Meanwhile, In Trinity

at

Burkean Journal and Declan Ganley

Financially backed by Irish entrepreneur and conservative Declan Ganley, a new publication, promising to combat the “degeneracy” spreading across the west, will launch in Trinity this week.

The online-only student-led publication, the Burkean Journal, will discuss contemporary issues in Ireland from a right-wing, conservative perspective.

The publication takes its name from Edmund Burke, the renowned Trinity scholar often referred to as the “father of conservatism”. Online already are a number of articles addressing safe spaces, the abortion debate and populism.

Ganley, whose son Micheál is the publication’s secretary, has loaned the board of the publication €600 in seed funding, which will be paid back from the editorial team’s own pockets.

Final-year classics student Guillermo Dillon will serve as editor of the publication.

Speaking to The University Times, Deputy Editor and one of the founders of the publication Louis Hoffman said that its aim was “to promote conservative ideas on campus” in response to the “sterile” debate on campus.

Hoffman, a third-year history student, said the publication was, in part, an attempt to challenge what the editorial team see as a left-wing monopoly on campus. “You can say and think what you want as long as you think exactly what [they] think”, he said.

Those on the editorial team see their role as important in stopping the “degeneracy” that Hoffman said is “spreading like wildfire across the western world at the minute”.

Citing the cancellation of Fox News in the UK, Hoffman said he was concerned at the lack of a “platform” for conservative ideas. The Burkean Journal’s editorial team will not restrict growth of the publication: “The aim is to start in Trinity and then spread out.” 

Declan Ganley Financially Backs New Conservative Student Publication (University Times)

Thanks Harry O’Brien

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71 thoughts on “Meanwhile, In Trinity

      1. Amorphous Kerry Blob

        Note: Ganley has taken legal action against RTE for this report.
        Last I read, said litigation is floundering because Ganley has not provided evidence that would disprove certain claims made in the report.

    1. Rob_G

      He is, but its a free country and if he wants to create a student publication for his fringe ideas and people want to read it, who are we to deny his dozens of readers?

    2. Medium Sized C

      He is also a veteran of talking about stuff in barely registering public fora, like this.
      You’re right, nothing at all to see here.

    1. dylad

      It actually read final-year classics student; but I think you’re still right there.- it will be painful to read.

    1. gerry

      If his son got a job he wouldn’t have to borrow €600 from his rich dad for his website which no doubt will talk about the culture of entitlement among millennials.

  1. Spaghetti Hoop

    €600? I know every little counts but that’s quite a low figure to publish so proudly.

    When is the first publishing date? Can’t wait to read this.

  2. Mourning Ireland

    Freedom Institute 2.0 meets politics.ie. can’t wait to see the online publication’s privacy and data protection T & Cs. Perhaps Village Magazine will review on last page.

    Is DU Publications Committee supporting it with TCD student funds?

  3. edalicious

    “Hoffman said he was concerned at the lack of a “platform” for conservative ideas”

    I think the UK is actually doing alright for right wing media platforms at the moment, by anyone’s measure. Could it be an indication of just how right wing this publication is going to be if they consider the Mail/Torygraph/Sun/Express/Sky News not to be conservative enough?

    1. Brother Barnabas

      “… will discuss contemporary issues in Ireland from a right-wing, conservative perspective.”

      Trolling or stupidity?

      1. Nigel

        It would be nice to see proper conservative intellectual thought to counterbalance the frenzied alt-right shrieking. This will probably not be it. I think the last of the proper intellectual conservatives passed into the West when the One Ring perished in the fires of Mount Doom.

  4. bisted

    …at least with the Burkean group you’ll know where they stand instead of the usual face of Trinity where style and eloquence always seems to flourish. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Seanad where style always trumps substance and people like the duplicitous Ivana Bacik are consistently elected from that rotten borough…

  5. Nigel

    Invoking Burke raises certain expectations about the intellectual calibre being brought to bear. A mission to combat degeneracy and articles about safe spaces and complaints about how your unpopular opinions are unpopular lower those expecrations right back down again.

      1. dylad

        Yeah, as a west-brit, I always found the name Burke amusing. Not to mention the name Cunney and also a ‘thatch’. Hilarious.

  6. Milo

    Delighted to see this. Ireland is a bit of an intellectual wasteland at the moment. When one considers that Tintin O Toole is actually seen as our leading intellectual, one sees the rot that can happen when agendas go unchallenged. It can only serve our kids well to be getting the same rigorous intellectual development as their peers in the US, UK, France, Germany etc. Why would anyone be afraid of ideas?

    1. Daisy Chainsaw

      A few arts students in Trinners with a wordpress site aren’t going to set the country alight with their Randean/Trumpean discourse.

    2. MoyestWithExcitement

      “Why would anyone be afraid of ideas?”

      Radical islam is “an idea”. You cool with radical islam being taught/preached to people?

    3. realPolithicks

      “When one considers that Tintin O Toole is actually seen as our leading intellectual, one sees the rot that can happen when agendas go unchallenged.

      Does one, fascinating.

  7. Frilly Keane

    There you go Broadsheet
    sum’ting else for yere tink-in shortlist

    put their stuff, and other Student publications, up here in front of the BS oul’wans

    and see what becomes of them over here

  8. Shankillfalls

    Fox News was cancelled in the U.K. due to incredibly low viewership. A purely commercial reason. Surely these guys would approve of this or do they think the British government should fund Fox to keep it on air?

  9. John

    Good to see some different voices out there. The left is fairly well represented in Ireland – always good to have varying viewpoints.

    1. Public Service 'Tard

      ha ha ha

      name one publication which actually expresses a genuine left wing viewpoint. What, Rabble.ie?

    2. MoyestWithExcitement

      The right have RTE, TV3, all the newspapers and radoo stations. What does the left have exactly?

      1. rotide

        The right have them because Moyest says they do.

        The fact that actual right wingers* claim most of those are left leaning makes no difference whatsoever

        *I.E. Not ‘everyone who doesn’t agree with moyest’

        1. MoyestWithExcitement

          Lol! The right own all the newspapers and radio stations and rotide says “actual” right wingers say that’s not true so rotide just blindly accepts it. The term useful idiot was invented for people like this guy.

          1. MoyestWithExcitement

            *newspapers radio stations and tv channels. They own all the channels of communication. The right also rely on false narratives because they can’t defend their positions with honest intellectualism. So they pretend they’re an oppressed minority and The Left (the actual oppressed) are the oppressor. It’s easier than explaining why they literally take food from poor school children and the unthinking slogan chanters like rotide lap it up.

          2. MoyestWithExcitement

            Yes, the Irish Times and Ireland im general are very right wing. It is *amazing* you think otherwise.

          3. Harry Molloy

            Genuine question by the way and not looking to argue, I just am curious to know what features a paper must have for it to be considered left or right in your own opinion

  10. nellyb

    Ganley…. conservative…. entrepreneur?
    He’s pompous attention seeker, O’Brien-wanna-be who will never O’Brien-be. Is it whom conservatism associating themselves with? Maybe conservatism should assess the caliber of its evangelists and not make themselves a laughing stock.

    1. MoyestWithExcitement

      But being a bitter, petty laughing stock lacking in self awareness is part and parcel of conservatism. It’s not a religion or a club. It’s not like anyone has to learn conservatism. It’s not like an average joe is walking along and happens across Atlas Shrugged or accidentally signs up for Conservative Class. If you are unable to see things from another person’s point of view, you are more likely to be selfish and suspicious of others. You are thus more likely to think the poor are to blame for being poor and immigrants are out to kill you or steal your money because they are lazy. You are more likely to be right wing. Conservatism is an emotional condition, not an intellectual community.

    2. Medium Sized C

      That is a pretty poor appraisal of Ganley.
      He is WAY more political than O’Brien is.

      He started political parties and tried to get elected to numerous offices.
      O’Brien just buys stuff.

  11. realPolithicks

    “Those on the editorial team see their role as important in stopping the “degeneracy” that Hoffman said is “spreading like wildfire across the western world at the minute”

    Jeez, I wonder what they mean by “degeneracy”? This statement tells you all you need to know about this shower.

  12. Andy

    Good for him but €600 won’t go far. Might buy you a bit of publicity with some irrelevant online blogs but won’t pay for many servers.

    I can’t see it getting a broad on campus readership anyway. College kids are all Marxist idealists. They don’t grow up until they’ve left university and have to pay taxes.

    1. Medium Sized C

      “College kids are all Marxist idealists.”

      That generalisation is a more or less a complete lie.
      Go on to any campus, most kids can’t tell you what Marxism is.
      They are mostly just kids trying to pass their courses with no interest in any form of politics at all.

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