A record of the main speeches given by the Provost of Trinity College Dublin, Dr Patrick J Prendergast Academic Year 2011 - 2012 Contents Page Page Title 1 Speech at the Opening of the 14th International Congress of Celtic Studies 6 Medical School Tercentenary, Alumni Gala Celebration 9 Annual TCD Alumni Reunion Banquet: Graduate Reunion Banquet 2012 15 Electric Picnic: IGNITE Talk 20 Provost’s Address at the Funeral of Professor R.B. McDowell 24 Opening of the 2nd International Research Conference – Building a Picture of Ageing of People with Intellectual Disability: Future Directions for Ageing Well 28 The Inaugural Speech of Dr Patrick Prendergast as 44th Provost of Trinity College Dublin 42 Provost's Welcome to New Students 48 Celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Moderatorship in European Studies 51 Launch of Dublin Contemporary @ TCD 56 Address to Members of the Royal Dublin Society: Trinity College – Becoming a University of Global Significance 66 The Official Opening of the Lir – the National Academy of Dramatic Art at Trinity College Dublin 69 Launch of Trinity Tales, Trinity College Dublin in the Seventies 72 Michaelmas Term Honorary Degree Dinner 2011 75 Address at St Andrew’s College, O’Reilly Hall, UCD 80 Retirement Commemoration for Muriel McCarthy, Keeper of Marsh’s Library 82 Opening of the Thematic Workshop of the European Universities Association Council of Doctoral Education: Supporting Individual Paths of Doctoral Candidates - Experience, Skills, Guidance 84 Welcome address to the National Dementia Strategy Conference 87 Celebration of the Award to Professor Andrew Mayes of the 2011 Burkitt Medal for Biblical Studies 89 Launch of the Music Composition Centre at Trinity College Dublin 92 Opening address to the European Universities Association Study Visit on Implementing Full Costing to Support the Financial Sustainability of European Universities 94 Innovation and the University: Provost's Address to Trinity Alumni 103 'Universities in the Public Service' Provost’s Address to the Symposium on The Idea of a University in the 21st Century 113 Official Opening of the New Home of the TCD School of Medicine 116 Launch of www.gothicpast.com 119 Signing of the Collaboration between TCD's Bridge 21 Programme and Suas Educational Development 122 Inauguration of Dr Mary Henry as Pro-Chancellor 125 Reception for Harry Clifton, Ireland Professor of Poetry 128 Retirement Celebration of Dr John Hegarty, Provost 2001-2011 133 Reception to Launch the Trinity College Journal 'Irlandskya Literatura' 136 Speech for the Trinity Business Alumni/Bank of Ireland Business Student of the Year Award 2012 140 Presentation of the 3rd Annual Trinity Student to Student Awards 142 Launch of the Centre for Longitudinal Studies in Ireland 144 Launch of the Trinity Societies Yearbook 146 Trinity College Dublin Innovation Award 2011 149 Ireland and the Falklands War: Centre for Contemporary Irish History Witness Seminar 151 250th Anniversary of the Trinity College Chapel Choir 154 Trinity Monday 2012 Scholars Dinner 158 'Geology in Modern Society’ Trinity Wednesday Academic Symposium 160 The Dean of Students' Roll of Honour Ceremony in Recognition of Student Learning Through Voluntary Activity 163 Launch of Symposium on Edward Hutchinson Synge (1890 - 1957). “From Peering at Atoms to Gazing at the Stars” 165 Launch of the Irish Science Teachers Association 50th Annual Conference 168 Launch of Gerald Dawe's Selected Poems 171 Address to the Institute of Directors: 'The Future of Third Level Education in Ireland and the Skills required by the Irish Economy' 179 Launch of Old Library Tercentenary Celebrations 182 Launch of CIRCLE: A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters 1244-1509 186 Opening of the 'General Practice' Photographic Exhibition 188 Conference on Undergraduate Admissions for the 21st Century 196 Address to the TCD London Dining Club 'Trinity College in the Second Decade of the 21st Century' 205 Provost's Teaching Awards 2012 209 Launch of the Life Histories Digital Archive 211 Launch of Enigma and Revelation in Renaissance English Literature, a Collection of Essays in Honour of Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin 213 Trinity Olympians Celebration 217 Ussher Lecturers’ Celebration 219 International James Joyce Symposium Opening Reception 222 Raising the Green Flag at Scoil Mochua Primary School, Oulart 224 Launch of the Arts Education Research Group, School of Education 227 Summer Honorary Degree Commencements Dinner 2012 231 Opening Address to 18th Annual Conference of the European Association of Research Managers & Administrators (EARMA) 234 Address at the Reception to Unveil the Walton Sculpture Design (after Craig Venter Lecture ‘What is Life?) 236 European Science Open Forum (ESOF) 2012 President's Dinner Tuesday, 2nd of August 2011 Speech at the Opening of the 14th International Congress of Celtic Studies The Dining Hall, Trinity College Dublin Ladies and Gentlemen, Delegates of the Fourteenth International Congress of Celtic Studies, I’m delighted to be here today, welcoming you to Trinity College Dublin. Or, I should say, welcoming this congress back to Trinity College. Because, as you know, the inaugural Congress of Celtic Studies was held in Dublin in 1959, when it was jointly organised by Trinity and UCD. At this inaugural congress 52 years ago, my predecessor, Provost A. J. McConnell, welcomed the delegated to a reception in the College. And the newly appointed President of Ireland Eamon de Valera opened the Congress itself. With some emotion, de Valera boasted that Ireland was “the only Celtic country to have its own independent government” – maybe not the most tactful observation for some of the delegates! Before A.J. McConnell became Provost, Trinity was perceived as somewhat isolated. It must have meant a lot to A.J. McConnell to collaborate with UCD in hosting this important event. Even though it was more than three decades after independence, there was still a mutual suspicion between the new state and its oldest university. Bur McConnell as Provost worked hard to make Trinity more accessible and a university for everyone in Ireland. He achieved this by nurturing events in which Trinity collaborated with other institutes, in Ireland and abroad, thus furthering the exchange of research and ideas. * * * Today is my first ever speech as Provost – I took up my position only this morning. You only ever get to make a first address once so this is a special occasion for me. 1 I am particularly delighted to be following in the footsteps of McConnell in welcoming delegates of the Congress of Celtic Studies. Trinity is again a co-organiser - on this occasion, with NUI Maynooth and the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies. And I would like to thank Professor Damien McManus, who is head of Trinity’s Irish department as well as co-organiser of this congress, for inviting me to welcome you this evening. The study of the Irish language in Trinity goes right back to the foundation of the college in the late sixteenth century. Which means that Trinity is among the first universities in the world to promote Celtic studies. In May this year, Queen Elizabeth the Second visited Trinity and we took great pride in showing her the Aibidil - an Alphabet and Catechism - which was the first book ever printed in the Irish language in Ireland. It is 440 years old this year, and was commissioned by her namesake, the first Queen Elizabeth, in 1571. The first Queen Elizabeth, who granted Letters Patent for the founding of the university, also paid for the manufacture of a Gaelic typeface to print an Irish translation of the New Testament, which was published in 1603. She appointed clerics to important ecclesiastical positions on the basis of their fluency in Irish. And she was herself a proficient linguist, who knew some words of Gaelic. It would be nice to think Queen Elizabeth did this all out of love of Irish. But of course Elizabeth’s reasons for promoting Irish were fundamentally strategic: she wanted to spread the protestant religion. According to the ideals of the Reformation, that meant preaching in the common tongue and printing the bible in the vernacular. A century after Elizabeth’s death, Fellows of Trinity were still raising money to maintain an Irish lecturer in the School of Divinity, so that divinity students could learn to preach in Irish. Even more importantly, the College continued to add to its rich collection of Irish manuscripts in the Library. I don’t need to remind you how fortunate Trinity is in holding one of the world’s most important collections of Irish language manuscripts. You have just had the opportunity to view part of this collection in the Long Room. 2 We’re exceptionally proud of all our manuscripts, including the twelfth- century Book of Leinster, the fifteenth-century Annals of Ulster, and of course the world-famous Book of Kells, which was presented to Trinity in 1661. If you look round the walls of this Dining Room you’ll find the portrait of a notable benefactor of Irish manuscripts to the library. Lord John Beresford was appointed Chancellor of this university in 1851. He was also Archbishop of Armagh and he donated to Trinity the Ninth century Book of Armagh, which tells, in Latin and Old Irish, the history of St Patrick. As it turned out, the Reformation was much less successful in Ireland than in Britain. The greater part of the population did not convert to Protestantism. However, what did remain from these early endeavours was the legacy of Irish study at Trinity College – and we are extremely grateful for that! This legacy meant that Trinity was in a brilliant position in the early nineteenth century when Celtic Studies began to be established as an academic discipline across Europe. The first Chair in Irish in any Irish university was established in Trinity in 1840.