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Sinéad Burke Jack Kavanagh Vivian Rath Rosaleen McDonagh Mark Pollock Dr Patricia McCarthy social issues from a unique perspective: that of a Traveller feminist who happens to be disabled. Her book of essays, Unsettled , sheds light on her most unusual identity, earning her a place on the shortlist for the An Post Irish Book Award. Mark Pollock: From adventure to advocacy Mark’s life journey shifted dramatically after a fall that left him paralysed. From being an adventure athlete to a motivational speaker, he now leads research into spinal cord injury recovery. His TED Talk and ongoing speaking engagements speak of the evolution of technology in the recovery process as well as the centrality of hope and acceptance. Mark offers a beacon of hope for paralysis recovery. Dr Patricia McCarthy: Illuminating challenges Dr Patricia McCarthy’s academic journey culminated in her graduation from Trinity with a PhD analysing the educational experiences of vision-impaired/blind young people. Patricia’s influence has extended well beyond the college, as she continues to engage in guest lectures and take up advisory roles, advocating for inclusive education and practices. These exceptional individuals serve as the touchstones of the Trinity disAbility Hub. Their names and portraits adorn the main meeting rooms so that the collaborations that take place can take inspiration from their stories. By making disability and disabled narratives the central principle – rather than inserting a modicum of ‘accessibility’ into another space – the hub represents something of a paradigm shift in disability support, one which will send positive echoes out into society. Meanwhile, the inspirational leaders it evokes will encourage gifted people affected by disabilities to overcome their doubts and knock on the doors of College Green, while increasing the likelihood that those doors will open to them.
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Trinity Players to An Cailín Ciúin Husband and wife team, wealth manager Tom Clinch, BA(1990) and ‘Celtic Woman’ Méav Ní Mhaolchatha, LLB (1993) chat about meeting (and marrying) on campus, building careers in the arts and finance, being part of a Grammy-nominated multi- million record selling group, investing in Irish creativity, and parenting the Cailín Ciúin W hen Méav Ní Mhaolchatha first saw Tom Clinch, he was on stage in Players in 1990, performing in a Tom Murphy play: ‘I wanted to tell him how good he was afterwards, but he was distracted by another admirer!’ She was in first Law and he was in his final year in Drama and French and ‘the four year age gap seemed a lot at the time’. They met shortly afterwards at a party and were soon an item (to use the Trinity vernacular of the early 1990s). They married in Trinity Chapel in 2000, with Méav, who had already recorded her first solo album, singing. Although Tom graduated in 1990, Trinity was very much the backdrop to their early relationship: ‘Performing with Players, I noticed that there was a summer audience for Irish theatre that wasn’t being met’, says Tom, ‘so for three summers in a row I hired out Players and put on An Afternoon of Irish Theatre, which was four short Irish plays by Yeats, O’Casey, Beckett and Synge. In the third year, Méav and I jointly produced the shows paying professional actors a proper wage, and it packed out every day. I learnt that you could make money out of theatre if you got it right.’ The pair were united by their creative and cultural interests – their first date was to see a French arthouse film in the old Light House Cinema in Abbey Street. Tom’s Trinity days were dominated by Players and DUMADS (the Musical Theatre Society, now called TMT). He took a year out during his degree to tour universities in the United States, as part of an Irish Universities’ Theatre Company: ‘We did plays by Beckett, Synge and Friel. I had great parts including Didi [Vladimir] in Waiting for Godot . It was a brilliant experience.’ Méav combined her Trinity law degree with studying voice and harp at the College of Music (now TU Dublin Conservatoire) and piano at the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM): ‘It took some commitment to balance the two’. In Trinity, she sang with the College Singers and as a soloist with the Choral Society and the College Orchestra. Like Tom, she was active in DUMADs and fondly remembers playing Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady . In her final year, Michael McGlynn heard her singing with the College Singers and invited her to join his choral ensemble Anúna. After graduating from Trinity, Méav did a diploma in arts administration in UCD (now the MA in Arts Administration) and then worked with Music Network, which presents concerts around Ireland. Tom was producing documentaries and working professionally as an actor. ‘At this stage, I was still the law graduate thinking about getting a sensible job,’ says Méav – ‘and I was the drama grad, performing on stage’, says Tom. That soon changed.
