Fergus McCabe Memorial Summer School
TU Dublin hosted the first Fergus McCabe Summer School event at our Grangegorman Campus on Monday 1 September 2025. The event was organised by CityWide Drugs Crisis Campaign - a national network of community activists and community organisations that are involved in responding to Ireland's drugs problems.
Opening the Summer School Mr Tony Geoghegan, Chair of CityWide read a letter sent by the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins. In his letter President Higgins wrote that a principal theme of his Presidency was to build an inclusive Republic and that “if we are to achieve the goal of a true Republic, then we must seek out and embrace those of our fellow citizens who are most vulnerable and suffer the greatest exclusion”.
In a video address to the gathering, An Taoiseach Mr Micheál Martin congratulated CityWide on their 30th anniversary of their founding and paid tribute to founding member Fergus McCabe who passed away in 2020. The Taoiseach remarked:
“Even now, with the passage of those years, I can vividly recall the sense of loss his passing had on the community at the time, which spoke to his tremendous character, dedication and impact as a community worker. “It is fitting that this summer school celebrating 30 years of CityWide is named in his honour”.
Paying tribute to CityWide as an organisation that supports community interventions on drugs at local and national level, the Taoiseach said
“CityWide has successfully grown into an organisation offering substantial supports and interagency co-operation at national level. It would be remiss of me not to also note the international policy inputs …as a member of the European Union’s Civil Society Forum”.
Welcoming the Summer School delegates to TU Dublin, the President Dr Deirdre Lillis noted that until his passing, Fergus McCabe was a regular visitor to this campus and to our legacy campuses at Cathal Brugha Street and Mountjoy Square. He is fondly remembered by staff and students, especially in our School of Social Sciences, Law and Education, where he was a frequent guest lecturer on care and early education courses. Dr Lillis said that our students were inspired by his message of hope, his courage and his fortitude.
Acknowledging Fergus McCabe’s dedication to community development in the Inner City of Dublin, Dr Lillis said that she wished that our campus at Grangegorman would become a beacon of hope and a vehicle of transformation for this area.
The Summer School heard inputs from a variety of practitioners, researchers, legislators and academics including Professor Alex Stephens, former President of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy; Ann Fordham, Executive Director, International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC); Niamh Eastwood, Executive Director of Release, a UK a charity widely regarded as a centre of expertise on drugs and drug laws; and Senator Lynn Ruane (pictured left) a well-known campaigner for drug reform in Ireland. Discussion panel participants included Mr Liam Herrick, Chief Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, Sian Muldowney of the Inner City Organisations Network and Andy O’Hara of the advocacy organisation Uisce.
The Summer School builds on an ongoing research collaboration between CityWide and Dr Matt Bowden, Academic Lead for the Culture & Society Research Hub. Speaking of the Summer School, Dr Bowden said that he was delighted to be able to host the event and looked forward to hosting similar policy dialogues on major social issues as part of the Hub’s remit.