'A loss' - Rally calls for Carlow College to be saved

A public demonstration took place at Carlow College as staff and students rallied to save the institution. The college announced last month that it will wind down operations over the next two years, with its land and buildings to be transferred to South East Technological University (SETU).

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Carlow College is not just a building, it is not just grounds, it is the people who make it, it is the programmes that give people a new way of looking at life.

While all currently enrolled students will be able to complete their studies and earn their qualifications from Carlow College, St. Patrick's, no new students will be admitted from September 2026. This transition will involve a phased redundancy process for the college's 87 employees over the next two years.

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What Carlow has lost is 87 jobs, 87 specialised jobs with people committed to creating a space to provide education in the southeast and that is the loss.

Carlow College, a liberal arts institution founded in 1782, is the second oldest third-level institution in Ireland. It offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and part-time courses to around 600 students. Protesters called for engagement with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, James Lawless, and SETU, seeking a reversal of the closure decision.

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It is the loss to the southeast of the possibility of doing social care, of doing arts and humanities, English and history, psychology for students who could not go to Dublin, who have family nearby, who have family responsibilities, who might not have had a good experience in their secondary school.

Dr. Sarah Otten, SIPTU shop steward and philosophy lecturer at the college, described the closure as a significant loss for the region and the nation. She highlighted the specialized jobs that will be lost and the impact on educational opportunities in the southeast, particularly for students pursuing social care, arts, humanities, English, history, and psychology who may not be able to relocate to Dublin. Otten stressed that the college provided a crucial space and support for individuals who might otherwise lack access to higher education, contributing to Ireland's need for thoughtful, critical citizens prepared for the future.

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She said the college "provided that space and support for people to do things that they might not have otherwise been able to do, or felt that they could not do".