President’s Message

One of the last events I attended on campus before Covid-19 brought public activity in Ireland to a standstill was a ceremony honouring Laura Madden, a brave Irish woman who became one of the first women to speak publicly about the conduct of Harvey Weinstein.

It was one of the most moving events I’ve attended in my time at Maynooth. As she told her story, the bravery of what it took for her to find and raise her voice for the good of other women— women who have experienced sexual assault—was overpowering. Hers was a story of collective action, of bravery in face of an overwhelmingly daunting situation, with her health and well-being very much on the line. Madden’s experience foreshadowed a different kind of daunting challenge, need for collective action, and indeed, bravery that would be called upon us all just a few weeks later, albeit in a completely different context. The nation responded in extraordinary ways to the onset of Covid-19. And you’ll be pleased to hear the Maynooth University community has too. From a near overnight shift to online teaching and remote working, to providing essential on-campus services and planning for any number of eventualities, I can’t thank Maynooth staff enough for stepping up at time of so much personal and professional adversity. I invite you to read in the pages ahead about some of these impressive—and innovative—ways in which staff and students adapted this past year. It’s impossible to recognise everyone who made sure our students were looked after and the provision of their education would continue. Or the many research colleagues whose brainpower is contributing to the national, and indeed, international understanding of the virus. A couple of examples, though: Take the work of Dr Elisa Fadda, who worked with colleagues across the world to use high-performance computing to unveil the atomic structure of the coronavirus’s spike protein. The results indicated, for the first time, key vulnerabilities of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein that can be targeted specifically for potential therapeutics. Or the All-Island Research Observatory based at MU. Director Justin Gleeson and colleagues teamed up with public and private sector partners to create the publicly accessible national Covid-19 Data Hub that so many of you—and those of us on the National Public Health Emergency Team—went to for trusted data on the virus. Professor Chris Brundson has, along with Justin, been an invaluable member of the Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, and many colleagues including Professors Aphra Kerr, Andrew Parnell, Bernard Mahon, and Paul Moynagh have made important contributions to the national discussion and response. Or our students, many in the nascent stages of adulthood, spreading their wings for the first time, who were suddenly told to stop, to retreat, to limit contact with their peers at a time when almost nothing seemed as important. Yet, even with their worlds upended, they proved they were up to the task. I and others have known, for a long time, that resilience is a common trait among Maynooth students (and former students, I’m sure you’d agree). In 2020, our students learned this for themselves. It’s been a true privilege to lead this institution for nearly 10 years. As I near the end of my tenure in this most unusual of years, I have never been more conscious of the special place that Maynooth University holds in the education pantheon of Ireland. Warmest of wishes to the Maynooth alumni community at home and around the world.

Sincerely,