Government plan to merge Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin met with good will but ideological differences remain.
In 1967 Minister for Education Donogh O'Malley announced the government's intention to merge Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and University College Dublin (UCD).
There is a huge gulf between the two universities on the proposal, with the Minister for Education acting in a neutral capacity between them. The UCD stance is,
The plain man's commonsensical point of view.
That is, Trinity will teach the arts subjects and UCD will teach the sciences.
The TCD stance is,
A university college, to be a proper university college, must have a mixture of arts and science faculties.
Professor of Political Science Basil Chubb is a member of the TCD negotiating team whose proposals are based on the view that,
There are strong academic and cultural arguments for having some arts and some sciences in both of the colleges.
He adds that TCD staff are also in agreement with this argument. Separating arts and science students,
Would be to create two cultures, each of them without appreciate the other.
Merging some sciences might work and for smaller subjects. But for arts and social science where there are more than 200 students, it makes sense to have them taught in both universities.
UCD does not directly enter into the argument about whether it is academically desirable to have one university for arts and another for science. Registrar of UCD Dr Thomas Murphy says unlike the TCD governing body, the UCD board of governors has not yet had the opportunity to look at the proposals.
However he says the policy in UCD is to try to adhere to the government’s policy of complementary colleges with some faculties in UCD and the other faculties in TCD. The understanding being,
There should be no unnecessary duplication, as this leads to dissipation of very scarce resources.
An amicable solution is desired, but because of the differences between the two parties, it may be some time before it is found.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 23 February 1968. The reporter is Kevin O'Kelly.
