Dublin University Law Society (Law Soc) have decided to end their involvement with Jailbreak, the national charity event, which sees students attempt to get as far from Ireland as possible.
The event has been jointly organised by Trinity VDP and Dublin University Amnesty International (DU Amnesty), who will now seek a third partner to run the event.
Law Soc had been involved in the event since 2013. The decision to step back from the project was announced by newly-elected Auditor, Hilary Hogan, at a meeting with both societies on Tuesday afternoon.
In an email statement to The University Times, Hogan said: “After several loving years, Law Soc, Amnesty & VDP have chosen to consciously uncouple. We will continue to support one another as Jailbreak grows, and we wish each Amnesty and VDP the very best.”
Originally open only to entrants from Trinity, Jailbreak expanded to include other universities in 2014, with last year’s event one of the most successful in the race’s history, with the €50,000 fundraising target exceeded hours before the event ended.
In an email statement to The University Times, the Directors of Jailbreak 2017, Niamh Carruthers and Kate O’Houlihan, expressed gratitude to Law Soc for their “brilliant work” regarding Jailbreak, and said they were “truly sad to see them go”.
Emphasising that they will be moving Jailbreak in a “new direction”, they said: “We are confident that we will rise to the occasion of continuing toward making Jailbreak as sustainable and positive an experience as we can.”
Based on an annual event organised by Cambridge University, Jailbreak previously saw students aim to get as far from Ireland as possible without using their own money, although recent competitions have followed alternative formats, with last year’s taking the form of a race to a secret location in Krakow.
In an email statement to The University Times, the incoming Chair of DU Amnesty, Sadhbh Sheeran, said: “It won’t be the same without Law Soc, they have been a key part of Jailbreak, it would never have become the national institution it is without them.”
Sheeran added: “We feel the concept has vast potential and we are looking forward to continuing its legacy and working with the other colleges again this year.”
Jailbreak has often gained widespread attention from national media, with the Irish Times, the Journal.ie and the Irish Independent, all having provided coverage of the event in previous years.
VDP did not respond to a request for comment.
