Pool & Snooker Society’s former Chairperson has resigned following an alleged attempt to hold a “closed-door election” to retain his undemocratically elected position ahead of Thursday’s EGM.
While there is no confirmed interim Chairperson position held, the society’s Vice-Chair is a candidate for the upcoming election.
The DCU society called for an election of multiple core positions following disputes over the legitimacy of the committee. The society was “reopened under new management” in February 2025.
Core committee positions were filled in February but an Annual General Meeting (AGM) did not take place during the academic year to democratically elect the positions.
The society held an Extra-ordinary General Meeting (EGM) on October 8th 2025 to elect a number of positions, however the positions of Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Public Relations Officer and Treasurer were carried on or decided by the committee of the previous academic year. The positions were not opened to society members.
It later came to the attention of the Public Relations Officer, Charlie Buckley, that her position alongside other core positions, were not democratically held as per their societies’ constitution. Article 5.0 of the Pool and Snooker Society constitution states: “The Committee Members shall be democratically elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) or at an Extra-ordinary General Meeting (EGM).”
Buckley, alongside Treasurer Leon Kinsey and Events Officer Darragh O’Callahan met with Clubs & Societies on 14th October to clarify the process they had to undertake. They were told to hold an EGM to form a valid committee. O’Callahan was the only democratically elected member to speak with Clubs & Societies and administrative privileges have been passed on to Secretary Ciarán Sexton, who is the only democratically elected core member.
Committee members were made aware of the fact that anyone not officially elected at the EGM are not valid committee members. Clubs and Societies told members that undemocratically elected positions are to be removed from the Committee Panel on the Clubs & Socs website.
The former Chairperson, who does not hold a valid position on the committee, is the official admin of the societies’ WhatsApp group chats. Across the 13th and 14th October, the former chairperson has allegedly removed committee members from the committee group chat.
The Chair sent an announcement into the societies’ WhatsApp group chat informing members about the election. He said: “We are having a late term election in which I, and ..[Vice Chairperson] will run for chairs of the committee. This has never been a problem before and I hope no one runs against us 🤣”. The Chair also asked members who are thinking of running for the position of Chairperson to contact him in advance.
There is set to be an EGM in the coming days to form a valid committee. This has yet to be confirmed by the committee. A member of DCU Student Life staff has been asked by valid committee members to be in attendance.
Regarding these events, the former Chairperson stated “I do not wish to make a comment at this time, I wish the society and its members all the best.”
