Thousands protest at UCD over 'naked, bruised' images shared of student

Around 4,000 students attended a rally on the campus of University College Dublin after a “naked, bruised and unconscious” image of a student was widely shared across the university.

The student’s life was “shattered in a second” when gardaí informed her that someone had sent the image to 171 UCD staff email accounts.

The young student, Maeve (not her real name), said she received little support from the university after her alleged rape in 2023. She did not report the incident to gardaí at the time because she believed she would not be believed.

In the Dáil last week, People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger said the student had to take UCD to the High Court after the university refused to allow her to sit her exams that year as a “result of being raped".

“She became pregnant, and she had to get a termination, and she had to miss some of her medical exams, having to schedule that,” Ms Coppinger said.

“She asked UCD if she could sit her exams in the summer. UCD said no, and they attempted to make her drop back a year.

“She hasn’t been able to continue her medical degree since 2023, as UCD has blocked her from doing so,” Ms Coppinger claimed.

In April last year, someone circulated images of Maeve “naked, bruised, and unconscious” to university staff through an unidentified ProtonMail account.

The medical student said she only learned the images had circulated when gardaí contacted her. She said she was told blocks and filters would be applied to prevent further distribution.

However, last summer, Maeve began receiving similar emails again in her student inbox on multiple occasions. She informed gardaí and personally blocked all emails originating from ProtonMail.

“I had been under the impression that the abusive Proton mail emails had been blocked and/or filtered by UCD,” she said.

In November 2025, someone again circulated the same photo of Maeve in her year group’s School of Medicine WhatsApp chat, which has at least 300 members. The message came from an unrecognised number.

Maeve claimed she received no support from UCD in relation to the alleged image-based sexual abuse.

On Wednesday afternoon, thousands of students gathered for a “Not in Our UCD” rally organised by UCD Students’ Union (UCDSU) in partnership with the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC).

The students’ union said the rally was “not focused on one incident alone, but on what they describe as deeper issues in institutional response from classroom practices to senior decision-making structures.” 

The Irish Examiner contacted UCD for comment but did not receive a reply.

However, the university told RTÉ it had not conducted an internal investigation into the image sharing because An Garda Síochána has the forensic, technical and legal expertise and powers to do so, and said it is supporting the force as the appropriate authority to carry out the investigation.

It also said Maeve "has had the full and proactive support of the Head of the University's Advisory Service for some time and several different pastoral and academic supports in the School of Medicine".

Chief Executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, Rachel Morrogh, said the protest sends a "message of zero tolerance of sexual violence to all those who have experienced this form of abuse and gives hope that we can chart a different course for the future."

"It underlines that survivors should never have to face sexual violence alone and that students and staff want to carry the burden with her in solidarity for all she has endured. Together, we are all stronger," Ms Morrogh added.

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