Live95 Limerick Today Podcasts
Prof Eugene Wall on his retirement from Mary Immaculate College
Joe chats with the retiring president of MIC, Eugene Wall about his plans for the future as well as his long career in the education sector.
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- Broadcast on:
- 18 Sep 2024
- Audio Format:
- other
"Your views, your news, your limerick today with Jonet on Live 95" Professor Eugene Wall is hanging up his hat as the president of Mary Immaculate College in Dimrick after a distinguished educational career spanning over 40 years, an event to celebrate his role in Ireland's education system was held in August, but Eugene is with us now to have a chat about it all, and you're welcome. Good morning to you, Jonet. How glorious day it is, too. Now, are you rushing out the door delighted to be retiring or what, Eugene? No, I'm fairly ambivalent feelings towards it. On the one hand, it was a pleasure and a real privilege to be involved in M.I.C. over the last 44 years, but on the other hand, it also, it's a wrench because you're leaving behind lots of friendships that you've developed over the years, and it was very enjoyable. I thoroughly enjoyed it, particularly when I got to the end and was taking a retrospective, looking back, I realised how enjoyable it was. Now, I think we can hear from your accent. You're not a limerick, Nathan, but you've been here a long time. Yeah, 44 years. I moved on to Limerick for one year in 1980. I'm still here, two of my children were born here. They've come back because they're working in Dublin, but yeah, I had an opportunity at one stage, probably around the early, the early, early, to apply for a similar job in Dublin, but that was when I knew I was staying. Yes, because the roots were really here now. Really here, yeah. And the transformation in education in Merriam-Aclid College itself in over 40 years, it must be remarkable. Yeah, back in 1991, which is just over 30 years ago, back in 1991, there was 297 students in the place. Now, there's over 5,000. So it's a remarkable accomplishment for an institution to come that way. It's gone from being what they'd call a monotechnic institution, which was a single degree or one degree and occasionally a second one, to now where there's dozens of degrees in there, both undergraduate and postgraduate level, and in terms of the number of doctorates, even, that are turned out every year. So it's also in terms of its prestige and its reputation. When I came to Limerick first, I hadn't heard of Merriam-Aclid when I came to Limerick in 1980, but now it's moved from being recognised largely in Monster. It has a national profile and it has an international profile as well, and that's a remarkable turnaround. And it's absolutely thought of alongside the other two universities now, you know, in common discourse, isn't it, Tuse, UL and Merriam-Aclid? Exactly, and I think Limerick is very fortunate. It's, you know, it's this coming from somebody who's still probably, there's an element of the dub in me here, but Limerick's very fortunate to have three very high-performing institutions, and the impact that they have not only on the region, but beyond that. Now, when you think about the challenges faced by Merriam-Aclid College 40 years ago, and the challenges faced now as you retire, what are they? Are they very different? Well, Ireland is a totally different place from then. I mean, I think Ireland has really advanced in a lot of ways, attitudinally, in terms of the, I wouldn't say that that was the peak period of poverty in Ireland, but I certainly grew up at a time in Ireland when there was a lot of poverty. And, you know, so there's a higher degree of affluence notwithstanding the fact that there remain very considerable challenges there, but Limerick has certainly changed as well. I can't believe the changes that are in Limerick, and the international students who come to Merrii really are very strong in their praise of the city, and they find it a very enjoyable experience. And for example, and I know you produce people doing lots of different things now, but the teachers that you produce now, they are facing an incredibly different world, aren't they? Oh, yeah. They are. But we're still very fortunate in Ireland, and this is not something that's mirrored in other countries. We're still very fortunate in the caliber of people who come into primary teacher education in particular. And if you look in Merrii, they have two of the top performing programmes. If you measure it by leaving certain points, and I know that's not the only way to do it, but one of them, you know, the points are touching, you know, they're over 590 points for one of those programmes. Right. What's been the most emotional moment for you in recent months? Ah, there'd be many, you see. My retirement was flagged for a year, so there were various sorts of ways in which it was marked all along the way. I suppose walking out the door on the last day, turning the key in the door, it's something that you can get very used to. And I suppose, as I said to some people when they asked me, you know, when you retire after a career where you've been very much gold driven and it's been hectic, you know, you have to try and reverse engineer to getting used to a slower pace of life. So that's been the biggest adjustment. It's only three weeks. So after the adjuster, the way in holidays there for six days, and that's the first time now in years I've gone away in holidays, and there was no work intervening in that. My wife was very pleased about that. I'm sure. How did you feel about the tribute paid to you by the president of Ireland, Michael Dee Higgins? Oh, I was obviously very flattered. I really was. I wasn't expecting it. And it was lovely. And I was surprised. And I didn't really even take it in on the night because what was happened was I was presented with a framed picture of myself and the president and a letter from him. And I thought it was a very generous tribute. So anybody will be foolish not to be overwhelmed by that. Because I mean, you would have known him and he knew you when he was in the cabinet as a minister. Isn't that right? Actually, I didn't know him until he became president. Oh, really? And he came down last year. The year before last, we had this event at which he was launching an exhibition of the sculptor of the images short and Peter Macberry was also getting an award and he came down. And I had a very interesting conversation with him at dinner that that evening. And it was touching on one of the topics I've just mentioned there, which is whether Ireland has improved and the extent to which is improved from the early days of my coming to Limerick. And I'm somebody who kind of uncharacteristically for me is that that's half full person at this stage of my life. And so that was an interesting discussion. But no, I hadn't I hadn't known him when he was when he was the minister for arts, culture and heritage and myself myself share one thing in common, very big thing in common, which is we're both very strong Leonard Cohen fans. Really? Yeah, yeah, I didn't know that. Yeah, interesting. And there is speaking of presidents, a tradition in the US where a president leaves a note for the incoming president of the US. Yeah. So what has your advice been to your successor as president of Mary Immaculate College? And on so far, Derma's not taking up his role on till Derma Nester, he's actually a Limerick man, Carl Daven, and he's coming back from Sydney after a number of years out there. And I'm sure we'll sit down and we will have a chat. I've known Derma for a number of years anyway. Of course, I wish him very well in the role at present professor, Nev Oregon is the acting president. She'd be there until mid November when Derma's arrives. And at that stage, we can chat. But at the same time, the old fellow has to has to move out and get out of the way and allow the new person to come in and do things their way. And I'm sure he'll do a marvelous job. Can you remember your happiest moment or moments during that time, during your presidency, especially? No, there were lots of, there were lots of lovely moments. I don't have anyone in particular. I would say, you know, that going back over the number of years, the number of dark times. And I mean, COVID was not an easy time. It wasn't an easy time in any higher education institution. It wasn't an easy time in society. As we all know, but there wasn't any particular time that I would look back and say, you know, oh, that was a real high point. I tend to take these things very much in my stride. I don't get overwhelmed. And when people say nice things about me, I think that's lovely. But as I said to somebody, I don't need to take anti-inflammatories for the size of my head because I don't get carried away with this. And retirement. I mean, I'm looking at you now and you don't look really like the retiring sort. So have you ideas? Not particularly. Now, as I just mentioned before we came on here, there was a way in Greece there for six days. And that was something I really, it was something that was on my bucket list. I wanted to do that. I'd never been there before. So a family, I think, will be an important part of me. Six grandchildren and spending time with them, spending time with family is something that I'm very much looking forward to. There are other things in the pipeline, but I'm not pushing that for now. All right. Well, listen, we wish you very well. Thank you very much for your contribution to Lumric for over 40 years. We were lucky to have you coming down the road from Dublin all those years ago. And we wish you and your family the very best in the future, whatever you end up doing. And obviously continued success to Mary Immaculate College in Lumric as well. Professor Eugene Wall, who is retiring as president of Mary Immaculate after over 44 years in the institution. Thank you very much, Joe. Your views, your news, your Lumric today with Joe Nett on Live 95. (upbeat music) You