Donal MacNamee has been elected as the next Editor of The University Times, receiving 83 per cent of the vote. MacNamee was elected on the first count.
MacNamee was uncontested for the role and saw his election forecast by a poll of 1,020 students, conducted by The University Times. As the candidate with the lowest number of votes to re-open nominations, the poll predicted that MacNamee would win with 88.2 per cent of the vote.
MacNamee was elected on the first count having received 2686 votes from a total valid poll of 3247, 561 voters elected to re-open the nominations.
Speaking to The University Times after his election, MacNamee said he was “delighted with the result and very humbled.” He felt it had been a “positive campaign and he was very happy with the way things went.” MacNamee also took the chance to thank those who “bought into his vision and see UT as a service to students.”
Despite strong support from voters, hustings saw MacNamee face challenging questions on the issues of funding and equality. Although he was, at times, a little vague when explaining his manifesto points, the final hustings at Trinity Hall saw MacNamee rally to provide an energetic speech and greater detail in his responses.
Among MacNamee’s manifesto points was his plan to create a community engagement editor in addition to the paper’s current staff. This individual, he explained, would help expand society coverage by The University Times. He also hopes to source funding solutions to alleviate the paper’s deficit and recruit new writers.
In contrast to that of incumbent Editor Eleanor O’Mahony, this election season has been uneventful. She was contested by Michael McDermott, a joke candidate, but ultimately elected with 58.5 per cent of the vote.
Speaking to The University Times, current Editor Eleanor O’Mahony said that she was “thrilled” that MacNamee was elected. “Donal is one of the most talented journalists The University Times has seen in years. He’s also an excellent editor and leader. He will make a fantastic editor”, she said.
MacNamee is the paper’s current Deputy Editor, and last year served as Sport Editor. Prior to this, he was involved in the paper as a senior staff writer.
