Iognáid G. Ó Muircheartaigh is an Irish academic who served as president of

NUI Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

between 2000 and 2008. The Ó Muircheartaigh Hall in the university's sports centre is named in his honour.

Early life and education

From

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

, he attended an Irish-speaking school, Colaiste Mhuire, on Dublin's Parnell Square. He then attended

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

. He earned a PhD in statistics at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

, and he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, and a US

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

Senior Research Associateship at the US Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

Academic career

During his term as president, NUI Galway conferred honorary doctorates on

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

, Louise Arbour, Sr.

Helen Prejean Helen Prejean ( ; born April 21, 1939) is a Catholic religious sister and a leading American advocate for the abolition of the death penalty. She is known for her best-selling book '' Dead Man Walking'' (1993) based on her experiences with two ...

Richard Goldstone Richard Joseph Goldstone (born 26 October 1938) is a South African retired judge who served in the Constitutional Court of South Africa from July 1994 to October 2003. He joined the bench as a judge of the Supreme Court of South Africa, first i ...

Philippe Kirsch Philippe Kirsch, (born April 1, 1947) is a Canadian lawyer who served as a Judges of the International Criminal Court, judge of the International Criminal Court from 2003 to 2009 and was the Court's first International Criminal Court#Presidency, ...

Pius Langa Pius Nkonzo Langa SCOB (25 March 1939 – 24 July 2013) was Chief Justice of South Africa from June 2005 to October 2009. Formerly a human rights lawyer, he was appointed as a puisne judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa upon its in ...

and

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician serving as the 5th and current President of South Africa since 2018. A former Anti-Apartheid Movement, anti-apartheid activist and trade union leade ...

. As an adjunct professor in Human Rights, he continues to undertake research in Statistics, with applications in Human Rights, Economics, and Medicine.

Other roles

Ó Muircheartaigh has also served on the board of directors of

Aer Arann Stobart Air was an Irish regional airline based in Dublin, originating in 1970 and closing in 2021. It operated scheduled services under the brands Aer Lingus Regional, BA CityFlyer and KLM Cityhopper on behalf of their respective owners. S ...

. He is also on the board of directors of the Galway Rape Crisis Centre.

Recognition

He was conferred with honorary doctorates by both the University of Connecticut and the University of Massachusetts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Omuircheartaigh, Iognaid G. 20th-century Irish people Presidents of the University of Galway People from County Kerry People educated at Coláiste Mhuire, Dublin 21st-century Irish people Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of the University of Glasgow