51��ɫ

They play an essential role for hundreds of students every semester, now 51��ɫ’s ‘Pink Ladies’ are to have a starring role in a new RTE series.

The legendary Pink Ladies, who work in the Plaza Café in UL’s Glucksman Library, will feature in a new series of ‘My Uni Life’, which returns to screens for a second season as cameras capture life across a busy year on campus in Irish universities.

Along with the Pink Ladies, staff and students on UL’s pioneering Immersive Software Engineering course and sports scholar and jockey Mark McDonagh will represent UL in the RTE series, which stars this Friday, February 16 at 8pm on RTE One.

UL and the Irish Universities Association (IUA) have again partnered with RTE and producers New Decade on the creation of the second series of My Uni Life.

Filmed over the course of academic year 2022/23, the nine-part series, provides a unique and authentic insight into campus life and the experiences of students and staff across the country, as they navigate the challenges and opportunities of a typical university year.

This series spends a year in the life of Irish universities, meeting students embarking on the first and final days of their university adventure; witnessing the fledgling friendships and activities set in motion during Freshers week; and capturing the culmination of life-changing and life-affirming journeys on joyful graduation days.

Along the way it will also feature meet the mentors and academic advisors who guide the students along their journey, and reveal the essential roles fulfilled by a passionate legion of non-academic staff across the campuses from security guards and catering staff to gardening teams.

From Freshers Week to Graduation, this fly on the wall series at eight Irish universities, will provide unique insight into the excitement, fun-filled and fulfilling rollercoaster of university life.

Speaking about the series, Jim Miley, Director General of the IUA said: “It’s great to be back on campus for the second series of My Uni Life to show first-hand how our universities are providing exciting opportunities and a life-shaping experience for Students. We also get a birds’ eye view of the working day of some of the 20,000 staff in our universities and the impact of our colleges on their local communities and regions.”

The Pink Ladies are legends among UL student, staff and alumni communities. One student in the series refers to them as “the heart and soul of the campus, they bring up everyone’s mood, everyone talks about them”.

Featuring in episode two (Feb 23) of My Uni Life are Pink Ladies Noreen O’Keefe, Lee Tynan and Marian Kennedy, plus a number of UL students.

Also featuring in episode two are students and staff on the ISE course, including JJ Collins, Lecturer in Software Architecture and Machine Learning, and student Rosie Kennelly, who appears also in episode eight on April 5.

Mark McDonagh, a sports scholar and jockey who is a final year Business student at UL, features in episode four on March 8 and episode seven on March 29.