In a move that student representatives have criticised for its lack of consultation, the “Old College Bar” in University College Cork (UCC) is set to close following a decision by one of the university’s top management bodies.
The bar, which acted as a venue for the university’s clubs and societies as well as live music events, is described on the UCC website as as “the ideal location for all club and society events” with a “friendly and accommodating” atmosphere.
An open letter calling on the college to reconsider the decision and condemning the transparency of the process, signed by President of University College Cork Student Union (UCCSU), Eolann Sheehan, as well as President of the UCC Societies Executive, Patricia McCarthy, and President of the UCC Clubs Executive, Michael Hanrahan, has already been published on the UCCSU website.
The letter, addressed to the President of UCC, Dr Michael Murphy, expresses disappointment and shock at “the lack of consultation or awareness extended to the Students’ Union and therefore the student body in the making of this decision”.
The decision was made by the College Management Team, on which no student representatives sit. The public minutes of the committee meeting, according to the letter, also did not include the decision to close the bar, something the letter describes as “bringing into question the legitimacy and transparency of the decision making process”.
Speaking to The University Times , Sheehan confirmed that he met with Murphy on Friday, who confirmed to him that the bar was to close. “I don’t know if it ever was going to be officially conveyed to us”, Sheehan said, expressing his disappointment that UCCSU were forced to ask for clarification on the issue.
“It would only have taken ten minutes to consult us, and the fact we weren’t is very concerning, the fact that a student service or a student space can be taken away without even telling us, and subsequent to that, without even informing the students”, Sheehan added.
Sheehan also said he was disappointed that no reasons for the bar’s closure had been given publicly, or during his meeting with Murphy: “I presume reasons were given there, but we don’t have access to that committee.”
UCCSU give a presentation each year to the committee, which is chaired by UCC’s President. Last year’s UCCSU President, Aidan Coffey, requested permission to have a student representative on the committee. According to Sheehan this was declined by the university, who cited concerns over “bad governance”.
Sheehan also stated that Murphy was “shocked” when he discovered that the bar’s closure was not mentioned in the committee’s minutes during their meeting on Friday. Suggesting that even the legitimacy of the decision was open to question, Sheehan said: “The fact that they were omitted from the public minutes is a big issue”.
“We’ve actually contacted people within our students’ union who would be experts in the field to give us a reasoning behind it and to try and understand why it would have been omitted”, he added.
UCC did not respond to a request for comment.
