An Honorary Master of Arts degree was conferred on Kieran Dowd, former Director of Physical and Sport, UCC (citation attached) and Donnchadh Ó hAodha, former General Manager, Áras na Mac Léinn (citation attached).

The Conferring Addresses were delivered by Lord David Puttnam, Chancellor of the Open University (attached) and Mr Martin Hynes, Executive Director, Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET) (attached).

Conferring Address by Lord David Puttnam, Chancellor of the Open University, September 9th 2009
President, Graduands, distinguished guests and friends of UCC - among which I’m proud to count myself.

As someone who’s chosen to make their home here in County Cork it’s an enormous privilege as well as a pleasure to have been invited to give this Conferring Address today.

Throughout a career that’s now spanned fifty years I’ve occupied myself in a number of quite distinct areas of interest, but there’s always been a connecting thread that’s helped make each transition possible.  That thread can be variously described as knowledge, understanding, ‘education’ or simply, experience.

What’s certain is that everything, and I really do mean everything I’ve learned through my work in Cinema, for UNICEF, and in various spheres of Government, has only reinforced my view that, in the words of the author and scientist H.G. Wells, the future is a race;
‘A race, between Education and Catastrophe’.

Personally, not finding the idea of catastrophe all that attractive, I decided some while ago to throw in my lot with Education!

As a UK Parliamentarian, I am one of well over 100 members of both Houses whose past or present is intimately connected to this country.

I’m also just one among over 100,000 UK citizens who have been fortunate enough to come and live among you, and hopefully contribute in some tangible way to this nation’s future.

In preparing for today my mind went back to what, for me, were two important events back in 2007.  The first was the historic address by the former Taoiseach to the Joint Houses of Parliament on the 16th May, and the second was the opportunity I was afforded in August of that year to deliver the oration at Beal na mBlath, at the annual commemoration service of the death of Michael Collins.

In his Parliamentary address, having stressed his commitment to a plural and inclusive future; at the very end of his speech Bertie Ahern had said:
“Ireland’s hour has come: a time of peace, of prosperity, of old values and new beginnings”.  That was pretty good stuff two years ago and, despite the financial crises of this past twelve months, much of it remains true today.
The country has achieved a level of peace and prosperity that many of us would have doubted possible when I first arrived twenty years ago.

In fact my very first public engagement was the opening of Skibbereen’s ‘Welcome Home Week’ - in the summer of 1993. That evening I remember trying to articulate the acute awareness I’d already developed of the importance of family, of friendship, of community; in stark contrast to what I’d left behind in a U.K. still arguing with itself over what did, or did not, constituted a functioning ‘society’.

But even then I questioned whether the ‘human glue’ that seemed to bind this country together was going to easily survive the pressures and contradictions of ‘globalization’, as it was already beginning to impact the whole of Western Europe.

Today I find myself asking the same question, but this time with rather more urgency, and in the absolute conviction that, were they with us today, many of those who fought and died to create this country would be equally concerned. They would probably have understood better than us that ‘old values and new beginnings’ are not natural bedfellows. That squaring that particular circle involves a lot of difficult decisions and, from time to time, some incredibly tough choices.

They wanted to help build something that was, in Michael Collins words, “not like other nations”; an Ireland that could be “a shining light in a dark world”; and that in the raw human material, forged out of 700 years of bitter experience, Ireland had the capacity to be exactly that.

All of my reading of these men leads me to the conclusion that what they felt worth fighting and dying for was at the very minimum a country culturally and socially better, and fairer, than its historical oppressor. They knew that this nation’s future would be principally determined by the qualities of body and mind and character, of its people. This happens to be a country with a vast array of cultural weapons at its disposal. It is simultaneously both ancient and very young, able to reach back into pre-history and draw lessons from its treasure house of myths, fables and legends.

I would argue that in an important sense it was only through constant reference to those legends that the concept of Irish ‘nationhood’ was nurtured and sustained.  I’d go further, it’s my belief that, as we approach the new and in some respects unknowable challenges of the 21st century, many of us are likely to find ourselves badly in need of heroic examples to reassure us in our search for a resilient personal and national identity.  And let’s be honest about it - we need our heroes; we need them to help sustain our dreams of a better and more secure future.

Almost seventy years later, it’s my belief that your generation find yourselves facing challenges that, in every sense, are as great as anything the human species has ever had to face.  Everything you should have gained from reaching today’s very special transition; a new found confidence, well tested friendships, a passion for your subject; all of these will become the foundation stones on which you can begin to build the next phase of your life. And believe me, durable friendships will become increasingly important if you are to sustain reasonable levels of optimism in what will appear to be an increasingly unreasonable world.

It’s important to remember that, should you fail to sustain that vision of a better future, should you fail to produce a generation of remarkable leaders: leaders of character, breadth, honesty and understanding, then you and the rest of us could all too easily find ourselves facing one of those ‘crises of civilisation’ that have bedeviled societies down the ages.  Except that this time we are dealing with a whole series of  ‘global’ crises in the face of which we could all come to increasingly feel like victims; with the possibility of our always vulnerable humanity becoming, in one way or another, permanently disfigured.

There may be those among you this morning who continue to doubt the reality of climate change – who believe that it is merely Mother Nature working her course. To them I can only repeat the words of a fellow artist of yours, Sir Jonathan Miller, who said recently:  “The Theory of Evolution, is like talking about the Theory of Gravity, or the earth circling the sun.

Facts – or laws – seem to be required to serve a sort of apprenticeship as ‘theories’ before they can graduate, after a period of probation, to earn full recognition as FACTS!”  It seems to me that some continue to expect ‘climate change theory’ to serve a similar apprenticeship, when in reality it’s already graduated to the status of unequivocal fact.

Why is this important/It’s important because this huge challenge will require all of us to change – and for your generation, and that of your children, simply to survive will require you to change a very great deal.

I heard an American foreign policy expert, Michael Mandelbaum, observe recently that: People do not change when you tell them they should; they change when they tell themselves that they must”

As I enter the last productive phase of my own life here is what I’d ask of you.
In whatever you do.
In whatever task you set yourself – do it well.
In fact do it so well that you amaze people like me; because in doing so, I promise you, you’ll end up not just bringing enormous credit to this institution but, even more importantly, you’ll end up amazing yourselves!

Because it will be you, and a few thousand like you, who are going to determine the future direction of this country, and who knows in a few cases, maybe the future of this planet.
ENDS

Conferring Address by Mr Martin Hynes, Executive Director Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology  (IRCSET),
September 9th 2009
President Murphy, Members of the University, New Graduates, parents and other distinguished guests; it is my great honour to have this opportunity to address you today.

Today should be one of celebration; congratulations on your achievements to each of you. You have achieved much and we are here to celebrate with you this award, this step along what I expect to be the road to a satisfying life within Irish - or other fortunate - society. In that celebration, we also applaud those who have supported and worked with you, perhaps even suffered anxieties with you, during your undergraduate formation which has now officially ended.
What an interesting mix of academic disciplines you represent. Celebrate that mix, since I am fully convinced that multi-disciplinary work is ever more important. In the Irish Research Council we see a great many talented people who have won their degree from many nations in the EU and beyond. Despite what has been written about falling standards, the best of the Irish graduates can hold their heads high in any international comparison. I am also persuaded that you have the fantastic advantage of being masters of a truly global language and have the innate agility that an education in Cork will undoubtedly have fostered. You are also considerably younger than most of your European counterparts, a considerable attraction to many potential employers.

Having attained this significant step, what happens next? What does the future hold for you, and inevitably therefore, for us? In Ireland, we have experienced one of the most amazing periods of growth (albeit unsustainable) and have made great strides in terms of education, transport and infrastructure of all types. Sometimes these advances appear to have vaporised along with the building boom; on the contrary, I hold that this infrastructure is very much available to be capitalised upon, not least the research infrastructure that has been built in the Universities.

Yet, it is a time of uncertainty and no little gloom. During the past week I enjoyed a commentary from John Waters on the differences in attitudes toward recession that he observed when visiting a festival in Rimini:
"Our true problem is not to do with economics or politics, but that we have no sense of the humanly desirable, of how we might develop a sense that civic society exists to make people happier, to improve their lives"

I suspect that many would find a resonance with that perspective.

But before trying to look forward, perhaps you will indulge me to look back for a few moments. I graduated as an Engineer from what is now NUI Galway at a time when few jobs were available. During my time as an undergraduate, there were strong differences in cultures between those in the Arts and Humanities disciplines and us in what has now become known as SET-Science, Engineering and Technology. To characterize our perspectives as a friendly rivalry might be to understate the sense of culture and tradition in the two camps. Whilst this had some advantages, I believe that it took me some years to overcome the prejudices thus engendered. It was only when corrupted by an MBA that I started to appreciate a different perspective, a different framework for analysis.

Having struck upon on a career in industry (I was going to use the word "decided", but that would lend a sense of mature evaluation which is unwarranted) I went to work for the Westinghouse Corporation, then one of the largest firms in the world-developers of the first cameras on the moon, designers of advanced control systems and one of the first companies to provide combustion optimisation technologies. It was the world of weight and substance, of big factories, research centralised in Pittsburgh, little that did not come in large packing crates with substantial manuals. Despite many predictions to the contrary, that initial factory has endured and prospered to varying degrees over 35 years: at one time it was the most profitable single unit of the Westinghouse Corporation.
A small number of other multi-national companies were shining lights in an otherwise bleak economic outlook. Ireland was known as the "sick man of Europe" as a result of the dreadful economic circumstances, coupled with a currency that was over-valued. For much of the decade, unemployment stuck at around 18%. 

It was into this world that major Information and Communications Technologies companies were attracted by IDA Ireland. Microsoft opened its European Operations Centre in Dublin in 1985 with 100 jobs. Although having a presence in Ireland since 1956, IBM commenced a series of expansions, culminating in the opening of the technology campus in Blanchardstown in 1997. INTEL commenced its first investment in Ireland in 1989. In speaking with executives from these firms, the common attraction is a skilled and agile workforce, English-speaking and with excellent market access. I have enjoyed many a good meal as IDA persuaded potential investors as to the quality and availability of suitable graduates from Irish Universities and other educational institutions. It is interesting to note that the term Operations Centre or manufacturing were typical at that time. In contrast, it is pleasing to observe that the most recent Microsoft investments include the first Windows Live Europe, Middle East and Africa Data Centre in Dublin with an investment of $500 million. This is typical of the supports for what is now referred to as the smart economy.

In the Cork region, one would have to observe on the successful investments in fine chemicals, electronics and pharmaceuticals. IRCSET is very pleased to co-fund a number of Postgraduate researchers with companies in these sectors.

Author Diane Coyle has said:
"-but weightlessness is the key to understanding the new industrial revolution we are living through. People have the deeply ingrained habit of thinking about something with physical presence, with weight and with mass. This is less and less true. Economic value is dematerializing. "
Over 20 years this phenomenon of extra value added per unit mass became increasingly obvious. The extreme, of course, is in digital distribution of services or other value as in the Microsoft investment; moving bits, not atoms. Ireland has made that transition, recognising that the key to our future is the increased availability of graduates and those with advanced research skills such as PhDs. Our political leaders would be encouraged if they knew how often we have been approached by companies to assist in finding people with specific research skills. That increased emphasis on research employment is also borne out by recent CSO data. However, research skills alone will not be enough. We shall have to rely on much more human and market facing activity.

At a recent lecture, Larry Prusak of Babson College made a bold claim- over a quarter of the U.S. economy is now dependent on persuasion. He gave some examples- legal advice, specialist consultants, marketing - all of these are what we might refer to as the "soft skills"- although anyone watching Tubridy last Friday night as he interviewed the elected leader of our nation would conclude that they are not entirely soft. These skills are undoubtedly a characteristic of the Irish people. We have little of the weight of Empire about us, and are well accustomed to finding our feet in new situations. Those of you not originally from Ireland will have been exposed to these characteristics, and will hopefully benefit from them.

I reflect on these characteristics because I believe that Ireland is now facing a time of discontinuity- and a time of opportunity. We are at a confluence between the challenges presented by the absolute need to make our lives and use of energy more sustainable and the opportunities presented by sufficiently developed smart systems. We are challenged to find new ways to ensure economic growth whilst diminishing energy consumption and carbon loading.

At this point I cannot avoid recalling images of Dustin Hoffman in the 1967 film "The Graduate" when Ben encounters Mister McGuire at his graduation party. I am unable to advocate that one silver bullet for career choice: "Plastics"- allegedly a portrayal of the phoney, slick commercial world that Ben sought to avoid.
I can say that there are real opportunities for Ireland and Irish Graduates. The transition to a low carbon economy creates a great demand for research and development in renewable energy technology, new materials, and rapid development in what is referred to as Green IT, the design of the new built environment, new enzymes and bio-processes. We need to build a new approach to the world. What will this world look like? I suggest that we need only look to the Stockholm of today as an example. As an aside, the number of graduates and PhDs in public life in Sweden is very noticeable: which is cause and which the effect?

I wish that I had coined the phrase: "The Stone Age did not end for lack of stone, and the Oil Age will end long before the world runs out of oil", however I must attribute it to Sheikh Zaki Yamani, former Saudi Arabian oil minister. Ireland has the best wind and wave potential of any place on the planet and an excellent climate for biomass. We are perfectly situated to create a laboratory for the test and development of renewable energy technologies as well as creating a strong renewable energy sector within the country. Moreover, we already have many of the large firms in place that would be strategic partners in developing and marketing the results. Government as well as our Universities have crucial roles to play in achieving this potential: economies were developed to serve human needs, not the other way around.  As Amory Lovins puts it: "We forget at our peril that markets make a good servant, a bad master and a worse religion".

We need to maintain our commitment to graduate output, to supporting the most suited to undertake postgraduate studies and to engage our most talented in the meaningful resolution of our problems.

In closing, I shall avoid reference to Plastics. With due deference to a generation far more travelled than mine, I can observe that a view of Ireland from afar is often instructive. If you can make the opportunity, travel. When one looks at our advantages compared to many of our neighbours, our openness to trade, our agility in confronting new challenges, the talent and work-ethic of our people, we can get a truer measure of ourselves. We are energised.

This great University, along with the other Queens Colleges (Galway and Belfast) was founded in 1845 at the height of the Great Famine. It, along with the Irish educational system, has made advances impossible for the founders to foresee. Nothing less than the same Vision and commitment will serve us today. Ireland has always advanced on our greatest natural resource; our people. As distinguished representatives of that resource I advocate that you experience the international situation in so far as you can. As widely as you can, from developing nations to the Asian Tigers, from energy trading centres to the most attractive sustainable cities.

Given that experience, reflect on the messages within Thomas Friedman's book, "The World is Flat". Come back to Ireland, Enjoy your achievements, live long and prosper.  Once again, my congratulations; you have my confidence and warm personal good wishes. Again, I should like to thank the President, Dr. Michael Murphy, for the opportunity to address you today.
ENDS

Citation for Kieran Dowd on the conferment of an Honorary Master of Arts (MA) degree, September 9th 2009
Kieran Dowd was Director of Physical Education & Sport at University College Cork for 32 years.  During that time he made an outstanding contribution to the college, students, community, and Irish college and university sport.  He was and still is a man of vision who has the unique ability and capacity to make the vision a reality.
Kieran Dowd made things happen.  His achievements are too long to list, so here are some of the highlights of his long and illustrious career:
•    The planning, construction and opening of the Mardyke Arena, a world class venue serving the college and community
•    The growth and development of the sports clubs.  There are 58 sports clubs in UCC, 50 of these clubs were established during Kieran’s directorship.
•    The purchase and development of the Curaheen sports grounds
•    The establishment of the sports star and scholarship scheme
•    Installation of the synthetic track and pitch
•    The brokering of the partnership between UCC and the Blue demons basketball club to establish the UCC Blue Demons Superleague team.
•    The development and accreditation of the Bachelor of Education (Sports Studies and Physical Education). He was the initiator of this degree and gave invaluable help both in financial terms and in professional terms in seeing it through to its conclusion. Without his help the degree would not have come into existence. I hope it is of great satisfaction to him now to see that the degree has been the highest ranked programme at UCC for the last two years based on student first preferences.
Kieran made many contributions to sport outside of UCC.  Here are some of the positions of office he has held during his lifetime:
•    A former president and chairman of the Physical Education Association of Ireland
•    President of the Cork City Sports
•    President of the Irish Universities football union
•    Founding member of the College and University Sports Administrators of Ireland.
•    President of the College and University Sports Administrators of Ireland.
Kieran has always been a man of principle. He has strong beliefs about the ethos of sport and its place in education. He is an advocate for its role and often went into battle arguing its importance and place in a well-rounded education.  His legacy lives on as sport and physical activity are now recognized as part of the whole UCC student experience.
On a lighter side, Kieran is well known for having the X factor.  Students and staff always looked forward to his vocal renditions at the end of year function.  Kieran is still a great supporter of UCC and is often to be found at a UCC sporting events cheering for teams.  UCC and the sport community have much to be grateful for and thank him for the drive, energy and vision he brought to his position and the wisdom he so generously still shares.  
Kieran your knowledge, skills and wisdom are timeless and we look forward to your continued engagement with UCC sport and physical education.
ENDS

Citation for Donnchadh Ó hAodha on the conferment of an Honorary Master of Arts (MA) degree, September 9th 2009
Tá ráiteas sa Ghaeilge ar cuma nó sean-nath caite faoin am seo é, agus is é sin, go mbeadh Donnchadh Ó hAodha molta fiú dá mbeimis go léir inár dtost. Tá sé le moladh, agus nílimid chun a bheith inár dtost. Cuid lárnach de shaol na hOllscoile seo is ea é ó tháinig sé anseo mar riarthóir ar Aontas na Mac Léinn sa bhliain 1974, agus is liosta le háireamh a bhfuil bainte amach aige ó shin laistigh agus lasmuigh den choláiste. Tá aithne ag pobal na Gaeilge air mar dhuine nár dhein dhá leath dá dhícheall riamh san mhéid a chuir sé roimhe ar son na teanga. Ball de Bhuanchoiste Chonradh na Gaeilge é le fada an lá, agus léirigh an eagraíocht sin an t-ardmheas a bhí acu air nuair a déanadh Uachtarán Oinigh den Oireachtas de, nuair a bhí an tOireachtas á reáchtáil i gCorcaigh sa bhliain 2008. Bhí Donnchadh le feiscint ar feadh tamaill agus é ag siúl timpeall le slabhra na hoifige sin timpeall a mhuiníl, agus cé gur dhein sé gach dualgas go beacht agus leis an ndínit is dual dó, ní fear é a bhfuil galamaisíocht ná mustar ná mór-is-fiú d’aon sórt ag baint leis. Fairis sin, chuaigh sé chun cónaithe i nGaeltacht Chorcaí i gCúil Aodha, agus chabhraigh go mór le beocht a chur is a choimeád sa phobal luachmhar sin thiar. Dá réir sin, bhí baint mhór aige le Cór Chúil Aodha, cór a bhain cáil amach dóibh féin ó aimsir Sheáin Uí Riada, ach beidh áthas ar Dhonnchadh inniu nach n-iarrfar air aon amhrán a rá ar an ócáid seo. D’fhonn a thaispeáint nach i dtaoibh lena mhuintir féin amháin a bhí sé, bhí, agus tá a chroí i gcónaí i nDaonscoil na Mumhan a reáchtáiltear sna Déise, ceann de na fiontair oideachais sin don phobal a bhfuil a shaol caite ag Donnchadh leo. Dá éagmais sin arís, tá sé ina Chathaoirleach ar Bhord na Gaeilge san ollscoil le breis agus seacht mbliana déag, agus an lámh chaoin láidir aige ar an stiúir sin mar a bhíonn i ngach aon ní dá leagann sé a lámh air.
 
Donnchadh Ó hAodha is best recognised outside of this University as an enthusiastic supporter and promoter of the Irish language. Not only is he known by the Irish-speaking community throughout Cork and Munster, but he is widely respected throughout the whole country, and that Irish-speaking community will certainly also rejoice in the honour which is being bestowed on him today. But he is best known within the university community as the general manager of Áras na Mac Léinn, the Students’ Union Centre. Not only is he the general manager, but the building itself is the product of his own conception and devising, and it is a building that is striking in its marriage of beauty and utility. It must have given him great satisfaction during the years to work in a building that was an emanation of his own imagination, and the fruit of his own hard work. This hard work and imagination have already been recognised by his being given The Butts-Whiting Award by the Association of College Unions International last year, an award which honours outstanding leaders within this organisation and validates those who have made exceptional contributions to college unions and student activities. He was the first recipient of this award from outside the United States of America. From Turner’s Cross to Cúil Aodha to UCC and on to international recognition is a trajectory of which he can be rightly proud. But there is much more to Donnchadh than the language activist, the excellent administrator, the devisor of state-of-the art buildings, the educationalist, the passionate enthusiast for local communities, the mentor and friend of generations of students. He is always in good humour. While this may not be a sufficient reason in itself to award an honorary degree, it is always uplifting in these gloomy times to meet somebody who is positive and optimistic, and who can bring both realism and imagination to his work.
ENDS

Picture shows L-R: Donnchadh Ó hAodha (left) and Kieran Dowd with UCC President, Dr Michael Murphy (centre).

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