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"We must all join in – it’s vital to our children’s futures and it is (selfishly) very satisfying."

(...Continued from page 32) has been determined by their histories, and the heroes and heroines that shaped and framed them. If there is no understanding of what created today’s values and behaviours, how can they be maintained – or changed or developed in healthy directions?

DO YOU HAVE A UNIQUE INSIGHT FROM YOUR CAREER IN BUSINESS?

I see the ‘silo problem’ everywhere. Pockets of knowledge, perspective and insight ‘locked’ in their own small worlds. There are extraordinary bodies of deep knowledge in many, many areas – people and their behaviour, the perspectives of history, the processes of world class design, the power of information technology. My perception is that an infinitesimally small part of this richness delivers the value of its potential. Silos flourish and, especially in academia, tend to be actively rewarded. Few of the world’s challenges and opportunities align neatly with the structure of university departments. The real power of insight comes from combining a range of perspectives. Niall Ferguson delivers more powerful insights because he combines his economic and historical competences. I am delighted by all the cross-faculty teamwork I see in Trinity today.

DO YOU SEE YOUR TRINITY, LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL AND CAMERATA IRELAND INVOLVEMENTS AS A WAY OF GIVING BACK?

I am too selfish to be an altruist. I want to work – as I have always done – with nice, bright, high-integrity people doing interesting things. It’s a privilege, and the Long Room Hub is a great example. The arch-capitalist George Soros has written on philosophy, sociology and world politics. He was stimulated by the work of Karl Popper, whose concept of “open society “requires a population competent to think and challenge. This is the very essence of healthy democracy. It requires the confidence and humility to seek multiple perspectives.

AND PHILANTHROPY?

Ireland has been transformed since I was at Trinity. I belong to a generation of Trinity graduates who have had economic opportunities unknown to their parents. Despite the short term challenges – significantly overdone by the doom mongers – we, and our successors, have wealth. Ireland’s challenges now are firstly to keep the wealth flowing, because it is the fuel for the second: to become more civilised.

The disadvantaged must be supported and enabled. We must invest in knowledge and cultural richness. We have learnt that wealth flows from top quality education – a virtuous circle of civilisation and wealth creation. We must play catch up with philanthropy in North America. Martin Naughton, Peter Sutherland, Loretta Glucksman, Denis O’Brien, Tony O’Reilly, Bernard McNamara and a good list of others are setting wonderful examples. John Hegarty’s leadership is ensuring that their investments are being put to excellent use. We must all join in – it’s vital to our children’s futures and it is (selfishly) very satisfying.

(Photo captioned: Terry Neill M.A. (1969), Barry Douglas of Camerata Ireland, Neasa Ní Chinnéide-Hegarty and the Provost, Dr John Hegarty.)