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College History and Title
Queen's College, Cork was founded under the provisions of the Act 8 and 9 Victoria, cap. 66, intituled An Act to enable Her Majesty to endow new Colleges for the Advancement of Learning in Ireland. Under the powers given by this Act the three Colleges of Belfast, Cork and Galway were incorporated on the 30th day of December, 1845. The statutes were drawn up, and the system of education to be pursued in them was arranged, by a board called the Board of Queen's Colleges, consisting of the Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the three colleges. The professors were appointed on 4th August, 1849, and on 30th October of the same year the colleges were opened for the reception of students.
The Queen's University in Ireland was founded in 1850, and its Charter provided that the Senate should have power to confer upon the students of the Queen's Colleges of Belfast, Cork and Galway such degrees and distinctions in the Faculties of Arts, Law and Physics as are granted and conferred in other colleges and universities of Great Britain and Ireland. The Charter further ordained that any of the students of the three Queen's Colleges who should have obtained such degrees in any of the several Faculties of Arts, Medicine and Law, as should be conferred by the Chancellor and Senate of the Queen's University, should be fully possessed of all such rights, privileges and immunities, as belong to similar degrees granted by other universities or colleges.
The University Education (Ireland) Act, 1879, provided for the formation of a new University in Ireland, afterwards in its Charter styled the Royal University of Ireland, and for the dissolution of the Queen's University within two years from the date of the Charter of the Royal University. In this Act it was provided that the professors, graduates and matriculated students of the Queen's University, at the period of its dissolution, should become professors, graduates and matriculated students of the Royal University. The Charter of the Royal University was granted on 27th April, 1880, and the Queen's University was dissolved on 3rd February, 1882.
Under the Irish Universities Act, 1908, two new Universities - the National University of Ireland and the Queen's University Belfast - were established, and on 31st October, 1909, the Royal University was dissolved. The 1908 Act provided that graduates and matriculated students of the Royal University should become graduates and matriculated students of one of the two new universities.
From College to University
The Universities Act, 1997 (No. 24 of 1997) came into operation on 16th of June, 1997. Under Sections 7(1) and 7(2) respectively of that Act the constituent Colleges of the National University of Ireland "shall by virtue of this section become and be universities" and "shall be constituent universities of the National University of Ireland". The Corporation founded in 1845 as a College under the name and style of Queen's College, Cork, and renamed as University College Cork by Charter in 1908, has thus become, by virtue of the Universities Act, 1997, a university to be known as National University of Ireland, Cork.
The Act provides for substantial transfer of powers and functions from the National University of Ireland to its constituent Universities (e.g. staff appointments, programme approval and the conduct of examinations), for internal reorganisation of universities (e.g. governing authorities) and for some changes in relationships between universities and the state (e.g. role of the Higher Education Authority).
During 1997/98, a Commission established under the Act has determined the structure of the Governing Authority of the University. The Governing Authority has decided to be known and styled as the Governing Body of the University.
The Academic Council of the University has been reconstituted in accordance with the Act and the reconstituted Academic Council began functioning during 1999. Detailed regulations for the conduct of examinations and the determination of examination results have been adopted and implemented. The process of making various kinds of staff appointments has been reviewed and the relevant decisions are being incorporated into appropriate statutory provisions.
The Governing Body has expressed the wish to extend the legal name of the University to be "University College Cork - National University of Ireland, Cork" and the Minister for Education and Science has made the appropriate Ministerial Order (SI446, 19th November, 1998) as provided for in the Universities Act 1997 to change the name of this constituent university accordingly.
Additional mechanisms to implement various sections of the Act will continue to be developed.
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