hughes that the University Societies Coordination Group (USCG) had considered the matter and decided to dismiss the complaint.
The Postering Crisis Worsens
The postering crisis worsened from January to March 2014. Emboldened by the university’s indifference to freedom of expression and religious liberty, other student societies on campus regularly defaced and covered our posters, most notably the Choice Society and the Palestinian Solidarity Society. Further complaints lodged in February and March 2014 were treated in a similar fashion to those we had submitted in 2013. The university has a detailed postering policy that describes sanctions to be taken against offenders (see Schedule 3 of this document). We are not aware of any occasion in 2013 or 2014 when the university executed even the mildest sanction on this list.
In March 2014 a referendum was held amongst the student body on the issue of same-sex marriage. At 2pm on Tuesday 11 March 2014, we put up a total of 22 posters in various locations around the campus. We encouraged students to vote against the motion and appealed to Genesis 2:21-25 from the Scriptures as the basis for our position. The posters that we used may be viewed here and here. We were the only group that publicly opposed the motion.
A Meeting with the USCG
Within several hours, 20 of these posters had been ripped down. Later that day, we reported the matter to university authorities. We were invited to address our concerns in person to a meeting of the University Societies Coordination Group (USCG) the following morning at 10.30am. The USCG recorded this meeting. We have obtained the recording and it can be listened to here.
Looking back now (after almost 4 years), it is easy to see that we were only being made fools of during that meeting. The university officials kept deflecting from the main issues. Their smooth words concealed the fact that they really hadn’t a notion of doing anything about our complaints. Of course, if instead we had been representing the LGBT society, the reaction of the very same officials would have been dramatically different. The perpetrators of the intimidation and harassment would be banned from the university campus “with immediate effect” and the matter would be trumpeted by NUI Galway in national media.
Present at that meeting on behalf of the USCG were: Dr Máire Áine Ní Mhainnín (Chair), Dr Fabio Quondamatteo, Helen Freeburn, Patrick O’Flaherty (Societies Chairperson), Sarah Kennedy, Ronan Gallagher, Liam Krewer and Ríona Hughes (Societies Officer). Enoch Burke and I attended on behalf of the Christian Union Society. We spoke of the “crisis” of poster ripping on campus and of our concern that there was no freedom of expression for one side of the issue. We also reported a serious incident of bullying and harassment of Enoch Burke that had taken place the evening before. Enoch Burke named two NUI Galway students who had taken part in the bullying and harassment: Éadaoin Donnelly White and Ben Ó Ceallaigh. At the end of the meeting, Dr Ní Mhainnín informed us that this was “the first part of the investigative process” for the issues we had raised.
Today, almost four years later, we are still waiting for the outcome of this investigative process of which Dr Ní Mhainnín spoke. The only further word we have ever received regarding this USCG meeting is the following from Societies Officer Ríona Hughes in her email (mentioned previously) of 19 May 2014: “Your additional complaints re postering in March are currently under investigation. I will revert with the committee’s finding after the next USCG meeting”. Ms Hughes has never reverted to us with the finding of the USCG committee.
Information Table Vandalised
At approximately 1pm on Wednesday 12 March 2014, the Christian Union Society’s information table near Smokey’s Café was vandalised by a passing student. Ours was the only information table set up in the area that day. The purpose of our table was to encourage students to vote “No” in the Students’ Union referendum on same-sex marriage. Head of Security Gerry Nolan was alerted to the incident and arrived on the scene within a few minutes.
Mr Nolan surveyed the scene, viewed the vandalism personally and then made the extraordinary decision to shut down our information table. In his own words, Mr Nolan stated that he was “calling a halt” to our information table “because it’s disruptive to the business of the university”. We urged Mr Nolan to reconsider his decision, but to no avail. Mr Nolan proceeded to tear down the posters on our information table and on the poster board behind the table. As he did so, several individuals who had gathered in the vicinity began to applaud. Mr Nolan smirked in response.
We remained at the scene in protest for several hours. Encouraged by Mr Nolan’s actions, a large group of individuals representing the “Yes” side of the referendum gathered and created a hostile and intimidating environment. They shouted taunts and abuse in our direction, threw pieces of food, performed mock marriages, and tore down the remaining Christian Union poster on the nearby poster board. Mr Nolan did not intervene.
No attempt was ever made by the Security Office or any other department of the university to investigate the vandalism of our information table.
Further Abuse and Intimidation
The following afternoon (Thursday 13 March 2014) I was handing out flyers in the IT building. At approximately 5pm, I happened to meet Luke Watson (mentioned previously) while standing in a public corridor. I was taken aback when he strode towards me, shouting: “f*** off out of the building at once, get your filthy f***ing literature out of here, you dirty f***ing scum”. He walked up close to me and subjected me to further verbal abuse, offensive gestures and threats. This incident left me traumatised and emotionally shaken. I phoned the Security Office while still at the scene and reported what had happened. To this date, almost four years later, I have yet to receive any word from the Security Office regarding this complaint.
Several months later, we compiled a 21-page report on the university’s negligence in dealing with our complaints. In July 2014, this report was forwarded to several members of administrative staff at NUI Galway, including Gearóid Ó Conluain (University Secretary) and John Hannon (Director of Student Services). Several members of the Discipline Committee also read our report, including Professor Agnes Shiel, Dr Niall Geraghty and Dr Shivaun Quinlivan. No action was taken by any of these individuals to address our concerns or to refer the matters for investigation.
Equality Tribunal Proceedings Initiated
At the beginning of the 2014-2015 academic year, on Friday 5 September 2014, the USCG approved several new regulations. One of the new regulations stipulated that all student societies attracting less than 100 members would lose their official recognition and funding. Hitherto there had been no minimum requirement on the number of members of a student society. On reviewing society membership statistics for the previous year (2013-2014), we found that all religious societies on campus (Christian Union, Baha’i, Islamic, Taize and Legion of Mary) had memberships less than 100. The USCG did not provide reasons for the introduction of this regulation. No prior consultation had taken place with any of the religious groups on campus.
Later that month, we initiated Equality Tribunal proceedings against NUI Galway. We set out the events of the 18 months from March 2013 and claimed that NUI Galway had discriminated against us on the ground of our religion. Notice of the proceedings was sent to NUI Galway on Thursday 18 September 2014.
USCG Investigates Complaints against the Christian Union and Life Society
One week later, on Thursday 25 September 2014 at 7pm, we received an email from Societies Officer Ríona Hughes. Attached to the email were two complaints against the Christian Union Society and the Life Society. The two complainants, Andrew Shine and Aisling Ní Fhrighil, were activists with the Choice Society and the Palestinian Solidarity Society (mentioned previously). Mr Shine was the Auditor of the Palestinian Solidarity Society at the time. Mr Shine and Ms Ní Fhrighil alleged that the Christian Union Society and the Life Society had distributed flyers that had “misused the university logo” and thus “purposefully misrepresented” the university.
Several months earlier, Ms Ní Fhrighil had taken part in a profanity-ridden takedown of a visiting speaker at NUI Galway. This incident brought NUI Galway into disrepute nationally and internationally. Following the incident, a large number of complaints were made to the university. In spite of this, Ms Ní Fhrighil was never investigated or disciplined in any way by NUI Galway.
The USCG acted swiftly to deal with the complaints of Mr Shine and Ms Ní Fhrighil. We were ordered to attend a USCG meeting on Tuesday 14 October 2014 at 5pm to respond to the complaints. Enoch Burke and Kezia Burke attended this meeting. Present at the meeting on behalf of the USCG were Professor Saoirse Nic Gabhainn (Chair), Ríona Hughes (Societies Officer), Patrick O’Flaherty (Societies Chairperson), Ronan Gallagher and Fionnuala Gallagher.
Even as this meeting was taking place, Andrew Shine’s Palestinian Solidarity Society was brazenly defacing our posters around the campus. The USCG was vigorously pursuing a frivolous and vexatious claim while at the same time ignoring a litany of serious complaints submitted over six months before. Enoch Burke and Kezia Burke put this to the USCG during the meeting and called out this unjust behaviour. Professor Saoirse Nic Gabhainn refused to listen to these concerns and eventually ordered Enoch Burke and Kezia Burke to leave the room.
USCG Applies Harshest Possible Sanction
We were alarmed to receive notice on Monday 10 November 2014 that the USCG had applied the harshest possible sanction available. The USCG disbarred us for life from membership of all student societies at NUI Galway. We have reason to believe that this marked the first time in the history of the university that the sanction of lifelong disbarment had been imposed on a student or students. The wording of the disbarment notice was rambling and ill defined. We were accused of “improper use of society monies” with reference to a figure of €325 supposedly used to pay for the flyers in question.
We have since been made aware that USCG Chairperson Professor Saoirse Nic Gabhainn is an avid supporter of same-sex marriage and abortion and has publicly shared disparaging comments about Christianity on social media. On Wednesday 12 March 2014, when our information table was vandalised on campus, Societies Chairperson Patrick O’Flaherty openly encouraged the hostile mob of individuals that surrounded us, posting on Twitter: “We’re proud of [NUI Galway] students for standing up to bigotry and nonsense. Good job guys!”
Financial Impropriety Rife Among Student Societies at NUI Galway
The accusation of “improper use of society monies” is made all the more incredible by the fact that financial impropriety is rife amongst student societies at NUI Galway. For example, the finalised 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 accounts of one prominent NUI Galway society reflect an expenditure of at least €8,000 for which no proper explanation has been made. A senior committee member of this society has made these accounts available to us, together with a remarkable email conversation with Societies Officer Ríona Hughes. This email conversation suggests that Ms Hughes was not only aware of the financial impropriety of the society in question, but also gave it her authorisation. The committee member has confirmed to us that no disciplinary action of any sort has been taken against the society or its committee members.
The effect of the USCG ruling has been immense. We are effectively barred for life from any involvement with any student society at our university and alma mater, NUI Galway. We have not been able to attend any meeting or event of any student society since Monday 11 November 2014, for fear of breaching the ruling of the USCG. As well-respected and well-known members of the university community, with diverse academic, cultural and personal interests, the impact of this has been devastating. University President Dr James J. Browne’s “shared sense of community” rings exceedingly hollow in the face of this societal exile that he has imposed upon us. It is clear that NUI Galway’s commitment to “equality, diversity and inclusion” does not extend to Christian students who exercise their constitutional right to “the free profession and practice of religion”. The suppression of Christian belief at NUI Galway is particularly concerning in light of contemporary developments in Irish society, including an upcoming national referendum on abortion provisionally scheduled for May or June 2018.
Vice-President Pat Morgan Disallows Appeal
On Friday 21 November 2014, we lodged an appeal of the USCG ruling with Dr Pat Morgan, the Vice-President for the Student Experience. We set out extensive grounds for the appeal. Our letter of appeal highlighted much of what has been written in this article and pleaded for due process.
On Monday 22 December 2014, three days before Christmas Day, Dr Morgan sent a short email to us. Along with Dr Maura Grealy, Dr Mark Lang and Dr John Danaher, she refused to allow our appeal, stating: “there are no grounds for your appeal”. It is important to note here that Dr Morgan is on a six-figure salary heading up a department whose function is to provide students with a “a rewarding learning, personal and professional experience” at NUI Galway.
In January 2015 we added the ruling of the USCG to the proceedings before the Equality Tribunal, alleging that the lifelong disbarment was a severe act of victimisation and discrimination on the ground of our religion.
For three years we have been waiting for justice to be served.
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Thank you for your support.
Isaac Burke
18 December 2017
