The then Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs Minister Éamon Ó Cuív and a student became involved in an altercation on the grounds of the University in 2008, making national headlines. The following year, former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was forced to flee from a public discussion at the University after being jostled by students opposed to the planned reintroduction of college fees. The Christian and LGBT societies were involved in a showdown over same-sex marriage in 2014. The incident was provoked by the auditor of the Christian Society, running for the position of Equality Officer in that year's student union election. Earlier, in the late part of 2013, the university suspended the Legion of Mary Society after it failed to satisfactorily explain its connection to posters containing information on a Christian support group for homosexual persons.