22 Feb
Remarks by Senator Fiach Mac Conghail in the Seanad this morning Wednesday 22nd February 2012 in relation to the announcement of a Constitutional Convention. Senator Mac Conghail chaired ‘We the...read more
12 Dec
The Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore TD, has welcomed the findings of We the Citizens, the independent initiative which this year tested the citizens’ assembly model of democratic engagement. He was...read more
08 Dec
Hi there! Just to let you know that 'We the Citizens' will be publishing its final recommendations to government next week! We cannot wait to share these findings with you...read more
28 Oct
Over the course of the Presidential campaign, We the Citizens ran a small, online poll related to reform of the office of Presidency. The results are fascinating. People seem keen...read more
27 Oct
Check out the journey across Ireland that 'We the Citizens' embarked upon in 2011. You'll find photos from the launch, from the citizens' events in Kilkenny, Cork, Galway, Blanchardstown, Tallaght,...read more
26 Oct
The We the Citizens website has been shortlisted for an Eircom Spiders Award in the Charitable and Non-Profit Organisations Category. The team is delighted with this honour. "The eircom Spiders...read more
24 Oct
For the first time since the election, a Government Minister has said that a Citizens' Assembly is very much on the government agenda. Minister Phil Hogan was speaking at a...read more
11 Oct
Hi there! I know that many of you are curious to know what ‘We the Citizens’ is doing now that the citizens’ events and the national citizens’ assembly have taken...read more
10 Oct
While the current Presidential race is receiving huge attention, less focus has been paid to the reform issues surrounding this office. You might have figured out who you want the...read more
06 Oct
On Novermber 11th 2011, a gathering of one thousand randomly selected citizens will take place in Belgium. They will be given an opportunity to discuss, in all freedom, the future...read more
30 Sep
The issue of education reform and also the need for an improved civic education curriculum in schools was a major theme at the seven citizens’ events held in May and...read more
20 Aug
It was with sadness that we learned of the death of ‘We the Citizens’ advisor and distinguished political scientist Prof. Peter Mair who died suddenly on August 15th 2011. Prof....read more
27 Jul
Caroline Erskine - Executive Director of We the Citizens and Prof. David Farrell - Academic Director of the We the Citizens team spoke at the MacGill Summer School today. You...read more
25 Jul
At the end of the discussions on the final day of the Citizens’ Assembly, the recommendations of the participants were gathered in to produce a ballot paper that was then...read more
20 Jul
We can say with a high degree of confidence that if the Government decides to establish a structure that allows ordinary citizens to come together to influence and make recommendations...read more
19 Jul
The 'We the Citizens' Chair - Fiach Mac Conghail, has written another piece for the Irish Times outlining the findings of an IPSOS/MRBI survey commissioned by 'We the Citizens'. The...read more
18 Jul
Fiach Mac Conghail - Chairperson of We the Citizens had a piece in the Irish Times today regarding education reform. Here's a short extract from the article: Time and again,...read more
06 Jul
We the Citizens Director, Caroline Erskine, is to participate in a discussion on Ireland and Iceland’s contrasting responses to the crises that shattered their respective economies on Thursday June 6th...read more
05 Jul
Last night, on Monday July 4th, RTÉ's Prime Time did an audience special on We the Citizens and the National Citizens' Assembly that took place last weekend. Fiach Mac Conghail...read more
04 Jul
Tonight, Keelin Shanley will host a Prime Time audience special, looking at We The Citizens and the National Citizens’ Assembly which was held in Dublin last weekend. Many of the...read more
04 Jul
The recommendations of Members of the Citizens’ Assembly arising from their deliberations on the morning of Saturday, 25th June 2011: The first session on Saturday morning was devoted to the...read more
01 Jul
In this week’s Irish Times Politics podcast Harry McGee talks to Fiach Mac Conghail, director of the Abbey Theatre, newly appointed Senator and Chairperson of We the Citizens. Have a...read more
26 Jun
A National Citizens’ Assembly of over one hundred people representing a cross-section of Irish society has voted narrowly in favour of gender quotas in politics. Only 51% backed the government’s...read more
25 Jun
In his welcoming address, Chairperson Fiach Mac Conghail thanked the participants for coming from all over Ireland to make a piece of history at this the first event Citizens' Assembly...read more
25 Jun
Over one hundred people of all backgrounds and from all over Ireland have gathered in Dublin this weekend (Saturday 25th June 2011 and Sunday 26th June 2011) for a...read more
19 Jun
The National Citizens’ Assembly will take place on Saturday June 25th and Sunday June 26th in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham. The assembly will be made of over 100 Irish people...read more
18 Jun
In May and June of this year Ipsos MRBI conducted the fieldwork element of a research project that is being undertaken by We the Citizens. This survey was conducted amongst...read more
15 Jun
The Chairperson of We the Citizens, Senator Fiach MacConghail, has supported calls for leaders and representatives of civic life to be invited to the floor of the Seanad to contribute...read more
15 Jun
A large gathering of citizens in Athlone engaged with each other on Tuesday evening, June 14th, on ways to renew Ireland at this time of social and economic crisis. They...read more
14 Jun
The need for citizens to have more control over the issues and decisions that affect their lives was the overriding theme at the We the Citizens event in Letterkenny on...read more
10 Jun
The We the Citizens gathering in Tallaght confirmed a clear mood in the country for more citizen engagement with the political process between elections. There was also an acknowledgement...read more
10 Jun
We the Citizens is holding its final citizens’ event in Athlone on Tuesday June 14th, the final of seven being held around the country in the run-up to a national...read more
08 Jun
A large gathering of citizens in Letterkenny engaged with each other on Tuesday evening, June 7th, on ways to renew Ireland at this time of social and economic crisis in...read more
07 Jun
It's now the turn of the people of the North-West to share their views and ideas on how we can renew our country. The Donegal 'We the Citizens' event is...read more
06 Jun
Citizens should be able to question elected representatives at regular public forums in the constituencies on the decisions being made in their name. That was just one of the...read more
05 Jun
The We the Citizens gathering in Tallaght confirmed a clear mood in the country for more citizen engagement with the political process between elections. There was also an acknowledgement...read more
02 Jun
This is a topic that's emerged at our citizens events. Claire McGing of NUI Maynooth has been taking a closer look at the reasons for this in our Talk section....read more
01 Jun
One hundred and fifty people met in Blanchardstown on Tuesday night to engage with each other on ways to renew Ireland at this time of social and economic crisis in...read more
28 May
Our Chairperson Fiach is featured in the 'True Characters' section of the Irish Times (Sat 28th May) in which he says this about 'Being Irish': ". . . I feel...read more
27 May
We the Citizens is gearing up for two citizens’ events in Dublin next week. The first will be held in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Blanchardstown on Tuesday evening 31st...read more
26 May
The overwhelming theme which emerged from the Galway gathering of We the Citizens was local government. Many of those who have attended the three events to date – Kilkenny, Cork...read more
26 May
We the Citizens launched on April 12th. The We the Citizens' website ran a survey for over a month immediately after the launch. Here's some of the results. You can...read more
26 May
RTE's Late Debate Programme did a live broadcast from the We the Citizens Galway event. On the panel was Fiach MacConghail, Chairperson of We The Citizens; Mairin Ni Ghadhra, journalist...read more
26 May
A hundred and fifty people gathered in Galway on Tuesday night to engage with each other on ways to renew Ireland at this time of social and economic crisis in...read more
24 May
'We the Citizens' loved President Obama's dismissal of the cynics and the naysayers during his powerful speech in Dublin's College Green. "Your best days are still ahead", he told us....read more
23 May
There were some intense conversations at the Cork event. To get a flavour of what was being said, our camera crew focused on one of the tables - with the...read more
23 May
The Chairperson of We the Citizens, Fiach Mac Conghail has been nominated to the 24th Seanad as one of An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny’s nominees. ‘I am extremely honoured to...read more
23 May
We the Citizens' third event is taking place in Galway on Tuesday May 23rd. Preparations are in full swing for the event which will be taking place in the Radisson...read more
20 May
A filmed report of the Cork event is being put together. Here's a short preview.http://www.youtube.com/user/wethecitizensVideo ...read more
20 May
Citizens should have much greater involvement in political issues between elections rather than just casting a vote once every five years. For example, this could be done by holding elected...read more
20 May
An article written in the Cork News outlines some of the most pertinent issues that emerged at the We the Citizens' event in the Clarion on May 18th. You can...read more
17 May
Sign-ups for the Cork 'We the Citizens' event have been coming in fast and the team are currently preparing for what promises to be one of the initiative’s biggest events....read more
13 May
Three dominant themes emerged from citizens at the Kilkenny event. Participants focused on values in public life – transparency, accountability and honesty. There were calls for greater decision making at...read more
12 May
Almost two hundred people met in Kilkenny on Tuesday night to engage with each other on ways to renew Ireland at this time of social and economic crisis in Ireland....read more
10 May
We the Citizens are delighted to announce that its first event citizens' event is taking place tonight in Langtons in Kilkenny at 6.15pm. This citizens' event will kickstart a series...read more
09 May
Bright and early on Saturday morning over twenty facilitators came together for training. Gary Joyce of Genesis put the facilitators straight to work. She was on board to...read more
04 May
Gary Cooke and Barry Murphy of Après Match fame are among some of the special guests who will have people smiling at our citizens' events across Ireland. These talented artists...read more
27 Apr
With less than two weeks until the first We the Citizens event takes place in Kilkenny - preparations are now in full swing. The people of Carlow, Kilkenny and surrounding areas...read more
26 Apr
It's only three weeks until the Cork We the Citizens event takes place in the Clarion Hotel on Wed. May 18th. Already, Cork is one of the fastest events to fill up...read more
19 Apr
It’s only been a week since We the Citizens launched but already 375 people around Ireland have signed up to our citizens’ events. A further 51 have offered to volunteer. We have...read more
18 Apr
'We the Citizens' Makes Headlines in Iceland! Icelandic media covered the launch of We the Citizens in a national newspaper. You can download the article...read more
18 Apr
We were mentioned and discussed in several media pieces over the past few days: Drivetime, RTÉ Radio 1 13-Apr-2011 Listen / Download the Podcast RTE's The Week in Politics ...read more
13 Apr
We were delighted with the media coverage of the launch of We the Citizens. Some of the highlights include: RTE Six One News: Six One News: Group aims to reconnect...read more
13 Apr
Speech by Fiach MacConghail, Chairperson at the launch of We the Citizens....read more
12 Apr
Here is a selection of some photos from the launch of We the Citizens on Tuesday 12 April 2011. Fiach MacConghail (Chairperson), Caroline Erskine and Prof. David Farrell Some of...read more
12 Apr
The launch of 'We the Citizens' has been covered by The Irish World: http://bit.ly/dPoo6N...read more
12 Apr
The Journal.ie has covered the launch of 'We the Citizens' (http://bit.ly/fTxSIU) From the article: Abbey Theatre director Fiach Mac Conghail, who is acting as the initiative’s chairman, said the project...read more
11 Apr
Director of the Abbey theatre, Fiach Mac Conghail has accepted an invitation to chair ‘We the Citizens’. “Our objective is to primarily engage the public, including those who are increasingly...read more
11 Apr
'We the Citizens’ are delighted to have a strong academic team behind our initiative. Prof. David Farrell of UCD, Dr. Elaine Byrne of TCD, Dr. Eoin O’Malley of DCU and...read more
08 Apr
We the Citizens are inviting the people of Ireland to come along to a We the Citizens event in their region. We’re inviting fellow citizens to come together to share...read more
08 Apr
We the Citizens are delighted to announce that a National Citizens’ Assembly for Ireland will be held in Dublin on June 25th and June 26th. 150 people representing a cross-section...read more
| 10 May | Langtons, Kilkenny |  |
| 18 May | Clarion Hotel, Cork | |
| 24 May | Radisson, Galway | |
| 31 May | Crowne Plaza, Blanchardstown | |
| 01 Jun | Maldron Hotel, Tallaght | |
| 07 Jun | Radisson, Letterkenny | |
| 14 Jun | Sheraton, Athlone | |
