Daniel O'Hare, often Danny O'Hare, (born 1942), is an Irish academic and former university leader, best known as the founding leader and first president of

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) () is a Third-level education in the Republic of Ireland, university based on the Northside, Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Highe ...

, one of two new universities established in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

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; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...

in the Science division. Coming from

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

, he is a chemist, specialized in advanced spectroscopy.

Life

Early life

O'Hare was born in

County Louth County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath 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 () is a public university, public research university located in the city of Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Ga ...

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

, before moving to the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

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 ( , meaning "hillside of the O'Cannons"), nicknamed the Cathedral Town, is a large town in County Donegal, Ireland, on the River Swilly in the north-west of Ulster. Along with the nearby city of Derry, Letterkenny is a regional eco ...

, now

Letterkenny Institute of Technology The Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT; ) was an institute of technology, located in Letterkenny, Ireland. Based at Letterkenny in County Donegal, it was one of the smaller places of third level education in the historic province of Ul ...

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

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

, now

Waterford Institute of Technology The Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT; ) was an Institutes of technology in the Republic of Ireland, institute of technology, located in Waterford, Ireland. The institute had six constituent schools and offered programmes in business, engi ...

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 University of Limerick (UL) () 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 became a university in Septemb ...

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

Chuck Feeney Charles Francis Feeney (April 23, 1931 – October 9, 2023) was an Irish-American businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune as a co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers Group, the travel retailer of luxury products based in Hong Kong. He wa ...

. 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" or work-study program, provides a ...

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 Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

and the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

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) ( – USBE) is the statutory body responsible for ensuring food produced, distributed or marketed in Ireland complies with food safety and hygiene standards, best practice codes and legal requ ...

, 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 The Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy was a Jesuit-run institution of higher education and research, located in Ranelagh, County Dublin, Ireland. From November 1989, when it was granted designated status under the National Council ...

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 Daughters of Charity, Digitary, Music Generation, Media Lab Europe, 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 (), corporately named as The Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a research university located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dublin, whi ...

(1992),

University of Ulster Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...

(1994),

Queen's University, Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

(1995), the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) () is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universities Act 1908, and signifi ...

(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 People from Dundalk 1942 births Living people Members of the Royal Irish Academy Academics of Waterford Institute of Technology People educated at Coláiste Rís Scientists from County Louth 20th-century Irish chemists 21st-century Irish chemists