2009 Press Releases

Honorary Conferrings 2009
05.06.2009

Five leading figures in the world of education, sport, politics, health and human rights, were honoured by the National University of Ireland during a ceremony to confer honorary doctorates at University College Cork today (Friday, June 5th 2009).

The traditional ceremony honours individuals who have distinguished themselves nationally or internationally, through their scholarship, creativity, public service or contribution to social, cultural, sporting or economic life.

Michael Boland
Degree of Doctor of Medicine (MD)
Jack Finucane
Degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD)
Sonia O'Sullivan
Degree of Doctor of Arts (DArts)
Máirin Quill
Degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD)
Zhou Zhe-Wei
Degree of Doctor of Science (DSc)

TEXT OF THE INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS DELIVERED BY:
PROFESSOR DAVID KERINS, Head of the School of Medicine, University College Cork, on 5 June 2009, on the occasion of the conferring of the Degree of Doctor of Medicine, honoris causa, on MICHAEL BOLAND

A Sheánsailéir, a mhuintir na hOllscoile agus a dhaoine uaisle,
Dr Michael Boland was highly influenced by the experiences of his youth. In particular he was motivated by the very high regard that his father held for Michael's uncle, who was medically qualified and by the legendary Skibbereen General Practitioner, Dr Michael O'Sullivan. It was not surprising that following his medical education at UCD he returned to Cork to train as a General Practitioner in the newly established Cork GP training program and continued his training with Dr O'Sullivan. Following completion of his training he worked for the next 22 years as a general practitioner in Skibbereen, in a practice of four doctors serving a semi-rural community of 7,500 people.

The past 5 years have seen a remarkable change in our approach to medical education. Many of these changes have followed the evaluation by experts in the field of undergraduate and post graduate medical education and are reported in the Fottrell and Buttimer reports. However, as early as 1979, over a quarter of a century prior to the publication of these reports, Dr Boland proposed that existing continuing medical education for general practitioners be supplemented by small group learning focused on peer review and organized in each locality by a part-time GP tutor. With the support of the Postgraduate Medical and Dental Board he piloted the proposal as Tutor in his own area in 1981. As National Director of the Continuing Medical Education Network from 1986 to 1997 he directed a network of 29 GP Tutors serving 1650 general practitioners (75% of the GPs in Ireland) in more than 130 peer review groups. These groups were vital for the continuing continued professional development of GPs, but also provided a mechanism to address the professional and other forms of isolation that are such a hazard to the middle aged professional.

Despite his creation of these structures for education and training, and his busy medical practice, he clearly had some free time on his hands. He also became involved in the foundation of the Irish College of General Practitioners. In 1984 he drafted the constitution of the new Irish College and became its first Chairman of Council from 1984 to 1987, a period in which 95% of Irish general practitioners took up membership. As a member of the Medical Council of Ireland he successfully proposed the recognition of General Practice as a specialty in medicine - Ireland became the first European Commission member state to do so in 1989.

In addition to his activities in the Irish College of General Practitioners he was elected as a fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners in the UK. He served as a member of the council of the RCGP from 1987 to 1993 and has ably represented the Republic of Ireland Faculty. He delivered the Pickles Lecture in 1991, a lecture that had the enigmatic title "My Brothers Keeper", it opened with a biblical quote and ended with a quote from William Butler Yeats.

Not surprisingly, in view of his success in Ireland and in the UK, Michael next turned his attention to Europe. He was the founding Irish member of the European Academy of Teachers in General Practice and a council member for 20 years.

Having excelled in Ireland, the UK, and in Europe the next step was inevitably to take on the World. WONCA is the World Organization of National Colleges, Academies and Academic Associations of General Practitioners/Family Physicians. It was founded in 1972, with the aims of: advocating primary care, developing an academic infrastructure of National Colleges and Academies, and building a teaching, training and research agenda. Dr Boland joined the Council of WONCA to represent Ireland in 1986. In 1992 he was elected to join the World Executive. In 2001 he took over the Presidency of WONCA. At that time WONCA represented 65 countries. Over the course of his presidency it grew to represent 83 countries and comprised 100 member organizations.

WONCA has gained in many ways from Dr Boland, including his rendering of "The Rose of Skibbereen" at their sixth World Rural Health Congress - at Santiago de Compostela in 2003, which is now accepted as a classic. Anywhere he travelled he made the most of every opportunity to advance the cause of general practice by enlightening the local government ministers. He also established and maintained contact with the "ordinary GP".

A quotation from Dr Martin Luther King that Dr Boland applied in 2001, and one that remains relevant in 2009, is that "the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands at times of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy". These words were applied in relation to the challenging issues of Tobacco Prevention and Cessation and to HIV Aids.

As WONCA/WHO Liaison he organised a 'Strategic Action Forum' on 'Making Medical Practice and Education more relevant to People's Needs - the Contribution of the Family Doctor'. This document has been translated into many languages and distributed throughout the world.

Dr Boland chaired the host organising committee for the WONCA World conference held in Dublin in 1998. This was attended by more than 5,000 delegates and accompanying persons. In this afternoon of record holders it is of value to recall that the Dublin meeting holds the dual record as the largest international gathering of General Practitioners ever, and the largest medical conference ever held in Ireland.

It is no surprise to learn that he attributes his success to the enormous support of his wife Susan and their three children. An inevitable consequence of his expanding sphere of influence and activities was an increasing travel load. I gather that Susan has become an expert at organizing Michael's travel needs, arranging his flight reservations and itineraries. It is also not a surprise that he has continued to inspire the latest generation of clinicians, his daughter has just graduated from medical school and his son will follow next year. His other daughter is pursuing a PhD in art.

Following his successes in WONCA, Michael has served as Director of the Postgraduate Resource Centre of the Irish College of General Practioners. He has led initiatives in Practice Computerisation, Distance Learning, Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, Alcohol Misuse, Suicide, Men's Health, and Disease Surveillance.  

As chairman of the Board of the Office of Tobacco Control he oversaw the introduction of the smoking cessation ban.  The CEO of the Irish College of General Practitioners, Mr Fionán OCuinneagçin writing in the current ICGP Annual Report stated that  "In mentioning the early development of the College, we think of the vision and initiative of Dr Michael Boland. Michael was the key driver in the establishment of the ICGP and in the many achievements both within the ICGP and the healthcare system, both at home and abroad."

All around the world family medicine is establishing itself as the discipline central to the delivery of effective, economic and humane health care to communities in both developed and developing countries. In the last twenty years, the emergence of family-oriented, person-centred primary care delivered by well trained general practitioners/family physicians has been seen in many countries. Dr Boland has played a crucial role in the development of these concepts and approaches. His clear vision for the scientific and academic roles of general practice has been a driving force in establishing the depths of general practice.

He is held in extraordinarily high regard by his colleagues, both clinical and academic. He has played a critical role in the evolution of contemporary general practice in Ireland. He has also acted as a wonderful ambassador for Irish medicine.  His influences on the advancement of general practice and patient care are recognised and appreciated on a world-wide basis.
_____________________

TEXT OF THE INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS DELIVERED BY:
PROFESSOR PATRICK FITZPATRICK, Head of the College of Science, Engineering & Food Science in University College Cork on 5 June 2009, on the occasion of the conferring of the Degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, on FR JACK FINUCANE

A Sheansaileir agus a mhuintir uilig na hOllscoile,

"Who is my neighbour?" This question lies at the heart of the Christian response to poverty and hunger. Its call to action touches the essence of what it means to be human. For the past 40 years, Fr Jack Finucane has been a living embodiment of that response.

Through his work with Concern, the organisation he helped to found, he has tirelessly answered that call. In doing so, he has helped shape our experience and understanding of emergency response, foreign aid and international development. Through his dedication, energy and courage, he has been an inspiration to several generations of aid workers, volunteers and development professionals.

Jack Finucane was born in Limerick in 1937. Educated at CBS, he played on the Limerick minor hurling and football teams, before studying philosophy at Kimmage Manor and becoming a teacher at Rockwell College in Tipperary. He returned to Kimmage Manor in the early 60s to study theology and in 1963 he was ordained a priest of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, more familiarly known as the Holy Ghost Fathers.

Jack was posted to Biafra, in Nigeria, and he was there when war broke out in 1967. In the wider world, television had barely reached us when we became mute witnesses for the first time to disaster as it was happening. In summer 1968, 6,000 children were dying every week, and there were 650 refugee camps holding 700,000 people, and a further 4m displaced people outside the camps, searching for food.

The response from a small group of concerned citizens in Dublin led to the creation of Africa Concern, which later became Concern and later still Concern Worldwide. Food was sent from Ireland by ship and into Biafra by plane and then organised into truck conveys by Jack and his brother Aengus, also a Holy Ghost Father, and their fellow priests. By the end of the war Africa Concern had organised daily flights for 11 continuous months. The Nigerian authorities did not welcome the position of solidarity with Biafra adopted by the Irish priests, and Jack was briefly imprisoned in 1969 before being expelled.

The experience of Biafra had transformed Jack and into a life as teacher, priest and confessor, he incorporated the roles of aid worker, paramedic and political advocate. It became the springboard for his life's work.

Following a period as Dean of Rockwell College and an MA in Education from the University of San Francisco, Jack was sent to Bangladesh in 1973, in the wake of the cyclone and the effects of the war that eventually led to the political separation of East and West Pakistan, and the creation of the state of Bangladesh. Soon afterwards, in 1974, he went to Ethiopia in the newly created position of "country director". There he organised Concern's response to what Jonathan Dimbleby called "the unknown famine". When the political situation in Ethiopia became too unstable in 1977, the whole Concern team was withdrawn, and Jack took a year out to study for his Diploma in Development Studies at the University of Bath. He returned as country director to Bangladesh in 1978, where the after-effects of the war were still being felt. Until 1984 he remained there, responsible for the management of large multi-skilled teams of professionals.

Around that time, Concern initiated a series of fundraising events throughout Ireland and got the whole country involved, particularly in the annual Concern fasts. The response of the Irish people in supporting Concern's work in famine relief was enormous. As President Mary McAleese recently interpreted this phenomenon so eloquently "Ireland is a First World country with a Third World memory".

In 1984, Jack was back in Ethiopia, amid the unforgettable scenes of famine, relayed by Mohamed Amin's films and documented so poignantly by Michael Buerk, to be witnessed on television screens across the globe. One million people died. The response of Bob Geldof in organising Band Aid/Live Aid, which ended up raising in excess of $150m worldwide, and stimulating the engagement of a whole generation of young people through the pervasive influence of television, meant that the collective response to the question "who is my neighbour?" was truly global for the first time.

It was around this time that Bono and his wife Ali Hewson met Jack in the Wollo Province in N. Ethiopia. Bono has often acknowledged Fr Jack's profound influence on his own involvement in Third World debt issues.

Among numerous international relief organisations, Concern was the sole Irish recipient of funding from Live Aid. Jack Finucane was a key advisor to Bob Geldof and his team in how the funds should be distributed and how they should be spent. Jack displayed powerful political courage in going against the prevailing views among the aid community, in the aftermath of the Ethiopian famine, and continuing to work in the government-established resettlement villages in the south west.

With Concern, Jack continued to be deeply involved at the heart of relief efforts throughout the '80s and '90s, and into the new century. In 1990, he returned to Dublin and, as Regional Director for the Horn and West Africa, and later for Central Africa, he managed the agency's response in those regions until 2002. He initiated Concern's involvement in Somalia when it descended into civil war in 1992. He was central, again, to Concern's efforts in Rwanda following the genocide and civil war in that country, and - even though he officially retired in 2002 - he was soon afterwards back in the field in Darfur, and coordinated the Concern response in Sri Lanka to the 2004 tsunami.

Jack Finucane and his brother Aengus were awarded the freedom of their native city of Limerick in 2005. The legacy of Jack's work is clearly seen in the growth and influence of Concern. In the 40 years since its inception, Concern has been intimately involved in the transformation of the world's perception of emergency, and its attitude to aid and development. There is no longer any possibility of an emergency, whether natural or man-made, being unseen. Global challenges are recognised as such - food and water shortages, disease control, climate change, human rights, and so on. We understand now that these cannot be faced by communities or countries acting alone or independently. The influence of Concern on that worldwide understanding of sustainable development cannot be overestimated.

Concern Worldwide now has 3200 employees, of 50 nationalities, in 30 of the world's poorest countries. Its annual income in 2008 was over €130m, of which more than 90% was spent in the field. Guided by Jack Finucane and his colleagues, Concern has developed from a local Irish organisation dedicated to emergency relief to a genuinely global development enterprise whose principal objective is still, I suggest, to respond to the challenge in the question "who is my neighbour?"

As we in UCC move into a new phase of our work on international development, especially in support of third level education in the developing world and the direct involvement of our staff and students through teaching, research and volunteering, we recognise in Fr Jack Finucane those qualities that are required: courage, perseverance, leadership, political skill, and the ability to inspire by example.

Jack is also a wonderfully warm person, with a fine sense of humour. In retirement, while he continues to take a keen interest in the development work going on at Concern, he tells me that he is also keenly interested in the development of his golf handicap - and we wish him well with that!
 
It is indeed fitting that we in UCC honour Fr Jack Finucane today by conferring an Honorary Doctorate in Laws. It is a great honour, Chancellor, for me to present him to you.
___________________________

TEXT OF THE INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS DELIVERED BY
AN DR I. O MUIRCHEARTAIGH, President Emeritus, National University of Ireland, Galway on 5th June, 2009, on the occasion of the conferring of the Degree of Doctor of Arts, honoris causa, on SONIA O?SULLIVAN

A Sheansailéir, a mhuintir na hOllscoile, agus a chairde,

Onóir as cuimse domsa duine de mhór-laochra ár linne, Sonia O?Sullivan,, a chur in bhúr láthair le go mbronnfar urithi an gradam is airde atá ar fáil  ón Ollscoil.   Thar cionn na hOllscoile, déanaim comhghairdeachas ó chroí léi  as ucht a bhfuil bainte amach aice, agus cuirim fáilte is fiche roimpi, roimh a fear chéile Nic, a páistí Ciara agus Sophie, agus a hathair John, a máthair Mary, agus a gaolta atá linn anseo inniu.

I am deeply grateful to you, President Murphy, for affording me the opportunity to introduce Sonia O?Sullivan here this afternoon as the University confers on her its greatest honour.  Today it is my privilege to present to you, a mhuintir na hOllscoile, someone who is, beyond argument, the greatest Irish athlete of all time, and someone who not too long ago was voted Ireland?s greatest living sportsperson, Sonia O?Sullivan.

Ag tús mo chainte, dhéanas comhghairdeachas ó chroí le Sonia as ucht an gradam seo a bheith á bhronnadh uirthi inniu.  I'm sure Sonia herself understood the sentiment of "comhgharideachas", but as her husband Nic is Australian, and probably has limited knowledge of the Irish language, I had better explain to him that "comhgharideachas", as most of you will know, is the Irish word for congratulations.  I offer this explanation so that there will be no mis-understanding, as I will always remember an incident at a conferring ceremony in NUI Galway a few years ago, when I conferred a degree on an American student.  As I always did on those occasions, having handed the young lady her parchment, I said "Comhghairdeachas".  I'm told that when she returned to her seat she remarked to the person beside her: "The guy told me I was gorgeous!".  And she was!!

Born in Cobh, just down the road from here, Sonia's athletic achievements are the stuff of legend.  For those of us interested in athletics, certainly those from outside Cork, the first intimation of her potential was her victory, happily recorded on television, in the Irish Women's Cross Country Championships at the age of 18 in 1987.  From there the path was continuously upward:  her performances as a junior (including an Irish junior record of 2 minutes 5.72 secs for the 800m set in 1987 and which lasted until last Saturday - 22years, and which even then was only broken by a fraction of a second) earned her an athletic scholarship to Villanova University, following the well-trodden trail blazed by Irish athletes such as Ronnie Delaney, Noel Carroll, Marcus O'Sullivan, and Eamonn Coughlan.  Her early years in the US were plagued by injury but nevertheless while earning her degree she still managed to become National Collegiate Athletic Association 3000 m Champion. During her time at Villanova she particularly benefitted from, and appreciated the support of outstanding Irish athletes Marcus O'Sullivan (no relation) and Frank O'Mara, who were in the US before her, and who, to quote herself "treated her like a kid sister".  

I have to say that for any athlete to have been born and reared in Cork bestows upon him or her some major advantages.  First and foremost, there is a magnificent tradition and culture of sporting excellence and competitive drive which permeates every sport in this region.  Secondly, there are the incredibly high standards which are an accepted part of that culture.  I had the privilege of running here many times in my youth. I remember winning a 400m race at a local sports.  The World record for the event at that time was 44.2 secs.  My result was announced as follows:  The winner's time was 44.1 secs (at which announcement I felt smugly pleased, though not surprised) but the follow-up remark somewhat undermined any feelings of satisfaction, as the announcer continued "and that is the best time we've seen for the 400m in these parts for some time!".  Given such a background it is little wonder that Sonia should progress to the top of the World stage.

Following graduation, Sonia decided to become a full-time athlete and the following years produced a catalogue of achievements unequalled in the history of Irish athletics.  The highlights included Gold in 1500m and Silver in 3000m in the World student games at Sheffield in 1991, Silver in the 1500m at the World Championships in Stuttgart in 1993, Gold in the Europeans 3000m at Helsinki in 1994, Gold at the Worlds in Gothenburg in 1995, Silver at the World Indoors 3000m in Paris in 1997, double Gold at the World Cross Country Championships in Marrakesh Morocco in 1998 (a unique achievement, winning both the short and the long races the same weekend), double Golds at 3000m and 10000m at the Europeans in Budapest in 1998, Silver at 5000m at the Olympics in Sydney [probably the highlight - for serious athletes, the Olympics is the pinnacle],  and Silver in both 5000m and 10000m at the Europeans in Munich in 2002.  No wonder that in 2004 she was voted Ireland's Greatest Living Sportsperson.

Sonia was (and in many cases still is) record holder at an astonishing range of distances: national records at 800m, 1000m, 1500m, 1 mile, 2000m, 3000m, 2 mile, 5000m, 10000m and half marathon; the 3000m record was also a European record while the 2000m and the 2 mile records  were world records.

But the life of Sonia is so much more than a mere list of medals and records. I think many of us will remember her as much for the emotional rollercoaster of her defeats, and her subsequent recovery from them, as for the highs of her world championship and Olympic wins and medals, and her record-making runs. We have all celebrated with her as she won Gothemburg World championship Gold and the Sydney Olympic Silver, and suffered with her and for her during the unexpected defeat at Atlanta.  And for all of us parents who have nursed and nurtured our children through the joy of victory and, more importantly and certainly more frequently, through the agony of defeat, which of us will ever forget the superb philosophical response of her father John to the media on the occasion of her disappointment at Atlanta: "sure nobody died tonight!!".  

Sonia is a runner's runner.  She runs.  That is what she does. She wins, she loses, she wins again. Like many runners, she has an almost mystical appreciation of the joy of running.  In preparing this citation, as I pondered Sonia and her career, I was reminded of some verses from the well-known poem "If" by Rudyard Kipling, which to my mind, capture a flavour of this outstanding daughter of Cork, and I quote:

?If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run ?

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,?

Sonia has certainly filled the unforgiving minutes with much more than sixty seconds worth of distance run. We hope that, deservedly, hers will be the Earth, and everything that's in it.  And on this day, here in her home place, it is more than appropriate, indeed it is entirely fitting, that this university today welcomes into its community one of its own, the girl from Cobh, Sonia O'Sullivan.  Fáilte romhat abhaile Sonia, duine de mhór laochra spoirt na hÉireann.  Molaimid thú as do ghaisce, traoslaimid leat as do ghradam, agus guímid gach rath ort fhéin agus ar do chuid ins na laethanta geala atá romhat.
_____________

PRAEHONORABILIS VICE-CANCELLARIE, TOTAQUE UNIVERSITAS:
Praesento vobis, hunc meum filium quem scio tam moribus quam doctrina habilem et idoneum esse qui admittatur, honoris causa, ad gradum Doctoratus in utroque Jure, tam Civili quam Canonico, idque tibi fide mea testor ac spondeo totique Academiae.

TEXT OF THE INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS DELIVERED BY:
PROFESSOR CIARAN MURPHY, Professor of Business Information Systems in University College Cork, on 5 June 2009, on the occasion of the conferring of the Degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, on MAIRIN QUILL

A Sheansaileir agus a mhuintir uilig na hOllscoile,

Máirín Quill's life story reflects that of a number of Irish people who left their native parish, village or town and upon settling in their new environment improved the social, cultural or public life of their adopted city or country. Whether they moved from Athenry to Australia, Bandon to Boston nó ó Chill Garbhçin go Corcaigh these individuals enriched their new society.

Máirín Quill is an outstanding exemplar of such people.

Máirín was born in Kilgarvan, Co. Kerry under the shadow of the majestic Mangerton Mountain. She was born into a staunchly republican family. Her father Danny Quill was imprisoned in the Curragh while her Aunt Mary was jailed in Tralee having been arrested in the schoolhouse where she taught, caught redhanded typing messages for volunteers who were on the run.

The house where Máirín was born was GHQ of the Old IRA in South Kerry and among those who had slept in the house were Erskine Childers while on the run from the British army and Liam Lynch who had slept in the house three nights before he was shot. Subsequently, both her parents were founder members of Fianna Fáil.  This transition and commitment to peaceful democratic politics was something that Máirín would embrace as a core value during her own time in politics.

At the age of 3, the precocious Máirín started her schooling in the local National School where she immediately manifested her interest in public performance and the arts by rising up and singing a song whenever the mood took her, regardless of what the teacher was attempting to do.

Those early days of schooling in Kilgarvan were to have a profound affect on Máirín. She has never forgotten that she was the only female from her class of girls in that school who did not have to emigrate.

Her secondary education was in Boarding School in Mountmellick and despite her earlier interruptions in class it is obvious that the teaching bug had taken hold of Máirín.

She studied for two years at Mary Immaculate College of Education qualifying as a primary teacher and commenced her National schoolteaching in Whitegate before moving to Little Island. She studied by night in UCC for a B.A. degree in History and English and completed her Higher Diploma in Education here.

Máirín commenced her secondary teaching career at St. Vincent's secondary school on the Northside of Cork City in 1968 and taught there for nineteen years. From 1997 to 2001 Máirín worked as a Supervisor of teaching practice in the Department of Education here in UCC.

Parallel with her teaching vocation, Máirín had developed her interest in politics by joining the Seán O Donnchadha Cumann of Fianna Fáil in Cork city in 1965.

Her work and ability were noticed by Jack Lynch and he asked her to stand as a fourth Fianna Fáil candidate for the Dáil in the Cork City constituency in 1977. She was unsuccessful, finishing sixth in the five-seater constituency. In 1979, she was elected to Cork Corporation and was to continue to be a member of that body for the next thirty years topping the poll in every election, bar one, before officially retiring today.

It is one thing for someone to inherit an interest in politics but it requires a totally different level of commitment to put yourself forward for election and to continue to do so for over 30 years. For Máirín it has been her experience in education that has driven her to try to make a difference and to improve the lot of her fellow citizens.

In an interview with Caroline Walsh of the Evening Echo in 1987, Máirín explained what drove her to become a politician and I quote:
"There is no better place than the classroom for seeing the effects that unemployment has on families, you see the children coming in on poor breakfasts, children embarrassed because they can't pay for books or are wearing worn out shoes or runners. And all these are just the physical symptoms of poverty, not to speak of the depression in the home, the frustration, the marital problems and all the allied ills of unemployment that impact mercilessly on children". She spoke of the frustration of preparing and pushing children who've seen their older brothers and sisters ending up either on the boat or at the labour exchange and stated "-One of the worst things to see is the slow death of ambition in children watching it dawn on them how futile it is to get good exam results, to strive and to try. As a politician I will be asking myself can I do nothing to change the course of events in their favour".

If ever, there was a statement of how, bad public policy adversely affects education and how educational experience can shape a noble political commitment then surely this was it. It smacks of a core value system and of, -an integrity; - an integrity that was to manifest itself in a short few years.

Frustrated by the lack of high standards among the higher echelons of her party Máirín took what for her was the most painful decision of her life. She left Fianna Fáil, the party that her parents had helped to found, and with others established the Progressive Democrats in 1985. At the time she described that decision as "like eating my own flesh".

In 1987 she was elected to the Dail representing Cork North Central and was to spend ten  years in the Dail followed by a further five years in the Seanad.

Máirín's election to the Dáil broke the mould of politics in Cork. She was the first female to be elected to the Dáil from Cork city or county who did not replace a family member.

She was the first TD to be elected from Cork City who had not been born and reared in Cork. By this achievement she drove a first nail in the coffin of parochialism - a parochialism that as HL Mencken put it results in the progressive degeneration of the honesty and honour of representatives and (often) blocks the person of sense, dignity and self-respect from being elected.

In her time in national politics Máirín played a lead role in a wide range of activities but most of her work centered on improving the lot of children, one example of which was her Chairing of the Select All-Party Committee on Crime which in the 1990's produced the first major report on protecting children from becoming involved in crime and which led to the subsequent legislation.

In 1997 the Irish Times stated "her slightly eccentric style camouflages a ferocious intellect and her contributions have been among the better features of the Dáil".

Máirín Quill has throughout her public life promoted culture and the arts as central to the civic society of Cork and Ireland. She has consistently supported a range of organisations at local, regional, national and international level.

Newbury House in Mayfield, the Crawford Art Gallery, Cork Opera House, the National College of Art & Design, the Arts Committee of Cork City Council, Cork 2005 European Capital of Culture, the Seamus Murphy and Aloys Fleischmann Centenary Celebrations, Wandesford Quay Studios and Gallery, Corcadorca Theatre Company, Cork Printmakers, Cork Orchestral Society,to name but a few, have all benefited from her input and enthusiasm. She has served as Chair or Deputy Chair of almost all of these.

Her professional life as a teacher and her dedication as a public servant have given Máirín a vision which places culture at the centre of an equitable and engaged community.

A review of the buildings in Cork where art is either made, exhibited or performed, shows that she helped to establish or sustain almost all of them. For example, artists now work in the studios in Wandesford Quay, patrons sit in a refurbished and energised Cork Opera House, children learn about and make art in Newbury House. There is an equality of access in this approach, the local is as important as the international if not more so to her. She clearly understands that early engagement with art and artists can lead to a life long love and relationship with creativity which not only enriches the individual, but also the society in which they take their place.

Tá ard mheas aici ar an nGaeilge, ar litríocht, ar an bhfílíocht, ar chultúr ársa na tire seo agus bhí baint láidir aici le heagrú Oireachtais na Gaeilge nuair a cuireadh ar siúl anseo i gCorcaigh é sna bhlianta 2005 agus 2008.

Political gain or advantage has never been achieved through working in or on behalf of the Arts. Rather it is Máirín's sophisticated but straight forward belief in the value of culture to people and places which led her to champion the arts.

In doing all of this she has benefitted from the wonderful support and encouragement of her sister Ita. The city of Cork has been fortunate to have both Quill sisters working on its behalf.

The concept of service and the greater good are central to Máirín's belief in her role not only as a politician but as a citizen. Through her work she demonstrates the impact which one politician can have through drive, energy and vision.  All of this was done with a grace which becomes not only her as a person, but the various public offices she has held.

Her outstanding commitment to education, public service and to the visual, written, spoken and performing arts recalls the words of John F Kennedy spoken at an honorary conferring in Harvard University on a June day in 1956. "If more politicians knew poetry and more poets knew politics, I am convinced the world would be a better place in which to live".


Máirín Quill, proud Kerry woman, and citizen of Cork has certainly made Cork and this region a better place to live in and for that she has earned both our gratitude and admiration and is a worthy nominee for the degree of Doctor of Laws.

ENDS
____________________

TEXT OF THE INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS DELIVERED BY:
Dr MICHAEL MURPHY, President of University College Cork, on 5 June 2009, on the occasion of the conferring of the Degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, on PROFESSOR ZHOU ZHE-WEI

A Sheánsailéir, a mhuintir na hOllscoile agus a dhaoine uaisle,

Lord Mayor, Chancellor, Minister, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Members of the Oireachtas, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and gentlemen.

With a population of over 20 million, the busiest cargo port in the world, the stock exchange of Asia's largest economy, Shanghai is not an obvious twinning partner for Cork.  It does, of course share the 021 telephone dialing prefix and the "second-city attitude" to Beijing that we enjoy with Dublin - obvious explanations for the success of the partnership between our two cities for over the past 5 years! And we are in the good company of other second cities - Milan, Chicago, Barcelona, Sao Paulo and Saint Petersburg - all twinned with Shanghai.

The University of Shanghai is the city's major Municipal Public University.  Founded in 1994 by consolidating four former institutions of higher learning, it can trace its origins to an earlier, pre-cursor University of Shanghai, established jointly by the Communist Party and the Kuomintang (or Nationalist Party) in 1922, but which disintegrated during the subsequent strife between the founding parties, and was physically destroyed in World War II.  Today, the modern Shanghai University, with 42,000 students (8,000 of whom are post-graduates) taught by 3,000 faculty, exhibits a rich tapestry of programmes across the arts, law, social science, physical and life sciences as well as a large range of engineering disciplines. It accommodates 72 research institutes as well as an advanced high technology science park.

Its founding leader, Prof Chien now 96 years old, is believed to be the oldest university president in the world.  However, the growth and success of the university, in recent years may be attributed largely to the vision and skill of our honoree today, Executive Vice-President Zhou Zhewei.

Prof. Zhou was born in Hubei Province, Peoples Republic of China, in 1950. His first university award was a Batchelor's degree in Engineering from the Chongqing Architecture Institute in 1982.  He subsequently studied in the Mechanics Department, Huazhong University of Science and Technology where he was awarded a Masters degree in Engineering in 1984. His formal education was completed by a doctorate from the Institute of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, Shanghai University of Technology in 1987.  He was appointed Professor of Fluid Mechanics at Shanghai University, and in 2005 assumed leadership of the university as Executive Vice President.

Prof. Zhou's research focused on fluid mechanics, in areas such as perturbation theory, on stability of fluid motion and spray atomization.  He has been principal investigator of many projects supported by the Chinese Natural Science Foundation and by the Shanghai Natural Science Foundation.  His scientific achievements and his university leadership skills have been recognized widely in China. He is Vice Director of Shanghai Institute of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, Chief Editor of the journal "Applied Mathematics and Mechanics", a Standing Member of the Chinese Association of Industrial and Applied Mathematics, Vice Chairman of the University Administration Committee in the Chinese Association of Higher Education, and he is Vice Chairman of Shanghai Association of Higher Education.

As the executive head of Shanghai University, Prof. Zhou is guardian of the vision and mission of that university.  The President, Vice-chancellor or Rector of any European University could profit from contemplation of its mission, succinctly stated as - educating people with all-round development and a spirit of innovation, while breaking down four barriers:
the barrier between teaching and learning;
the barrier between teaching and research;
the barrier between schools, departments and disciplines;
and the barrier between campus and community.

University College Cork has enjoyed and appreciates the invaluable support of Shanghai University under the leadership of Prof Zhou during the past four years.  We have invested great energy in developing academic engagement with China.  On the one hand, we have attracted almost 300 undergraduate and graduate students from the Peoples Republic of China to UCC, by far the largest cohort of Chinese students in any Irish university, many from Shanghai University.  At the same time, our Institute of Chinese Studies has grown exponentially such that 150 Irish students now read degree programmes in Chinese language and culture at UCC - again, by far the most significant university programme in the country.  A year, or term, of full-time study in China, forms an integral part of these courses. Last year, the first cohort from UCC (15 students) undertook a year of superb study in Shanghai University, and the UCC population in Shanghai is expected to double annually over the coming years.

Since 2007, we have also had the privilege of hosting a Confucius Centre at UCC.  Confucius centres are the Chinese equivalents of the Goethe Institute of Germany or the Alliance Francese, charged with promoting Chinese arts and culture throughout the world.  Each centre has a mentor university in China which provides academic support, teaching materials and a rota of fulltime teaching staff.  The centre at UCC, led by Prof. Fan Hong, enjoys the guidance of academic staff at Shanghai University.  The official launch of our Confucius Centre took place in Shanghai University last October, hosted by Executive Vice-President Zhao, and was attended by our Minister for Education and Science, Mr. Batt O'Keeffe.  

Critical to our success in evolving these large, high quality, programmes has been a commitment to bi-directional exchanges, mutual respect, and the enthusiastic collaboration of our academic partners in China. This afternoon, we express our appreciation by honouring Prof. Zhou Zhewei - in his personal capacity as an accomplished academic, as an outstanding university leader with vision and boldness, as executive head of the municipal university in China's largest metropolis, - and in a representative capacity, to express our gratitude to his university for its generous support of UCC past and future.

ENDS

Pictured at today's Honorary Conferrings were L-R: Ms Sonia O'Sullivan, Dr Michael Boland, Professor Zhou Zhe-Wei, Fr Jack Finucane and Cllr Máirín Quill.

1133MMcS






<<Previous ItemNext Item>>

« Back to 2009 Press Releases

University College Cork

Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh

College Road, Cork T12 K8AF

Top