For Emmy-winning writer, director, and podcaster Niall McKay, Trinity was a wake up call more than anything. As a fresher studying English and Classics, McKay came from a secondary school life that was “tumultuous”, citing that this caused him to first come to Trinity as an unusually “green” fresher. In the end, McKay only got out of Trinity “barely by the skin of the teeth”, but he praises the university for the “agency” and “confidence” it gave him.
“I didn’t know anything about life as a student. So one of the things that I would advise anybody to do is to just get fully involved in the life of the college, you know, whatever that means, you might as well just since you’re there, no matter how cynical you feel. You only get one shot and it’s a good time to do it all.”
McKay cites family issues, lack of funds, and nearly a full-time working schedule at the Buttery as things that prevented him from living his College life to the fullest.
“My hands were tied in a lot of ways…Had I a choice, I would not have worked at all. I would have just been a student.”
Even so, McKay admitted that the Buttery was always “good fun” and “an active job”. He fondly remembers late nights working at the bar with friends, or having a free, front row seat to many of the “Battle of the Bands” gigs that used to take place there on weekends.
What’s more, McKay has had the time since his graduation from Trinity in 1989 to reflect on who he was as an undergraduate, and, despite the obstacles, he has come to be proud of his younger self.
“I had a lot of challenges”, said McKay. “I’m kind of amazed that my younger self navigated it all and went through it all. So, I guess I’ve come full circle now. I would have had a different answer 10 or 15 years ago.”
McKay went on to cite his late dyslexia diagnosis, a bad Leaving Cert, and attending boarding school from seven to thirteen years of age. McKay worked through the frustration, and managed to graduate Trinity and move on to the Irish Film Institute afterward, which eventually gave him the tools to start a successful career: eventually resulting in being a long-list nomination for an Academy Award and producing several award-winning programs on platforms such as PBS. He was a journalist for a number of years as well, working for big publications such as The Economist and The New York Times. He has even gone on to found Irish Screen America, a film festival in Los Angeles and New York that is meant to exhibit Irish filmmakers to American audiences.
With all this in mind, it’s safe to say that it all worked out for the best for McKay. He admits to this himself:
“I think, I think the thing, the answer, really, is, you know, just fucking take it easy on yourself. Do you know? Learning to like yourself will be the best thing that you can possibly do in life. Yeah, driving yourself harder probably won’t.”
When asked if Trinity played a large part in preparing him for life after college, McKay answered with this:
“Yeah, it gave me a confidence and agency that I didn’t feel I deserved.”
In the end, however, McKay just hopes that freshers are aware that this is just one of many chapters in their life, and to not get so hung up on Trinity’s more fleeting aspects, like marks in one’s modules.
“Nobody ever asked me. They just, they were just like, Oh, you went to Trinity. But nobody ever asked me for my transcripts, not once. It’s funny.”
