Alleged Ableist Bullying from Maynooth Students’ Union

Content Warning: This article discusses mental health struggles, bullying and suicide 

Maynooth Students’ Union (MSU) is facing serious allegations of ableist bullying and workplace discrimination following multiple testimonies and reports detailing a toxic environment within the student representative body. 

Background to the Dossier   

Documents outlining incidents of harassment, data breaches, and failures to accommodate disabilities have surfaced, raising concerns about the treatment of union officers and student representatives. 

The Dossier was put together by Aoife Hynes and Gavin Fanning, based on what they had experienced as MSU Staff, students and Hynes’ experience as Fanning’s partner and as a USI Officer. 

These documents are not currently available to the public, but Fanning and Hynes would like to change this, provided measurements were in place to protect them from reprisal. 

A Former President Speaks Out 

These allegations primarily revolve around the experiences of Gavin Fanning, former MSU President, who has spoken out about his experience of workplace bullying and discrimination due to his disability, rheumatoid arthritis. 

Speaking to us, Fanning reflected on why he first chose to run for student leadership: “I remember coming to college back in 2017, disabled kid from Waterford. It was through community in Maynooth, through stuff like the clubs and societies, and the union, I was able to find that home.” 

He explained that having been through chemotherapy for his rheumatoid arthritis, and struggling to return to education, he found purpose in helping others. “I wanted to show students that there’s this great community here because so many communities got really hit badly by COVID. You’d see students who were just so terrified, and they reminded me of myself.” 

“I worked a lot with the Access Office, and I really wanted to be the person who said, ‘Hey, I know you’re scared, I know you’re worried. I know the world’s this big bad place – but you’re not alone.’” 

But instead, he feels that “All I showed them is that if you have a disability, walk out.” 

Allegations of Discrimination and Exclusion  

Fanning’s testimony, supported by other former MSU officers and students, describes a pattern of mistreatment, including exclusion from meetings, denial of reasonable accommodations, and being subject to rumours and intimidation. 

Structural Problems Within the MSU   

As MSU is a semi-autonomous body, the university has no jurisdiction over their HR or hiring procedures.  

In conversation with us, Hynes said, “We didn’t want to start off as antagonistic as the Dossier,” explaining that they had tried to start with a motion in the MSU Senate. 

Hynes also revealed that the MSU is allegedly experiencing significant staff turnover. “They have people who are in an assistant role, fulfilling the role of the higher position because they can’t get a person to do it…” 

Resignations and a Culture of Fear   

A resignation letter from Aaliyah Mooney, former Science and Engineering Faculty Convenor, cited a “toxic environment” and a lack of respect for differing opinions. She described being harassed while on holiday and being made to feel “stupid” whenever she voiced an opinion.  

Mooney also highlighted instances of ableism, such as when she was refused remote access to a meeting due to mobility issues – only for the same request to be granted to a non-disabled colleague shortly after. 

Former student senator, Aoife Hynes, who also worked within student representation structures, stated that the culture within MSU had “destroyed their faith in unions and the student movement.”   

They testified that minutes from the April 24th 2024 Senate meeting were “sanitised” to omit evidence of targeted criticism against Fanning, while also alleging favouritism among executive officers. 

Due to the lack of staff, the MSU has not had a professional staff member to review motions and mandates for the Senate. In 2023/2024, Alex Balfe, former MSU President, took over this responsibility, deciding what was on the Senate.  

It remains like this today, with Kyla Henry, current MSU President, taking control over the motions directly. Hynes disclosed that, “anything that they [Kyla Henry & Roddie Mac Aonghusa] don’t want to deal with, they just don’t put on the agenda and that’s a problem PTO’s have been telling me about.” 

This means that Henry is upholding the accountability structure directly, acting as President, HR and running the Senate. So, when there is an issue with her actions, who can people go to?  

You would assume that you could go to Director General Dillon Grace, but according to Hynes he “sweeps whatever they [MSU officers] did under the rug and the Union tries to survive for another year without being defunded by the University.” 

Fanning has stated that despite multiple reports to his employer regarding discrimination and intimidation, no action was taken against the individuals involved.  

Mental Health Impact and Safeguarding Failures  

According to the Dossier and interview with Fanning and Hynes, the prolonged mistreatment and failure to act contributed to a severe decline in Fanning’s mental health. This culminated in two attempted suicides during his time in office.  These incidents, which were reportedly known to some within the MSU, shows the urgent need for safeguarding and accountability structures to be revamped within the MSU. 

When describing Fanning’s experience of glandular fever over the summer, Hynes detailed, that “Nobody came the 10-minute drive up the road to knock on the door to see if Gavin was alive, which, considering Kyla knew about the first suicide attempt, and so did Director General Dillon Grace…” 

They continued, describing the toll the experience had on Fanning’s physical and emotional state: 

“And I remember waking up at one point and seeing him crawling across the floor, hacking his lungs up, crying, because he was trying to just crawl and hopefully force himself to his feet so that he could walk into work so that they wouldn’t be able too…” 

This moment highlighted to Hynes how anxious Gavin was to allow illness to affect his work, fearing that it would bring further mistreatment. 

On Fanning’s first day back in the office, “he was physically shaking” because he was worried about how bad his return would be.  

Hynes recounted the day, “ I got a phone call that Gavin was being sent home because he was having a full-on panic attack. Because they had ganged up on him and gone at him so hard after an illness and everything, that he'd had a full panic attack and their solution was to call a taxi and send him home to me.”  

Testimonies allege that a staff member spread rumours that he was “faking” his disability; another staff member used derogatory language and engaged in intimidating behaviour; reasonable accommodations were denied, with disciplinary threats issued for difficulties related to his disability; and disability aids were removed from the office due to public access concerns. 

Alleged Data Breaches and Privacy Violations  

It is also alleged that private performance reviews were conducted without Fanning’s knowledge, with his employer secretly gathering information on his work. These findings have since been reported to the Department of Data Protection and the Workplace Relations Commission. 

A separate data protection breach allegedly occurred in September 2024, when a private meeting between MSU officers and Fanning’s housemate resulted in confidential information about his work performance being shared without his consent. The housemate later confronted Fanning with this information in an aggressive manner, leading to a formal complaint. 

Past Incidents and Unresolved Misconduct  

The documents also reference past incidents of misconduct within MSU, including allegations that a delegate at a student conference engaged in reckless behaviour that resulted in property damage.  

Despite this, the same individual was allowed to attend future conferences with the former MSU President, allegedly joking about evading responsibility for damages. 

Calls for Reform   

In light of these allegations, former MSU representatives and students are calling for greater accountability and reform within the student union.  

Critics call for the MSU to address its internal culture to prevent further harm to those in its employment and representative structures. 

Notably, the MSU was awarded a ‘Great Place to Work’ certification for this academic year, a recognition typically granted based on employee satisfaction and organisational culture. However, these allegations raise questions about how such assessments are conducted and whether they accurately reflect the experiences of all members within the union. 

MSU Responds  

When we reached out to current MSU President, Kyla Henry, she stated: 

"Maynooth Students’ Union continually strives to be an inclusive and affirming organisation. While I consider that the workplace environment described in your email does not exist at MSU, I am also conscious that if any other person has a different view, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further publicly, so as to respect that person’s rights."