CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
NUI
– 100
On the occasion of its centenary, Professor Maurice Manning looks back on
the history of the National University of Ireland and some of its illustrious
chancellors over the years
caption
N 3 December next, the Irishmen of the 20th century, Archbishop
O
National University of William Walsh, Eamon de Valera, T. K.
Ireland (NUI) celebrates the Whitaker and Garret FitzGerald. Few, if
centenary of its foundation. any, Irish institutions can boast of such
It will be a quiet enough sustained and distinguished leadership.
celebration: a volume of The first NUI Chancellor was Archbishop
centenary essays, a conferring of honorary William Walsh of Dublin. Walsh is today
degrees and a major international virtually forgotten but he was
conference. In one sense, the low-key but undoubtedly the outstanding Catholic
high-quality nature of these events is prelate of 20th-century Ireland. It fell to
entirely appropriate and in keeping with him, along with the great lawyer, Judge
the understated but substantial and Christopher Palles and the first Registrar of
distinguished contribution of the NUI to the NUI, Sir Joseph McGrath, to make a
Irish education and Irish public life. reality of Augustine Birrell’s Irish
There will, however, be a note of sadness Universities Act of 1908. It was their job to
about the event. The major role played by establish the NUI: find premises, appoint
the NUI over much of the 20th century is staff, regulate relations between the
no more and the NUI is faced with, at best, constituent colleges and set basic
a much diminished role in Irish education standards which would apply all round.
or more likely a gradual erosion of its few
Archbishop William Walsh
There were many difficult issues, including
remaining functions. universities, except Trinity College Dublin. an early attempt at secession by Bertram
Two factors in particular have contributed In the new situation, the NUI could only Windle, the President of UCC, who greatly
to this decline. The Universities Act 1997 in speak for some of the universities and in resented the “Dublin domination” of the
effect conferred full autonomy on the some cases for universities between which new structures. However, under Walsh’s
constituent colleges, inevitably leading to a there were significant differences. wise leadership, firm foundations were
dilution of the NUI’s traditional functions. laid and lasting structures put in place.
The second factor was the increase in the Noteworthy leaders Walsh was succeeded in 1921 by de
number of universities and the growth in But whatever happens, the NUI can look Valera, who was to remain Chancellor of
the number of institutes of technology. In back on a century of sustained service to the university until his death in 1975. De
the past, the NUI could speak for and set this country. In particular, it was lucky to be Valera did little to change the structures
standards in all of the Republic’s led by four of the most outstanding inherited from Walsh. The NUI had now
PAGE FORTY FOUR UCD CONNECTIONS
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