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Free Education for Everyone (FEE) was an Irish student campaign group which was set up in September 2008 in
University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...
(UCD) to fight the proposed re-introduction of university fees. FEE was active in Ireland's main universities, including
University of Limerick University of Limerick (UL) () is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972, as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in Septemb ...
(UL),
University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...
(UCD),
Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...
(TCD),
NUI Maynooth Maynooth University (MU) (), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. Maynooth University was formerly known as National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ). It was Ireland ...
(NUIM),
University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...
(UCC) and
NUI Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...
(NUIG) and
Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...
. Activists organised mass protests (in conjunction with the
Union of Students in Ireland Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Unio ...
or USI). It was mainly known for its occupations of government constituency offices and blockades against government ministers and of government buildings. Politicians such as the former
Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, and as Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008. A Teachta Dála (TD) from 1977 to 2011, he served ...
, and Ministers
Batt O'Keeffe Bartholomew O'Keeffe (born 2 April 1945) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation from 2010 to 2011, Minister for Education and Science from 2008 to 2010 and a Minister of State fro ...
,
Éamon Ó Cuív Éamon Ó Cuív (; born 23 June 1950) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway West constituency from 1992 to 2024. He previously served as deputy leader of Fianna Fáil from 2011 to 2012, a ...
, Brian Lenihan and his brother
Conor Lenihan Conor Lenihan (born 3 March 1963) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Minister of State from 2004 to 2011. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South-West constituency from 1997 to 2011. From 2011 to 2015, he ...
were targeted.


Background

On 11 August 2008, Ireland's Minister for Education and Science,
Batt O'Keeffe Bartholomew O'Keeffe (born 2 April 1945) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation from 2010 to 2011, Minister for Education and Science from 2008 to 2010 and a Minister of State fro ...
indicated that fees for university students were back on the agenda in a move which contravened prior government policy. With university presidents putting pressure on the government to approve this proposal, the Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan announced an increase in the annual college registration fee by €600 on budget day, 14 October 2008. The
Union of Students in Ireland Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Unio ...
(USI), in co-ordination with the fledgling FEE, arranged a mass protest in response to claims that any increase in tuition fees would prevent many from attending college.


University blockades

A number of government ministers encountered hostility from students whilst visiting campuses at UCD and NUIG. Three members of FEE, including the chair of
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
's UCD branch were arrested for breaches of the peace following two minor scuffles as 100 students took part in a banner-bearing protest at the Clinton Auditorium on the Belfield campus of UCD on 20 October 2008. The three were later released without charge. Brian Lenihan was to chair a function at the Institute but met with a blockade as students responded to the proposed barrier to their education by creating a physical barrier of their own against the Minister. On the evening of 12 November 2008, FEE activists attempted to blockade Minister of State,
Conor Lenihan Conor Lenihan (born 3 March 1963) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Minister of State from 2004 to 2011. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South-West constituency from 1997 to 2011. From 2011 to 2015, he ...
(a brother of Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan) from his visit to University College Dublin, in protest at the proposed re-introduction of university fees. On 9 December 2008, Eamon Ó Cuív was accused of "manhandling" a student activist at NUI Galway after claiming that his secretary was being "squashed up against the wall with students kicking her and one of them waving a big stick at her". The student has said he was on the opposing side of a railing and photographic evidence has proven this to be the case, with one photo clearly showing the Minister grappling the student. A visit by
Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, and as Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008. A Teachta Dála (TD) from 1977 to 2011, he served ...
to NUI Galway on 2 February 2009 was disrupted by FEE activists, forcing the former
Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
to cancel a scheduled lecture on the campus. There were scuffles with gardaí as Ahern was blocked from entering the college grounds and booed by a group of FEE activists and other NUIG students. One man was arrested but later released.


February 2009 protest

FEE and the USI planned a further major demonstration in Dublin for 4 February 2009 to protest against the proposed move to reintroduce third-level fees, following comments from Batt O'Keeffe which suggested he would like to do so. FEE produced 20,000 leaflets to promote this protest which their activists distributed across the country. The USI argued that if it were to happen then poorer people would be prevented from attending college and that in turn would damage Ireland's knowledge-based economy. The protest gathered at
Parnell Square Parnell Square () is a Georgian square sited at the northern end of O'Connell Street in the city of Dublin, Ireland. It is in the city's D01 postal district. History Formerly named ''Ruthland Square'', it was renamed after Charles Stewart ...
at 13:30 before marching to
Leinster House Leinster House () is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Duke of Leinster, Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it has been a complex of buildings which houses Oirea ...
on
Kildare Street Kildare Street () is a street in Dublin, Ireland. Location Kildare Street is close to the principal shopping area of Grafton Street and Dawson Street, to which it is joined by Molesworth Street. Trinity College lies at the north end of t ...
. Despite extreme weather conditions which caused widespread traffic disruption across Ireland that week, 15,000 students were involved.


Blockade at Paul Gogarty's office

On 4 December 2008, eleven FEE activists from UCD occupied the office of the Green Party Spokesperson on Education Paul Gogarty in Lucan, as part of a national day of protest across the country. The occupation lasted for about four hours until the activists and door were removed by the Gardaí. The "Lucan 11" were arrested but not charged for the incident. On the same day, over 20 FEE (Free Education for Everyone ) activists in Cork occupied a room in the President of UCC's office for over an hour before being removed by the Gardaí and almost 20 students staged an in-house protest at the
constituency office A constituency office, also called an electorate office, is an office operated by a local political officeholder, such as a Member of Parliament (MP), within the area they represent. It may be used to have meetings with constituents, or adminis ...
of Éamon Ó Cuív in Galway for almost two hours.


Referendums

In March 2009 the campaign's focus switched towards organising a national one day shutdown of third level education. In UCD a referendum was organised by FEE calling on the Students Union to organised a one-day shutdown of the college and campaign for a national shutdown which was passed by 83% of the vote (over 4000 students). Similar referendums were organised around the country.


Blockade at the Department of Finance

On 16 April, students from both the National University of Ireland Maynooth (NUIM) and University College Dublin (UCD) branches of FEE staged a direct action protest at the Department of Finance. While almost 30 students held a demonstration outside the department, another 15 were inside. This achieved mass-media coverage on radio at the time, being picked up by
Newstalk Newstalk (formerly NewsTalk 106) is a national independent radio station in Ireland. It is operated by News 106 Limited, a subsidiary of Bauer Media Audio Ireland, and broadcasts under a sound broadcasting contract with the Broadcasting Aut ...
,
Q102 Q102 may refer to: * Quran 102, the 102nd chapter of the Islamic Holy book Transportation * Q102 (New York City bus) Radio stations * Q102 (Pirate Station) in London, United Kingdom; the precursor to XFM London * Q102.9 in Derry, Northern Irelan ...
,
Phantom FM TXFM (formerly Phantom 105.2) was a Dublin-based radio station, founded in 1997 as a pirate radio station. TXFM broadcast under a contract awarded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI). The station ceased broadcasting on 26 October 2016 ...
and
FM104 FM104 is an independent local radio station broadcast across Dublin, Ireland, on the frequency 104.4 MHz. It is operated by Capital Radio Productions Limited (unconnected with, and not to be confused with, Capital Radio plc), and is a sub ...
, while also making it online and into the next days editions of many papers including the ''Irish Independent''. The students stayed inside the department building for almost three hours. No arrests were made in the end and the group left of their own free will, after handing in a letter to the department. A banner proclaiming 'UCD AGAINST FEES!' was hung over the stairs inside the building, while outside the NUIM banner read 'EDUCATION NOT EMIGRATION'.


Occupation of Brian Walsh's constituency office

Nine FEE students participated in a peaceful sit-down protest by occupying the constituency office of Fine Gael TD and former mayor Brian Walsh in Bohermore, Galway, around midday on 30 November 2011. They unfurled a banner on the roof with the message, "FREE EDUCATION NOTHING LESS". They were imprisoned by the police and released a short time later.


Enda Kenny egging

On 29 November 2012, members of FEE UCD disrupted the opening of the UCD Student Centre and Sports Complex by
Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence (Ireland), Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 201 ...
in protest against education cuts. Two eggs were thrown at Kenny before four students were forcibly removed from the centre by Gardaí. One missed him and hit the vice president for students by accident.


See also

*
2009 Irish budget The 2009 Irish budget was delivered on 14 October 2008, as the first budget in the tenure of Fianna Fáil's Brian Lenihan Jnr, Brian Lenihan as Minister for Finance (Ireland), Minister for Finance and the first of Taoiseach Brian Cowen's tenure. ...
*
2010 student protest in Dublin The 2010 student protest in Dublin was a Demonstration (people), demonstration that took place in the centre of the city on 4 November 2010 in opposition to a proposed increase in university registration fees, further cuts to the student mainten ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Free Education For Everyone Post-2008 Irish economic downturn 2008 establishments in Ireland 2010s in Irish politics Student protests in the Republic of Ireland Student organisations in the Republic of Ireland