27 January 2026
Pictured from left to right, Prof. Fionnuala Dillane, School of English, Drama, and Film; Dr Zeljka Doljanin, Writing Centre Manager; Prof. Colin Scott, Registrar
Congratulations to the UCD Writing Centre, which celebrated its tenth birthday on Tuesday, 27 January 2026.
The Centre was formally launched in 2016, which marked its beginning under the present name, under newly appointed manager Dr Zeljka Doljanin, in its new space in the James Joyce Library. However, the Centre has a longer history. In 2008, Prof Fionnuala Dillane (School of English, Drama, and Film) started a ‘Writing Clinics’ project for undergraduate students in the College of Arts and Humanities with a grant from a President’s Teaching Award. The goal was to test the usefulness and value of one-to-one writing sessions for capable, committed students who, like many of us, nonetheless struggled with some aspect of the writing process.
Over the next 8 years, with the support of colleagues across the university, and additional funding from the VPTL, Prof Bairbre Redmond, the service expanded to meet the needs of students from all disciplines and at all levels from Stage one to Ph.D students. The James Joyce Library has been an invaluable partner in learning, offering flexible learning spaces to support the initiative from the outset. Permanent funding was secured in 2015, with the help of Prof Mark Rogers in the Office of the Registrar, which allowed for the appointment of a full time Manager. The Writing Centre now offers free, one-on-one writing consultations to all UCD students, recording an impressive 2,814 student visits in 2024/25 from all 37 Schools across UCD. 33% of all visits came from the College of A&H students, many referred directly by colleagues in CAH.
The Registrar, Prof. Colin Scott, opened the 10-year celebration by highlighting the Centre’s role within the University and its alignment with the ‘UCD Strategy to 2030: Breaking Boundaries’. Prof. Fionnuala Dillane reflected on the Centre’s growth into a comprehensive service that now offers its expertise through individual sessions, workshops, in-class teaching, writing collaborations, research panels, connections with other writing centres nationally and internationally, and more.
In addition to its core services, the Centre now runs occasional annual workshops for students from DEIS schools in the Dublin area on off-peak weeks; a hugely popular Write on Wednesdays (WOW) group for PhD students with the support of UCD Graduate Studies; and with the support of an external donor through UCD Foundation, it has expanded its Online Resources. It is currently investigating the possibility of expanded opening hours to support graduate students during the summer Trimester on a more permanent basis. Writing Centre tutors, core to the Centre’s success, shared their dual experiences as both writing instructors and writers. They spoke about facilitating writing sessions in the Centre but also about the expanding demand for their services including coordinating writing retreats, writing groups, and writing modules across the University.