‘Access all areas’ a third-level education model

A number of Jesuits and colleagues were in attendance at the National College of Ireland, where the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin TD, officially opened its Spencer Dock Building on Friday, 6 March 2026. The Taoiseach said he was delighted to officially open the new state-of-the-art building, “which will serve the college’s current 6,500 students and thousands more in the years to come, enabling NCI to continue to deliver its mission ‘to change lives through education’.”

The NCI has mounted an exhibition marking 75 years of the college’s history which began in 1951 when the Jesuit Order founded the Catholic Workers’ College. Their goal was to give working adults access to education in social studies, economics, and industrial relations—fields the Jesuits saw as essential for social justice and Ireland’s post‑war development. It was felt that Jesuit lecturers, who were later joined by lay colleagues, provided leadership, teaching, and the college’s early intellectual direction, grounding it in Jesuit values of critical thinking, service, and widening opportunity.

The Taoiseach acknowledged the presence of one of the early Directors of the college, Fr Bill Toner SJ, who was accompanied at the event by the current Provincial, Fr Shane Daly SJ, and the former Provincial and former chair of the NCI board, Fr Leonard Moloney SJ. Finance Director for the Jesuits, Tom O’Brien, and former NCI board members Dr Tony White and Dr Kevin Hargaden, were also in attendance.

Bill Toner SJ speculates that an important reason for the founding of the college was the recent history of Europe, which had demonstrated how pernicious ideologies of left and right could be spread by unscrupulous leaders.

The institution evolved into the National College of Industrial Relations and later the NCI. Proceeds from the sale of the original Jesuit college land contributed to the establishment of NCI in the docklands. Direct Jesuit involvement gradually reduced, but their foundational mission of accessible, community‑focused education remains central to the college’s identity.

In 2022, the then Irish Jesuit Provincial, Fr Leonard Moloney SJ, launched the NCI’s five-year strategic plan. Speaking at the launch, Fr Moloney noted that the Jesuits founded the college to create a higher education institute that would educate workers and their families. It had a business focus but was also socially conscious, in line with the Jesuit commitment to social justice as integral to any faith horizon. “The NCI today, as an independent, not-for-profit college, maintains that same unique dedication to equality, social inclusiveness, and humane education through its mission,” he said.

Bill Toner SJ recalls that ‘access’ was always central to the college. This was highlighted by all the speakers at Friday’s event. “Right up to this day, the college has always sought to develop the talents of people who might not otherwise have been able to afford a third-level education or may have slipped through the cracks,” says Fr Toner, adding, “The ethos is one of inclusivity. This is exemplified perfectly in the college’s Early Learning Initiative, which involves not just children but also their parents in the local Docklands community and the Dublin 1 area.”

Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Ray McAdam, echoed these sentiments, adding, “NCI is a very special higher education institute: the sort of place where stepping into a lift, you can find yourself in the company of a multinational CEO, the next generation of entrepreneurs and technologists, and a parent and toddler from Sherriff Street. It is brilliant to see the college grow both in size and in reach.”

And the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD, remarked: “National College of Ireland has a unique history, which over 75 years has formed a unique Higher Education Institute, that provides equity of access to programmes in business, social sciences and computing, aligned with the future skills-needs of the country… including initiatives such as apprenticeships, tertiary degrees and cutting-edge, industry-led programmes.”

For Bill, a highlight of the day was the speech by the President of the NCI’s students’ union, who, in one minute, shared his personal story of how the college had impacted him. Read it in full below.

I Want to Talk about Change

A Thaoisigh, a Aire, a Uachtarán, a aíonna uaisle, a chairde, agus go háirithe mic léinn NCI – fáilte romhaibh.

(Good morning Taoiseach, Minister, NCI President, distinguished guests, staff and most importantly, students).

Is onóir mhór dom labhairt anseo inniu thar ceann na mac léinn.

When I was asked to speak today,
I didn’t want to talk about bricks.
Or buildings.
Or even milestones.
I want to talk about change.

Because NCI doesn’t just open campuses.
It changes lives.
I know that – because it changed mine.

On one side of my family, education was always expected.
On the other, many left school early to support their families.

Statistically, I wasn’t supposed to be here.
But NCI never saw statistics.
It saw potential.
It saw a young man who needed opportunity.
Who needed belief.
Who needed access.
And that’s what this institution does better than most.
It opens doors.
Not just physically – like this incredible new campus at Spencer Dock –
but socially,
economically,
and generationally.
This building isn’t just a space.
It represents possibility.

For the first-generation student.
For the mature learner balancing work and study.
For the international student starting again in a new country.
For the student who doesn’t yet believe they belong in higher education.

When they walk through these doors,
they won’t just find lecture theatres.
They’ll find confidence.
Community.
Ambition.
Support.
And that matters.

Because education is the most powerful tool we have to change the trajectory of a life.

And when you change one life,
you change a family.
When you change families,
you change communities.
When you change communities,
You change a country.

That’s why this moment matters.
Not because it’s 75 years.
Not because it’s a new building.
But because it’s another chapter in NCI’s mission
to change lives through education.

Today, I stand here as:
A Masters graduate.
A scholarship recipient.
President of the Students’ Union.
But more importantly –
I stand here as proof.
Proof that when access meets opportunity, transformation happens.

So, to the leadership who invested in this space –
thank you.

To the Government who supports access to higher education –
thank you.

And to every student who will walk through these doors next September wondering if they belong here –
you do.

And your story can change too.

Thank you.

Tre Robert

March 6 2026