Sixth year student David Wright from Lucan Community College and fifth year student Thomas Eve from The King’s Hospital School have been elected as the South Dublin Regional Officers of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union, the national representative body for second-level student councils in the Republic of Ireland. The pair, along with 42 other post-primary students from across the country, began their term on January 1st, and they look forward to the year ahead.
David is passionate about education issues and gender equality in schools, saying “I cannot wait to work with all students on tackling issues such as equality in schools. I have undertaken a lot of work on this in my own school and I am hoping to bring this to all of South Dublin”. He also added that “there is so much going on with education which makes it the right time to face all of these issues and tackle them all in one go.”
Thomas is enthusiastic about advocating for the student voice in schools, saying “Young people are becoming much more involved in Irish society. They no longer just want to sit on the sidelines, but want to have their voices heard by those in power.” Thomas is also passionate about climate justice and has been working on the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and adds that “Issues such as Climate Action, Gender Equality and Quality Education are very close to many students’ hearts.” He is looking forward to working with David and the thousands of other students in Dublin South in the year ahead.
The Regional Officers plan to work alongside local TDs and County Councillors during their term, and also to represent over 17,000 second-level students from South Dublin on a national level. The ISSU has played a central role in many of the decisions made around schools and exams during COVID and both David and Thomas plan to make sure student voices are heard at the local level for the year ahead.
