Among those who graduated were 384 from the College of Business & Law followed by 94 from the College of Science, Engineering & Food Science.  A further six graduated from the College of Medicine & Health.

The Conferring addresses were given by Colm Burke MEP (attached), Professor Barry McCleary, Technical Director, Megazyme Intl Ireland Ltd (attached) and Mr Brendan Tuohy, Department of Communications, Energy & Natural Resources (attached). 

In his speech, Mr Colm Burke referred to the area of Human Rights and his membership of the Human Rights Committee in the European Parliament. “This is giving me the platform to highlight human rights abuses in this or other jurisdictions. It also provides the opportunity for the Parliament together with the other European Institutions to bring about change in the system of government in the countries where these abuses occur”, he said.

Professor Barry McCleary alluded to the opportunities for graduates in Ireland today. “Ireland can offer each of you a rewarding and challenging career.  No longer do the youth of Ireland need to look to Europe, USA, or even Australia for gainful employment”, he said.  Brendan Tuohy, in his speech, said the first challenge facing graduates is globalisation. “Globalisation is not just a passing trend but is very much set to increase in pace and impact in the future”, he said.
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Conferring Address by Mr Colm Burke, MEP, Monday,  September 10th 2007, 10.00am
President of UCC, Dr Michael Murphy, Professor Caroline Fennell, Members of the academic staff, graduates, ladies and gentlemen.  I am delighted to be here with you today at this Graduation Ceremony.

Graduates, this is your day; it is just another important step in your life and in your career.  Firstly, you had to achieve the necessary standard to get into university. Today acknowledges that you have now attained the very high standard which was set for you by the Law Department in UCC.
 
This Law Degree which you have now earned opens new doors for you.  It may be in academic life, as a Solicitor, Barrister, in accountancy or in other areas in the commercial world.  These doors may open for you not only nationally but also internationally.

When I qualified as a Solicitor over 25 years ago the UK was Ireland's main Export Market. Therefore, the bulk of the work for Legal Practitioners was in providing services to businesses in Ireland and also those dealing with the UK.  Since that time Ireland's trade with companies in the European Union has increased dramatically as has our trade with countries outside of the EU, such as the US and as far away as Australia, Japan and China.

There are now 27 countries in the European Union with 27 different legal jurisdictions.  While we, in the European Parliament work towards harmonising the legislation between member states, there is still a vast area of law in each of these countries which legal practitioners have to contend with.  It may be in any one of the areas such as commercial law, family law, constitutional law, and criminal law or indeed in the area of Human Rights. For example, the criminal law procedures in Portugal, and how they differ from Irish practice have been outlined to us in the Madeleine McCann case over the last few days.

Over the past decade Ireland has enjoyed significant growth in its economy and as a result there has been a huge influx of people both from countries inside and outside the European Union.
 
There are now over 420,000 people residing in Ireland who are citizens of other jurisdictions.  This has also opened up a whole new area for legal practice. 

As we are just becoming accustomed to dealing with the legal jurisdictions of our European trading partners, one of the major growth areas over the next 15 to 20 years will be our trade with India and China.  This is a new challenge, which we face, but it is also a great opportunity for people with legal qualifications.

I have referred to the change over the last 25 years to highlight the opportunities that are available to you in the commercial world. However there is also another area, which you should not ignore, namely the area of Human Rights. I am a member of the Human Rights Committee in the European Parliament.  This is giving me the platform to highlight human rights abuses in this or other jurisdictions. It also provides the opportunity for the Parliament together with the other European Institutions to bring about change in the system of government in the countries where these abuses occur.

Last week, I had the privilege of initiating a debate in our own political group, the European Peoples Party, on the Human Rights abuses in Burma. I convinced members that there was a need for urgent debate in the Parliament.  All other political groups participated in the process and a resolution was passed calling for action to be taken to end the abuses. The UN Security Council was also requested to hold an emergency meeting to deal with this issue.  Thus a debate initiated by an Irish MEP has brought the matter to the attention of World Leaders and the international media. Hopefully, this will force the change that is urgently required in that country.

Edmond Burke said "all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing".  It is important therefore that you use your legal qualification not only in the commercial world but also use it for the benefit of others who do not enjoy the same opportunities in life as yourselves.

The legal playing field, which is available for you to work in, continues to grow and expand. With your new qualification you are no longer on the viewing stand or indeed on the sideline.  The degree which you have received today is just one of many steps that you will take on your career ladder. 

May you continue to enjoy success and a fruitful career no matter what area of Law you decide to pursue.  May the work that you do be challenging and rewarding and may you achieve the goals which you have set for yourself.

You have the degree, you have the ability, do not stop at any hurdle that is placed in your way. 

My final advice is from 2000 years ago, from 'Marcus Aurelius'.

'If it is not right don't do it'.

'If it is not true don't say it'.
Thank you.
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Conferring Address by Professor Barry V. McCleary, Technical Director, Megazyme International Ireland Limited, Monday,  September 10th 2007, 12.30pm
Theme: Ireland, a land of opportunity
It is a great honour and privilege to have been invited to address you on this  very special day. You have graduated from an excellent University that is internationally recognized.

You will enter your professions in an Ireland with a renewed sense of national pride and self-confidence; an Ireland that can offer each of you a rewarding and challenging career, and a chance for personal and professional development. No longer do the youth of Ireland need to look to Europe, USA, or even Australia for gainful employment.

To quote the Minister for Finance, Brian Cowan, in presenting the governments pre-budget 2007 spending plans "we have an economy that is working and a country that is at work. From being one of the developed world's worst economies twenty years ago, we now have a model of excellence and performance that is the envy of much of the developed world". Unemployment dropped from 10% in 1997 to 4.25% today. Brian Cowan also announced a proposed 11% increase in expenditure on health. The Irish economy has grown at an annual average rate of over 7% between 1997 and 2005; and this year, the level of employment will exceed 2 million.

The Government has announced major investment in Science, Technology and Innovation programs, which will impact on each of you in one way or another. The aim is to "see Ireland secure its position as one of the most advanced knowledge economies in the world, and to become renowned for the excellence of its research".

Ireland is listed as one of the richest countries in the Western World, so we do have the resources to meet new challenges. However, to do this we need new, creative minds with great strategic plans and the commitment and energy to introduce change.

Our Government has made great investment in research and development in food science and technology, biotechnology, pharma related research and biomedical research, all of which offers great opportunities for those of you graduating in food science, medicine and health. And of course, one time or another, we all need a good solicitor, patent attorney or barrister.

Furthermore, the policy of our government over the past decade or so has attracted most of the major Pharma companies to Ireland. In the coming years, many of you will find yourselves in one of these multi-national companies in an exciting career, with the possibility for international travel or overseas appointment. But, we also have exceptional home-grown companies that will offer you other options. The Kerry Group has evolved from a local dairy co-op in the Munster region into the world's leading food ingredient supplier. Glanbia is now an international dairy processor and food ingredients group, with head office in Kilkenny. Elan Corporation is a neuroscience-based biotechnology company employing more than 2000 people worldwide. To mention just a few.

Having mentioned some aspects of government policy aimed at developing Ireland, as well as some of the home grown and foreign corporations that are helping to shape our country, I would now like to say a few words about small business. In the coming years, many of you will be in small business, either as founder and CEO, or as an employee. This may be in a small law firm, medical practice, nutrition clinic or food or biotechnology company. There are about 250,000 small businesses in Ireland, employing almost 800,000 people; 50% of the total work force. One in ten of the adult Irish population is planning to set up a small business, or has recently done so. As co-owner of one of these small businesses, Megazyme International Ireland Limited, I would like to take a few minutes to share my experience in setting up a small business and running it from Ireland.

I founded Megazyme in Sydney in 1988. Prior to this, I was Principle Research Scientist with the NSW Department of Agriculture, where my research focussed on the aspects of cereal grains and legume seeds that effect the quality of the ultimate food product. I saw a need for the commercial availability of improved analytical methodology in the cereals, food and fermentation industries. Since I could not develop this as a government employee, I decided to resign and establish Megazyme in two garages off the side of my home. Initial funding for the company came through consultancy contracts that I negotiated with major food and enzyme manufacturing companies, one of these being Biocon Biochemicals, now Kerry Bioscience here in Carrigaline. In 1991, my wife joined me in the company to manage sales and marketing, and in 1996, we relocated the business to Bray Business Park, County Wicklow, for business and personal reasons. Ireland has created a brilliant environment for business development with both a progressive tax structure and excellent grant support schemes.

Many of the test methods developed by Megazyme are now world standard methods, and the company has won several prestigious awards including NSW and Australian Small business of the year in 1993, and the Irish Small Business, Innovator of the Year award this year. Our success can be attributed to our willingness to work hard, to take calculated risks and to invest in research and development; evidenced by our founding of a Molecular Biology Division within the company in 2003. This decision was greatly influenced by research grants we were able to get through Enterprise Ireland. Among our thousands of customers, we can include most of the Blue Chip food and beverage companies, including Kellogg, Heinz, Guinness, Hardy's Wines, Kerry Group and Unilever.

Megazyme is just one example of a small Irish business established and run by people of passion, commitment and dedication.

So, my message to you, the new graduates: opportunities in Ireland have never been so good. Whatever you do, do it with passion and make your job your hobby. Like what you do, and when you don't, find something else to do. Be prepared to embrace change as a challenge, not a problem, and have the courage to take calculated risks. Everything you do, do with honesty and integrity.

I again take this opportunity to congratulate you on your great achievement.

Finally, to the parents and guardians of the graduates: their success is your success. Your support over the years have bought your children to this point, where they are well equipped to take on the challenges of an exciting career in the dynamic new Ireland.

Many thanks for your attention, and I wish all of you a very happy day.
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Conferring Address by Mr Brendan Tuohy, Department of Communications, Energy & Natural Resources, Monday,  September 10th 2007, 3.30pm
Will you be reading or writing the book?
President, Members of the University, new graduates and distinguished guests, it is a great honour to be asked to speak here today and I would like to thank Dr. Michael Murphy, President of the University, for the invitation.

To all new graduates before me, today is your day - and it is a great day. But, it would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity, to thank University College Cork and, specifically, the academic and other staff of the College, who have accompanied you on your journey to this memorable day.

While graduating is an achievement for each of you individually, it is also an achievement for all those who have supported you. Today it is important to acknowledge the role your parents, family, friends and communities from which you have come. I am sure, they are all very proud of you and I trust I speak for them when I congratulate you and wish you well in your future.  

Albert Einstein once said "I never think of the future. It comes soon enough" Perhaps he is right. But there are a few points that I would like to share with you today, as you set out on your future as ambassadors of University College Cork.

The first challenge is that of globalisation.  As a country, Ireland is recognised as one of the most open trading economies in the world. This has contributed to the current success of the economy. This has been achieved through teamwork and partnerships. Government, acting together with business and the other social partners, pursued a strategy to embrace globalisation. We attracted foreign industries into Ireland and used Ireland as a stepping-stone into other countries. Government created the environment and business delivered the results - commerce and government working together.

Others have since followed our approach and are now challenging us for that same investment. There is a general move of manufacturing to the Far East and there will be real challenges in continuing to maintain our base of exporting companies. So, globalisation is not just a passing trend but is very much set to increase in pace and impact in the future.

I do not doubt the ability of any graduate in front of me here today and it is for that reason that I urge each of you to assert your role in a global context. Your horizons should be global horizons and your opportunities should be global opportunities. To assert this position as a global participant in your respective careers you will have to keep up to speed on what is happening across the world. You will have to seek out opportunities not just close to home but in other continents. You will have to see the linkages between what happens in places as far away as Shanghai and relate them to what is happening here in Cork.  And you will face some real questions about what it is to be Irish or European or in the future, as we adapt to the challenge of much greater movement of people across national borders.

Ireland is changing and it will have to dramatically increase its capacity to innovate. This innovation will not just apply to the manufacturing or services sectors but it will also apply to the way we deliver public services. This will impact on both disciplines graduating here today.  It will be your task to look at the products and services we have today and find new more efficient ways to deliver them. We will also have to create new products and services. Innovation and efficient delivery will be part of your future.

The skills needed for doing this are not just the traditional skills. The world that you enter will require that you have the dedication to continue acquiring new skills, that you have the ability to make decisions in uncertainty (without all the information) and that you have the courage to take risks and to accept failure at times. Ongoing flexibility, adaptability and speed of change will be features in your working lives. It is the organisations, countries and people who embrace those attributes that will continue to be relevant and successful.

But perhaps the greatest challenge of globalisation that faces you is how we will sustain and develop an inclusive society. It is generally accepted that we have managed to build a successful economy in Ireland. But a country or society is not just an economy. The objective of making society - both locally and globally - a more inclusive and fair one is a specific challenge for graduates. You have managed to receive a third or fourth level education. The State has invested in you (as you have yourself, of course). But we now need to remove the barriers between what we see as the traditional work areas - business, government, non-for-profit sector and home. We need to encourage many of our best people, like yourselves here today, not just to focus on one work sector but to consider working in a number of the sectors throughout your career. This will facilitate teams of people drawn from different disciplines collaborating together to solve complex issues. It will also enable you to address not just the business issues but the social issues as well.

And I don't just say this solely because it might be the right thing to do from a national perspective. I say it because we have noticed in recent years a growing phenomenon of what young people in their late twenties describe as 'a quarter life crisis'. It is when young successful workers realise that making money and working hard is good - but it is not sufficient. They want some meaning in their lives as well. Today, a growing number of them are now seeking ways to have both successful and meaningful careers. And many of them are turning to tackle the social challenges, as this is where they often get that sense of fulfilment. The increasing interest in what is called 'social entrepreneurship' and engagement by business people in social causes is very heartening.  

Many successful business people are now engaging in philanthropy as they wish to give something back to society. Last year in the USA alone, over $400 billion was given in philanthropic donations, mainly by individual business people. This trend has started here in Ireland as well and I hope that some day you will have the opportunity to give something to your community - and your university - in time.

Not everybody graduating here today will live in the area in which you grew up or even in Ireland. But a connection to your local community, to your University and to your country can be a very supportive base. The idea of global social networks will be very important.  As a nation we love to chat and communicate, so we have a natural advantage in this. Your own sense of ongoing connectedness with your home community and your desire to engage fully in the new community in which you live will be greatly enhanced is you have a strong sense of your own identity and a feel for what you can contribute.

Forming that bridge between communities will be a challenge for us all. I trust that your period here at UCC has enhanced that sense of identity as it is from that strong sense of local community that global communities are built. Hopefully, you will be builders and leaders of those global communities.

I consider that a sense of identity will be very important - a sense of whom you are as people, a feel for the community out of which you have come, a vision of your role in the world and the values you can bring at that level.  As we tackle global issues and play on the world stage, it is that strong sense of our own identity and a sense of our destiny that will support us.  And that comes not just from us as individuals but also from the communities in which we grew up and in which we now live. It is nowhere more visible than on the hurling or football pitch where the sense of commitment to local, county or national team can be so strong. Can we now bring that same sense of community into everyday life?

We have a long tradition of engaging with the world and influencing it. The early monks like St. Brendan, took a seven-year trip and discovered the New World in the 6th century. Similarly, St. Columbanus travelled extensively throughout Europe in the same century and left a huge legacy behind that still exists today in the educational centres of Europe.  Maybe we can look back at that period and draw some lessons from those great Irish people - their sense of adventure, their sense of innovation and inclusiveness, their sense of going into uncharted global waters and bringing their culture and love of learning with them. For centuries, as an island people, we have looked outwards beyond our shores.  Today, we should not be afraid to share our culture and values with the world and to seek to exert influence at global level.

It is important to appreciate that the future is a social construct. It is not an island out there already in existence that you are seeking to find. The future comes about by people talking, through sharing ideas, by developing concepts and building partnerships. Those of you who have a vision of the future and those of you who express your views and build support for them will ultimately see your ideas implemented.  

As some of you will enter the workforce soon, I would say to you to choose your company and your boss well. Hopefully, you will have high expectations for yourself and this is as it should be. So, find the job that answers your passions and not just provides a good salary. Work with people who appreciate your talents, who treat you well, who allow you to develop your skills and allow you work on issues that interest you.

Today, successful people in all disciplines realise that it important to work in a job that gives them a true sense of meaning and a sense of making an impact. As you choose your job, you have that choice too.

Be clear about what you want out of the job and to seek to influence the organisation in which you work. When they hire you, they expect you to contribute, to be inquisitive and to challenge. They expect you to influence the direction of your company and also the values for which your company stands. The contribution of business to the community is an issue that will be very important not just for the success of the business but to continue to attract good staff into the company. Business also has a role to support social, cultural and political change and you will be in positions to do so.

Stand up for the values that you believe are important and seek to convince others of them. These values are deeply rooted and are going to continue to form you as you grow, so be clear on what they are.  Do not allow yourself to live your life by looking in the rear view mirror and letting others make decisions for you. Be the person who lives fully in the present but is interested in shaping the future.

Earlier this year, John Moriarty, the 69 year old Kerry philosopher, was interviewed on the Joe Duffy programme, and he was asked by Joe if he was 'happy'. His response was very interesting. He said to Joe: 'That is not quite the question.' 'The real question is am I still growing? Have I become a finished creation? Am I dead or am I still growing? Is my life still an adventure - an adventure full of trouble, full of joy, full of pain, full of excitement. Am I still living dangerously?'

So, even at 69 this man was still asking the difficult questions and still wanting to develop. It is your responsibility to yourself to ensure your lives are rich in experiences and that your life experiences are meaningful. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to manifest your future.

The education you have received in UCC has given you a solid foundation to partake fully in society. But, if the future were a book, let me now ask you if you would be reading it - or writing it? Would you be there watching what is going on, living vicariously through the soap operas on TV, reading about events in which you are a spectator or would you be the person making the events happen and engaging fully in that society?

Today, I invite you to participate with confidence in writing the future,

I would like to congratulate you all and wish you well.

Go raibh mile maith agaibh.

509MMcS

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