UCD distances itself from professor's anti-mask comments
Professor Dolores Cahill addresses a protest against lockdown restrictions in Dublin last year. Picture: Conor Ó Mearain/ Collins
University College Dublin has distanced itself from comments made by one of its professors at an anti-lockdown protest in Dublin on Wednesday, as students called for her to step aside.
Professor Dolores Cahill of UCD's School of Medicine, who is the chair of the fringe far-right Irish Freedom Party, was an organiser of the St Patrick's Day event at Herbert Park in Dublin 4.
She told the crowd the wearing of masks would mean that children would "never reach their IQ and job potential because their brains are starved of oxygen". She said "the reason that globalists are putting down the masks is that oxygen-deprived people are easier to manipulate”.
“This lockdown is based on lies,” she said. “Asymptomatic people do not exist. Old people are our treasure. Invite them to Sunday dinner."
She said the "prime minister of Ireland" and health minister "Seamus Donnelly" should be compelled to "present evidence" to people who wished to have their elderly relatives over to their homes.
Ms Cahill did not offer a scientific basis for her claims. She has previously spoken at anti-lockdown protests, most notably in September, when she told the crowd, again without evidence, that the Covid-19 vaccines would "make people sick".
A student-led petition has been launched, calling on UCD to take action against Ms Cahill, who is a full professor at the college, but has not taught this year.
The petition says her "continued employment by UCD is not right and it is not just. It is a slap in the face to students, and to all those who have made sacrifices this year. It threatens the integrity of the School of Medicine".
President of UCD Student Union Conor Anderson told the that Ms Cahill "has to go" and said she had been "peddling medical misinformation" throughout the pandemic.
Last summer, 133 students signed a letter calling for action from UCD when Ms Cahill appeared in a video on Covid-19, in which she made a number of inaccurate claims.
A UCD spokesperson said Ms Cahill's statements do not reflect the university's position.
"UCD continues to fully support the public health position taken by the Irish Government concerning Covid-19. This includes vaccination rollout, treatment for Covid-19 patients and societal restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the virus.
"The university does not discuss individual staff members."
A spokesperson for Higher Education Minister Simon Harris said it would be wrong to discuss any individual.
"The principle of academic freedom is a cornerstone of our higher education system safeguarded in legislation and on that basis it would be not be appropriate for the minister to comment on the actions of an individual in this regard.
"Mr Harris fully supports the public health guidelines that are in place to suppress the spread of Covid-19. Adherence to the guidelines is a vital component of our national effort."
Ms Cahill did not respond to a request for comment.
