Speech by Dr Michael P. Mortell,
President, The National University of Ireland, Cork
at the Conferring of Degrees in Commerce Monday, 21 July, 1997
 
The Universities Act 1997

As we start out on this Conferring week, I would like to remind you of a bit of history enacted over the last four week. On June 16, 1997, the Minister for Education signed an order bringing into force the Universities Act 1997. The essential impact of this Act is that University College, Cork, a constituent College of the National University of Ireland, becomes a University in its own right. The legal designation now is National University of Ireland, Cork. We are a Constituent University (not College) of the National University of Ireland.

The degree you receive to-day is still a degree of the National University of Ireland, but awarded by the NUI Cork.

This University where you now sit, and have been conferred with your degrees, was founded in 1845 as one of the three Queen's Colleges - in Belfast, Cork and Galway. They were founded with the intention of providing a university education to the Catholic and Protestant middle classes. At that time the only university institutions in Ireland were TCD, which catered for the Protestant ascendancy, and Maynooth which trained the Catholic clergy. The Queen's Colleges were to be non-denominational and non-residential - and remain so to this day. The Royal Charter of incorporation of Queen's College Cork came into existence on 30 December 1845. The three Queen's Colleges became Colleges of the Queen's University in Ireland, which was the degree granting institution.

In 1908, Queen's College Cork became University College, Cork (UCC) a constituent College of the National University of Ireland. Cork was joined with Galway and University College Dublin, while Belfast became Queen's University Belfast - a university in its own right.

John A Murphy in his recent history of UCC gives us the background to the change. There had been growing dissatisfaction with aspects of the University (now called the Royal University) and also complaints by Catholics of low standards and low student numbers. A number of proposals had been made. As John A says in his book "the trick was to come up with a scheme which seemed non-sectarian enough to allay fears of Nonconformists in England and of Presbyterians in Ulster, and yet not too non-sectarian if the Catholic bishops were to be kept on board". It became clear that an all-Ireland framework simply was not feasible. So the solution emerged. Trinity was left alone, Belfast became a University in its own right, and then it was politically safe to have a southern university under Catholic influence, if not control.

As it not unusual, the political imperative carried the day. It is also worthy of note that partition was prefigured in The Irish Universities Act of 1908.

Before 1908, there was strong sentiment in Cork, that at Cork should be the independent university for Munster. However, Cork and UCC declared itself very pleased with the new arrangements.

The first conferring ceremony to be held in UCC was in the Aula Maxima on 25 May 1910 - at which, however, the President of the College, Sir Bertram Windle again sought "our own independent University".

Eighty seven years later, The Universities Act 1997 grants that wish - an independent University, part of a federal system, in Cork.

What does the new status mean? As a university we now decide our own courses, make our own appointments, decide who is awarded degrees. In practice we have been doing all this for many years, but the legal situation was that these decisions were taken by the Senate of the National University of Ireland. Now they will be taken either by the Academic Council or the Governing Body here in the University in Cork.

The colloquial reference should now be to "the University" rather than "the College". However, it will be difficult to find an alternative to the verse

"The Coal Quay and the College
have two different kinds of knowledge,
And yet the half of Cork you have not seen" -
 
but maybe some budding poet might try!

What does the future look like? Universities are more central and critical to the economic life of a nation than ever before. This will put great demands on us to have top class staff at the cutting edge of their disciplines; to provide the best possible facilities for them in which to do their work; to attract the best students at both undergraduate and postgraduate level; to expand the research areas in which we excel. This will demand great energy and focus of all our staff in an increasingly competitive environment.

But we are working from a very good base. With energy and drive I have no doubt that this University will continue on its upward trend in scholarship, research, teaching and service to the community.