Record-Breaking Turnout as UCD Students Elect 2025/26 Union Team and Vote to Rejoin USI
Record-Breaking Turnout as UCD Students Elect 2025/26 Union Team and Vote to Rejoin USI
Key Takeaways:
UCDSU saw the highest election turnout in a generation, with over 5,300 votes cast in the Presidential race alone.
Michael Roche elected UCDSU President alongside a full sabbatical team.
Students voted decisively to rejoin the Union of Students in Ireland (USI); UCDSU will take up its membership from July.
UCD Students’ Union is delighted to announce the results of the 2025 Executive Elections, which saw record levels of participation across campus and online.
Michael Roche has been elected as the next UCDSU President, with a strong mandate to lead the Union into a new chapter. He will be joined by Matthew Mion (Education), Emilia O’Hagan (Welfare), Hazen E. Griffin (Campaigns & Engagement), Lily Gnojewski (Entertainments), and Shreyansh Jagtap (Graduate), all elected on the first count.
In a major constitutional referendum held alongside the elections, students voted by a clear majority to rejoin USI — the national representative body for students' unions across Ireland, north and south. UCDSU will formally resume its membership from July.
A total of 5,952 students voted in the referendum, with around 900 abstaining on the question. The vote marks a significant return to national student politics for Ireland’s largest university. In the three-way Presidential race, the total valid poll was 5,337.
The elections also mark a major milestone in the post-COVID rebuilding of student engagement. Turnout has more than tripled since 2022:
2025: 5,337
2024: 4,168
2023: 2,960
2022: 1,744
UCDSU President Miranda Bauer praised the historic level of participation:
“This is the highest voter turnout we’ve seen in a generation — and it’s a testament to the strength of student democracy in UCD. I want to thank every student who voted, every candidate who put themselves forward, and everyone who supported the process. Rejoining USI adds a new dimension to the work ahead, and I know the incoming team are ready to take that on.”
The newly elected team will take up their roles in June.
ENDS
