Rebranding
In 2022, the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUI Galway), was renamed as “University of Galway” (guidelines ban the use of acronyms). The change aimed to maximise the university’s brand in international markets (Connacht Tribune, 2021), but it might also have been related to the need to disengage from a prolonged gender crisis that “damaged” the university’s reputation. In 2014, two legal decisions ruled against NUI Galway/University of Galway for discrimination against female academics. In consequence, another five women lecturers began litigation, with unions and feminist groups organising in their favour. The crisis attracted media attention for half a decade (Ruggi & Oliveira Filha, 2020) and culminated in a new national policy for gender equality in higher education (O’Connor & Irvine, 2020).
The recent history of Irish higher education is a fascinating example of feminist organising. It is also a warning against strategies to manipulate change and constrict d...
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