University Philosophical Society
Throughout its history, it has welcomed many notable guests and some of its members have included Ernest Walton, John Butler Yeats, Samuel Beckett, Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde.
Society Colours The Phil's members meet every Thursday during term to discuss a paper, debate a motion or hear an address.
[citation needed] Membership of the society is open to all Undergraduate and Postgraduate students, as well as all staff members of Trinity College.
[citation needed] The history of the University Philosophical Society spans over three centuries, several guises, identities and name changes.
1656) founded the Dublin Philosophical Society, with the assistance of his brother Sir Thomas Molyneux and future Provost St George Ashe.
It then became the Dublin University Philosophical Society in February 1843[2][3] when it was recognized by the college, with then Provost Franc Sadleir reassuming the traditional role of Senior Patron.
In 1919 the names of eight past officers and members of council of the society who had been killed during the war was read aloud at the Opening Meeting.
Of them and those other members who gave up their lives, we can only say that while the University Philosophical Society stands they shall not be forgotten, since such men, by their deaths, have conferred on their Society, and on all connected with them, an honour that does not fade.The Irish War of Independence began shortly after the beginning of 1919, public and political will to remember those lost during the war was weak.
The Second World War, had a lesser effect on the society, though one notable President of the early 1940s was lawyer, Nigerian independence activist and Supreme Court Chief Justice Udo Udoma.
Each year the society welcomed esteemed guests to speak on topics regarding the history, the societal limitations of women, and feminism.
These included such guests as Ninette de Valois, dancer and founder of The Royal Ballet, who visited in late 1964 to celebrate the society's 60th year.
This final breakthrough proved short-lived as the College Board voted down female membership in early 1955 for that year – although it had no direct constitutional jurisdiction in this matter – pending possible reorganisation of the Major Societies.
A motion calling for women to be admitted as full members was proposed and debated at a private business meeting on the 30th of November 1967 and was passed.
[15] President of the Phil Geoff Goolnik remarked that restrictions on female membership had in actuality been a matter of convention, as gender had never been mentioned in the Laws of the Society, unlike those of the Eliz and the Hist.
At the following private business meeting held on the 5th of December, three women were proposed and voted in as members, including President of the Eliz Elizabeth Hall.
Hall was nominated by Goolnik and the motion was seconded by Auditor of the Hist ‘Gully’ Stanford in his capacity as an Ordinary Member of the Phil.
Additionally it invites many internationally-esteemed guests to address the society each year, including such public figures as Al Pacino, Desmond Tutu, Angela Merkel, and Stephen Fry.
The Members of Council serve as deputies to the officers, aid in the execution of their responsibilities, and perform any other such work necessary for the efficient running of the society.
Named after one of the Phil's most illustrious presidents (Bram Stoker), the club holds weekly afternoon paper-readings on a range of topics.
It had its first foray outside of college in 2013, entering the winning team of John Engle and Liam Brophy in that year's Irish Times National Debating Championship.
Formed by the society in 2004 the initiative combines in-school oratory workshops, with Pro–Am (Professional-Amateur) learning competitions to encourage these skills in students of all secondary schools throughout Ireland.
Annually, the society internally awards the author of the best paper and the best chamber speaker from its membership, medals of oratory and composition.
A large protest by students, staff, Jewish groups, socialists, and anti-Nazi activists resulted in the meeting being relocated to a hotel conference room and held in the small hours of the morning.
An invitation to British National Party (BNP) official Tony Wentworth was revoked after threats of physical action by leftist groups.
[citation needed] In 2011, the Phil encountered controversy when it invited BNP leader Nick Griffin to speak at a Thursday night debate on immigration.
After raging protests, talks with college officials and physical threats made to the members and council the invitation was reluctantly withdrawn by the President of the 327th session, Eoin O'Liathain.
In a press statement the Phil said that "it is unfortunate that circumstances have arisen under which the planned debate can no longer go ahead without compromising the safety of staff and students".
While The University Times subsequently agreed to withdraw the edition of the paper in question from circulation, after their breach of journalistic standards, Trinity News falsely reported that members of council had discussed calling a motion to impeach the president as a result of the society's actions in collecting the newspapers.
