Barry McSweeney (died 22 October 2014) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...

who was the first Chief Science Advisor to the

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...

Education and career

McSweeney was born in Cork, Ireland. He attended

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

, graduating in 1972 with a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

Honours degree in

Biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

. Subsequently, he obtained an MSc in

Clinical biochemistry Clinical chemistry (also known as chemical pathology, clinical biochemistry or medical biochemistry) is the area of chemistry that is generally concerned with analysis of bodily fluids for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. It is an applied ...

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. In 1994, he received a PhD degree in Biochemistry and

Biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

from

Pacific Western University The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, an

unaccredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

institution in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

.Distinguished UCC Graduates Honoured - 5 November 2004
University College Cork press release From 1987 and 1995 McSweeney was founding director of BioResearch Ireland, an organization focused on establishing Ireland as a location for biotechnology investment. He also worked as Director of Medical Business for Biocon Biochemicals in Cork and Sées, France, and as European Product Development Manager for the American Hospital Supply Corporation. He chaired the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries ...

(OECD) Working Party on Biotechnology in 1994-1995 and served as a member of the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology in

Science Foundation Ireland Science Foundation Ireland (SFI; ga, Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann) is the statutory body in Ireland with responsibility for funding oriented basic and applied research in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM ...

in 2000. From 2000 to 2004, McSweeney headed the Directorate-General

Joint Research Centre The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is the European Commission's science and knowledge service which employs scientists to carry out research in order to provide independent scientific advice and support to European Union (EU) policy. The JRC is ...

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

, an organisation of 2,400 staff and with a budget of 340 million euro. He was responsible for the development and expansion of the European Commission's Marie Curie Research Mobility Scheme to provide research and employment opportunities to young scientists. Ireland established the office of Chief Science Advisor to the Government in 2004 and McSweeney took up the position on 1 September 2004.

Diploma controversy

McSweeney was forced to resign from his position as Chief Science AdvisorScandal forces out Irish science head
''The Scientist'', 6(1):20051121-01, 21 November 2005 after the ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

'' discovered in October 2005 that his Ph.D. degree was from an unaccredited institution that had been "the subject of numerous official investigations, state bans and media exposés" in the United States, and that it had been obtained after just 12 months of study.Donal Lynch
eircom net Degree of doubt for Bertie's boffin
''

The Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Republic of Ireland, Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditional ...

'', 9 October 2005Gov must respond to bogus PhD claim on science adviser
, The Labour Party press release, 9 October 2005 The opposition

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...

, the Labour Party and

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

, criticised the government for failing to properly assess McSweeney's qualifications. After leaving the science adviser position, he was appointed to a position as research coordinator in Ireland's Department of Communications Marine and Natural Resources.Govt adviser accepts new position
RTÉ News, 15 November 2005

Recognitions

In 2003 he received the Great Gold Medal of

Comenius University Comenius University in Bratislava ( sk, Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave) is the largest university in Slovakia, with most of its faculties located in Bratislava. It was founded in 1919, shortly after the creation of Czechoslovakia. It is name ...

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

for his contributions to

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

enlargement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McSweeney, Barry Year of birth missing 2014 deaths Scientists from Cork (city) Irish biochemists People using unaccredited degrees 20th-century Irish scientists 21st-century Irish scientists Alumni of University College Cork Alumni of Trinity College Dublin