TUAMGRANEY historian, Dr David Fleming has been elected to the University of Limerick’s Governing Authority.
A native of Cork, Fleming was elected to fill a vacancy with the result announced on December 7th. A historian of eighteenth-century Ireland, he has published on topics ranging from provincial politics, poverty, religious conversion, associational behaviour and prostitution. In 2012, he was commissioned to write UL’s official history.
He is a treasurer of the Group for the Study of Irish Historic Settlement, an interdisciplinary forum for historians, geographers, archaeologists and others interested in settlement history in Ireland. He is also secretary of the Eighteenth-Century Ireland Society. Since 2013, he has been chairman of the Irish Georgian Foundation and a trustee of the Hunt Museums’ Trust.
Over the past year, David has become a regular voice on Scariff Bay Community Radio acting as an almost weekly contributor to The Local Media Show as well as assisting in the presenting of Saturday Chronicle alongside Jim Collins and John S. Kelly.
There are 29 Governing Authority Members, Dr Fleming is one of four academic and research staff representatives. Its term is due to expire on November 30th 2022, its Chancellor is Mary Harney, the former leader of the Progressive Democrats who was the country’s first female Tanáiste (1997 – 2006) and during the course of fourteen years held senior ministerial portfolios in health, enterprise, trade and employment. She is the longest-serving female member of Dáil Éireann.
Ennis native, Professor Seán Arkins, the Acting Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering is one of three professors sitting on the Governing Authority. He graduated from UCD with a degree in veterinary medicine and holds MSc and PhD degrees from the University of Illinois. Seán served on the faculty at Illinois State University and joined UL in 1998.
President of UL Student Life, Cillian O’Donohue who also hails from Ennis is among the two student representatives. A past pupil of St Flannan’s College, he graduated from UL in August with a degree in business studies.
Former Chairperson of Shannon Group, Rose Hynes of New Quay also sits on UL’s Governing Authority. She is also formerly the Chair of Bord Gáis/Ervia and also served as a non-executive director of Bank of Ireland, Ffyes plc, Mincon and Aer Lingus.
