The Dublin University Elizabethan Society (The Eliz) was founded by Trinity’s first female student, Isabel Marion Weir Johnson, in 1905. Johnson created it to provide a space for women to engage with the college’s rich debating scene, following her acceptance to Trinity in 1904. At a time when women were still excluded from societies, the franchise, and many sections of Irish society, the Eliz allowed women to engage in discourse, competitive debates, and college life.
The Eliz, especially in its early days, was more than a debating society; it was seen as the “sole refuge for female undergraduates”, with female students being banned from joining most other societies. It provided a space in room 6 of Teach 6 (now the Eliz Room) where female students could use resources like typewriters and sewing machines, eat lunch, and access some of the few female bathrooms on campus. The society also offered debating opportunities, paper readings, and the famed Eliz garden party. The society was integral to the female experience in Trinity, with 600 of the 800 female students being members of the Eliz in 1963/4.
Throughout the 60s, there was great discussion surrounding a merger between the Eliz and the University Philosophical Society (the Phil), with many votes on the issue failing. In 1967, the Phil admitted their first female member, Elizabeth Hall, and in 1981, the two societies finally merged. The Eliz went out of session, and the position of president of the Eliz became an honorary title for the highest-ranking female member of Phil council. However, in 2020, the Eliz was reinstated as a subcommittee in the Phil and held its first committee elections for the 2024 session. This year’s Eliz President, Marin Henley, said “Post-COVID has seen a renewed interest in (the) subcommittee and its mission”, adding that “despite not being an active society [before], the Eliz was never fully gone from Trinity.”
Speaking to Henley the importance of the Eliz did not go understated. She acknowledged that “the Phil has provided ample opportunity for women and gender minorities to have a voice in debate and discourse”, while reinforcing the importance of the existence of the Eliz as it “allows women and gender minorities to have a space specifically catered to them.” Henley also called back to the Eliz’s history and its previous standing as a hub for all women in Trinity, saying “it is impossible to separate the history of women at Trinity from the Eliz” and “it is this history and purpose that makes the Eliz and the spaces it provides so important.”
Now, the Eliz hosts multiple debates a semester, debating competitions, roundtable discussions, and guest speakers. 120 years since its formation, the Eliz shows no signs of slowing down, using their anniversary to host some of their biggest events in recent years, calling back to some of the traditions and events in the Eliz’s rich history. They are reintroducing the Eliz’s Alumni Tea Party in collaboration with the Provost’s office, as well as reviving the annual Christmas Charity Ball in support of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre. With a big birthday bash to celebrate 120 years, the Eliz’s lineup of events is not to be missed.
If the past five years since its relaunch are anything to go off of, the Eliz has a bright future ahead, with Henley’s confidence that “the Eliz will keep flourishing long-term” and that “the incredible growth we have experienced will continue for years to come.”
Edit: On November 14th, 2025, at 16:12, this article was updated to correct minor grammatical errors.
