Former UCC student and current Vice President for Campaigns at the Union of Students in Ireland, Beth O’Reilly has today been elected President of USI for 2022-2023.
A native of Cork, Beth was elected by Students’ Union representatives from all over Ireland at USI’s Comhdháil 2022.
Over 200 delegates from colleges and universities across the island have come together in the Knightsbrook Hotel in county Meath for the first in-person USI Congress since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beth was elected Vice President for Campaigns at USI in 2021, having previously served as Commercial and Fundraising Officer in UCC SU – Beth graduated from UCC with a BA in Politics and History.
USI Vice President for the Southern Region and former WITSU student, John Fortune was elected Vice President for Equality and Citizenship, while the rest of the Coiste Gnó next year will be new to the USI team.
Waqar Ahmed, Sarah Behan, Ross Boyd, Hannah Brennan, Clodagh McGivern, Sierra Müller-Owens, Róisín Nic Lochlainn and Caoimhe Walsh will join the Coiste Gnó in July.
Speaking on her election as President, Beth said: “I’m so delighted to have been elected President of USI, especially at our first in-person Congress since 2019. It is so great to be back in a room full of Students’ Union representatives debating the issues that matter to students.
“I’m excited to work with the excellent new team that has been elected today and I am very much looking forward to continuing to promote the student movement and to fighting for the liberation of higher education for all.
“My immediate priorities will be working to get students re-engaged with the student movement after the COVID-19 pandemic. I want USI to help rebuild communities on campuses across the island and to getting students back on the streets in big numbers fighting for their rights and for a better society for all.”
The full USI Coiste Gnó (Executive) team for 2022-2023, as elected today, will be:
President
Beth O’Reilly (USI Vice President for Campaigns, formerly UCC SU)
Vice-President for Academic Affairs
Clodagh McGivern (NUIG SU)
Vice-President for Welfare
Sarah Behan (DCU SU)
Vice-President for Campaigns
Ross Boyd (DCU SU)
Vice-President for Equality & Citizenship
John Fortune (USI Vice President for the Southern Region, formerly Waterford IT SU)
Leas-Uachtarán don Ghaeilge (Vice President for the Irish Language)
Róisín Nic Lochlainn (NUIG SU)
Vice-President for Postgraduate Affairs
Waqar Ahmed (DCU SU)
Vice-President for the Border, Midlands & Western Region
Hannah Brennan (ATU SU Sligo)
Vice-President for the Southern Region
Caoimhe Walsh (UCC SU)
Vice-President for the Dublin Region
Sierra Müller-Owens (Trinity College, Dublin)