Michelle Tanner, the head of Trinity Sport, has publicly endorsed Seanad candidate for the University of Dublin constituency Hugo MacNeill.
MacNeill is a former rugby player who won 37 caps for Ireland and currently works with the Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities.
In an email statement to The University Times, Tanner said she’s “supporting Hugo MacNeill’s Seanad election bid in a personal capacity”, adding that “I have known and been involved with Hugo and his work for many years”.
“He has demonstrated his passion and commitment to sport and inclusivity by building relationships and creating opportunities for others that never existed before”, she said.
“We share a vision that sport has the power to change and help people, their communities, Trinity and Ireland. I am delighted to call Hugo a trusted friend”, she added.
Tanner, who endorsed MacNeill on Twitter earlier this week, did not specify whether MacNeill’s potential election to the office of the Seanad would affect his role as Trinity Sport ambassador.
Last month, the Irish Times reported that MacNeill has stepped down from his role in investment bank Goldman Sachs, keeping in line with the firm’s policy on employees running for political office.
There are no plans for him to return to Goldman Sachs even if his campaign is successful. Nobody is taking his place on a permanent basis, but the firm will continue to provide support for its Irish clients from London.
MacNeill, who has lived in London since 2001, had been considering leaving Goldman Sachs, but decided instead to take up a role as principal deal broker on the ground in Dublin. He was involved in many high-profile deals over the past two decades, including the Aer Lingus initial public offering and on one of the two Eircom IPOs. Last year, the Irish Times reported that MacNeill was a member the Knights of the Campanile, an all-male sporting society in Trinity that was implicated in on-campus hazing last March.
Ballot papers for the Seanad elections were issued by post to those registered in the University of Dublin constituency last week. Only graduates of Trinity can vote in the constituency. Last month, The University Times reported that students who graduated in 2019 will not be able to vote, as the register of electors for the Seanad will only be updated on June 1st, 2020.
Polls close at 11am on March 31st. The count will then take place in the Public Theatre, known as the Exam Hall, in Front Square.
