The price of Trinity Ball tickets will be reduced by €7, Trinity Ents has announced, for all students who sign up for a new app.
The promotional offer offsets the first increase in ticket price for the first time in over a decade, where tickets were sold at €87, instead of the usual €80. The increase came alongside other changes to the ball structure, including an hour extension to the event, to accommodate the ongoing LUAS works on College Green.
The new deal, from Plynk: The Money Messenger, will give students €7 if they download the Plynk app. Plynk is “Eurpope’s first money messaging app”, according to a 2016 Irish Times report on the company. The app is marketed on the example of Venmo, a similar app launched in the US that as of last year was worth $3.2 billion and had 5550,000 users. The app allows users to transfer money quickly and without the need to go through traditional banking structures. The company raised €725,000 in start-up capital from various high-profile Irish backers, including Enterprise Ireland, the National Digital Research Centre (NDRC) and Delta Capital.
The price increase in Trinity Ball tickets has resulted in criticism online from students since it was announced. Speaking to The University Times in February, when the price increase was announced, Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) Entertainments Officer, Padraic Rowley, stated that the price increase was “unfortunate”, stating that Trinity Ents had to meet “the requirements set down by Dublin City Council and the complexities caused by the new LUAS line”.
Rowley cited additional artists, security and site personnel costs as the reason behind the increase.
Growth and development for the startup is managed by former TCDSU Ents Officer Finn Murphy.
