UL unveils bust of renowned Irish statesman

A BUST of a renowned Irish diplomat with strong Clare connections was unveiled in the University of Limerick recently.

The bust of Dr Seán Donlon is part of the series of statues on Chancellor’s Walk on the UL campus dedicated to a number of distinguished figures from the university’s history.
The sculpture, consisting of bronze on granite was created by Irish sculptor Paddy Campbell.
In 1987, Dr Donlon took on the role of executive vice-president of the GPA group, then based in Shannon, which involved a move to Ballina, Killaloe.
The UL chancellor and chair of the governing authority had a lucky escape in 1958 when he was in Carmody’s Hotel, Ennis, and the top floor collapsed killing eight people, including his younger brother, Thomas.
Dr Donlon went in with Thomas to buy a transistor radio and it is believed his brother was crushed when the top floor collapsed. The family had moved to Ennis in 1953 when his father, Tom, a native of Meath, was a school inspector in Clare.
They lived in Bindon Street in a premises where Michael Houlihan’s solicitor’s office is now located until 1959, when Tom Donlon was transferred to the Department of Education in Dublin.
Dr Donlon told The Clare Champion that he was very pleased the university had commissioned a bust of him. The work involved a number of visits to Mr Campbell’s sculpture studio at Via Luna in Florence where he often sat still on a bar stool and had “to look sober” for long periods, up to 60 hours in total.
“Paddy Campbell is a very successful sculptor who has completed a bust of President Mary McAleese. It was a good excuse to spend more time in Italy during the winter,” he joked.
“If a sculpture is good enough for President McAleese, it is certainly good enough for the University of Limerick,” he said.
Speaking at the unveiling, UL president Professor Don Barry said, “Seán was an inspirational leader and a wonderful ambassador for this university during his time as chancellor.
“The university greatly appreciate his ongoing friendship and loyalty. Seán continues to be a member of the board of the University of Limerick Foundation, so he is still making a tremendous contribution to the development of UL. We are honoured today to unveil a permanent symbol of our gratitude to him for his years of commitment to the advancement and progression of the University of Limerick,” he said.
The distinguished career of Seán Donlon spans many fields. His work for the Irish public service began at the Department of Finance in 1961. He spent the next 24 years in the Department of Foreign Affairs. His early duties in the Department of Foreign Affairs and at the Embassy of Ireland in Bonn were followed by a posting as Consul-General to Boston.
He returned to the headquarters of the Department between 1971 and 1978 specialising in Anglo-Irish affairs especially those related to Northern Ireland. His duties on the Northern Ireland desk at a particularly complex time included valuable behind-the-scenes work on the Sunningdale Agreement of 1974.
In the next decade he became Ambassador to the United States (and, concurrently, Mexico), helping to maintain the delicate connections between Britain, Ireland and America at the time of Jimmy Carter’s presidency.
Dr Donlon’s commitment to Northern Ireland affairs was widely praised after he returned from America and he went on to lead the Department of Foreign Affairs as Secretary-General and Head of the Irish Diplomatic Service.
He played a major role in the construction and implementation of the Anglo-Irish agreement of 1985 and always proved ready to take on offices of State at critical junctures, particularly those that marked Ireland’s relationships with the United States and with the United Kingdom.