Daniel O'Hare, often Danny O'Hare, (born 1942), is 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 ...

academic and former university leader, best known as the founding leader and first president of

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin'' in 1975, it enrolled its f ...

, one of two new universities established in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in September 1989. He has also held a wide range of public governance positions, and is an elected Member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

in the Science division. Coming from

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

, he is a chemist, specialized in advanced spectroscopy.

Life

Early life

O'Hare was born in

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

, growing up in

, where he attended the local Christian Brothers School until 1960.

Academic career

O'Hare graduated from

University College Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

(UCG), now NUI Galway, where he qualified with a BSc in Chemistry, and then an MSc in Organic Chemistry. He took a post as an assistant at UCG from 1964 to 1965. He later studied for a Ph.D. at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, working with gas-phase ultraviolet spectroscopy, and qualifying in 1968. O'Hare took up an assistant professorship at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

, before moving to the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

as a research fellow for a year.

RTC Letterkenny, RTC Waterford

O'Hare was appointed in 1971 as the first principal of Regional Technical College,

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( ga, Leitir Ceanainn , meaning 'hillside of the O'Cannons'), nicknamed 'the Cathedral Town', is the largest and most populous town in County Donegal, a county in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Letterkenny lies on the R ...

, now

Letterkenny Institute of Technology The Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT; ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Leitir Ceanainn) was a institute of technology, located in Letterkenny, Ireland. Based at Letterkenny in County Donegal, it was one of the smaller places of third ...

, serving until 1974, before becoming the second head of Regional Technical College,

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

, now

Waterford Institute of Technology The Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT; ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Phort Láirge) was an institute of technology, located in Waterford, Ireland. The institute had six constituent schools and offered programmes in business, engineerin ...

NIHE Dublin and DCU President

O'Hare took up a role as the director of the to-be National Institute of Higher Education Dublin in 1977, working from a city centre office, while plans, and a campus, for the new institution were worked on. He oversaw the NIHE until 1989, when he led its conversion to university status, on the same day as the

University of Limerick The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it beca ...

. He and his team secured funding from both international and national sources, including philanthropists such as

Chuck Feeney Charles Francis Feeney (born April 23, 1931) is an Irish-American businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune as a co-founder of the Hong Kong based Duty Free Shoppers Group. He is the founder of The Atlantic Philanthropies, one of the ...

. The NIHE and DCU focused on blending the needs of academia and industry, including a

cooperative education Cooperative education (or co-operative education) is a structured method of combining classroom-based education with practical work experience. A cooperative education experience, commonly known as a "co-op", provides academic credit for struct ...

system, INTRA. O'Hare announced in November 1998 that he would step down in September 1999.

Consultant roles

O'Hare has been a consultant to the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

and the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

Other roles

O'Hare has chaired the Conference of Heads of Irish Universities and the national coordinating body for distance education of adults, an area in which DCU specialised. During his time at DCU, he was also asked to chair a local project coordination body, Dublin City Council's Ballymun Regeneration Ltd., overseeing the more than a billion euro investment in renewing much of the residential provision for the area, as well as provision of new civic facilities, and, from 1994, the Board of nearby Beaumont Hospital. In 1996, he was appointed by the government as the founding chairperson of the

Food Safety Authority of Ireland __NOTOC__ The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) ( ga, Údarás Sábháilteachta Bia na hÉireann – USBE) is the statutory body responsible for ensuring food produced, distributed or marketed in Ireland complies with food safety and hygiene ...

, overseeing staffing, establishment of its legislative basis and mission definition. He also led Ireland's Expert Group on Future Skills Needs and Task Force on the Physical Sciences, and the Information Society Commission. After his time at DCU, O'Hare also chaired the governing body of the

Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy Milltown may refer to: * Mill town, a settlement that developed around one or more mills Places Canada *Milltown, New Brunswick * Milltown, Newfoundland and Labrador * Milltown, Ontario Ireland * Milltown, Ballymore, a townland in Ballymore civ ...

and the Dublin Airport Stakeholders Forum. He has been a member of the Medical Council of Ireland, from 2008-2013, and 2013-2018, where he chaired the Fitness to Practice Committee and was a member of several other committees. He also sat on the boards of the

Edmund Rice Schools Trust The Edmund Rice Schools Trust (ERST) is a Catholic school network with responsibility for almost 100 schools in the Republic of Ireland. The trust is named after Edmund Ignatius Rice the founder of the Irish Christian Brothers who originally est ...

, the Daughters of Charity, Digitary, Music Generation,

Media Lab Europe Media Lab Europe (MLE) was a research institute in Dublin, Ireland, based on the MIT Media Lab concept. Created in 2000, it went into voluntary liquidation early in 2005. MLE was one of two such projects, the other of which, Media Lab Asia, s ...

, and Calor Gas.

Exploration Station

O'Hare promoted, and is chair of the board of, the interactive National Children's Science Centre project, also known as ''Exploration Station'', which planned to open its new educational facility in 2020.

Memberships and recognition

O'Hare is a Member of the

, elected in the Science division in 1999. He holds honorary doctorates from the

University of Dublin The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...

(1992),

University of Ulster sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...

(1994),

Queen's University, Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

(1995), the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) ( ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann) is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called ''university college, constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under t ...

(1999), and DCU (2008).

Personal life

O'Hare is married to Sheelagh (née Kenny) from Galway, and they have four children, Michael, Nicholas, Domhnall and Fiona.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:OHare, Daniel Presidents of Dublin City University Alumni of the University of Galway Alumni of the University of St Andrews Irish chemists People from Dundalk 1942 births Living people Members of the Royal Irish Academy Academics of Waterford Institute of Technology