Trinity Fresher's Week 1978

Today's Irish Times in one of its regular Archive pieces selects the 12th October 1978 as today's recollection from the past. This article from 33 years ago today is about Fresher's Week in Trinity. And of course it was also my first week in Trinity too, and I was surely there on this date.

Fresher's Week in Trinity.
Image link to TCD.ie.

On 12th October 1978 I had just passed my 19th birthday and was entering Trinity for the first time. As I have written elsewhere in this blog I was completely unready for College life and Fresher's week was a huge awakening for me. The Times reports that "Politicians were plying students with drink" - Garret Fitzgerald, Peter Barry, Enda Kenny, and Mary Harney among others were present to try to get us "Freshers" to join political parties. I remember this quite well - there were a lot of politicians around. I wasn't tempted to join a political party to see them, or get the free drink. I was completely overwhelmed by all the stalls, and Clubs and Societies badgering everyone to join up. The only thing I joined was the Gaelic Football Club who had a stall just inside Front Gate. Beside them was the Soccer Club which I had queued up to join, but the guy in front of me said he was a goalkeeper (which I wanted to be) and I thought that since there was only one keeper position I should try something else. Hence the GAA club. I don't really recall why I didn't join anything else - I do remember that it cost 50p to join any club.

Rocky de Valera and The Gravediggers.
Image link to grassisblue1's photostream.

Can you remember your Fresher's Week? How did you feel? What did you join? Did you join loads of things and not bother to show up? Fresher's Week is an important week in the lives of all students, but I was too shy to participate fully. By the time I got to 2nd year I did participate a bit more - I even went to the Fresher's Ball for the one and only time. Rocky de Valera and the Gravediggers were the headline act. The previous year it had been The Boomtown Rats.

Students can find out a lot more about life in College than I ever could - the Internet makes this easy. Trinity now has a full web page devoted to Fresher's Week - something I would have found very useful in 1978.

Good on The Irish Times for reminding me of my own Fresher's Week.