Trinity College Alumni Awards 2009

Posted on: 09 November 2009

The Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of St Andrews, Dr Louise Richardson and founder of Gallery Press, Peter Fallon were among four recipients of Trinity College’s Alumni Awards which were presented on Friday, November 6th last. The other awardees included one of Ireland’s most successful artists Chris de Burgh and international speaker and sportsman, Mark Pollock, who was the first blind man to reach the South Pole.

Selected by a committee chaired by Dr Thomas Mitchell, the alumni were presented with awards in recognition of achievements in their respective fields and the contribution they have made in Ireland and internationally.

In advance of the TCD Alumni Awards 2009 were Chris de Burgh, Provost, Dr John Hegarty, Dr Louise Richardson, Mark Pollock and Peter Fallon.

Dr Louise Richardson PhD (1989)

Dr Louise Richardson was appointed Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of St Andrews in 2009.  Prior to her appointment at St Andrews, Louise was Executive Dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University and a professor of government at Harvard.  Her teaching has been recognised with both national and local awards including the Levenson Prize, awarded annually by Harvard’s undergraduate student body to the best teachers at the University.

A political scientist by training, Louise has specialized in international security with an emphasis on terrorist movements.  Her publications include: What Terrorists Want: Understanding the Enemy, Containing the Threat (2006); The Roots of Terrorism (2006); Democracy and Counterterrorism: Lessons from the Past (2007), and When Allies Differ (1996).  

Louise has written numerous articles on international terrorism, British foreign and defence policy, security institutions, and international relations.  She serves on the editorial board of the journals Security Studies and Democracy and Security. Richardson was awarded the Sumner Prize for work towards the prevention of war and the establishment of universal peace.  Amongst her educational attributes include both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in History from TCD, a master’s degree from UCLA and master’s and doctoral degrees from Harvard University.

Peter Fallon MA (1976)

When Peter Fallon arrived in Trinity’s School of English in 1968, he was already a published poet.  He quickly became involved in arts activities around the campus and later, with the group Tara Telephone, around the country. 

In 1970, when he was just 18, Peter founded The Gallery Press.  Within a couple of years he was publishing books by two of his lecturers, Brendan Kennelly and Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin.  Since then he has edited and published more than four hundred collections of poems and plays by Ireland’s leading writers and he has fostered a generation of outstanding younger poets.

Peter returned to Trinity in 1994 as Writer Fellow in the Department of English where he completed a dramatisation of Kavanagh’s Tarry Flynn.  More recent books include The Georgics of Virgil (a Poetry Book Society Recommended Translation reissued by Oxford University Press in its World Classics series) and The Company of Horses.  Peter received the O’Shaughnessy Poetry Award from the Irish-American Cultural Institution and he is a member of Aosdána. 

Chris de Burgh MA (1990)

In a career spanning three decades Chris de Burgh is one of Ireland’s most successful artists.

The foundations for a remarkable and durable career were laid back in 1975 with the release of Chris’s debut album, Far Beyond These Castle Walls.  Even greater success was to follow with the release of his 1980’s album Eastern Wind and in 1986’s with the release of Into The Light, an album which featured The Lady In Red, a classic which achieved No.1 status in 25 countries.

Chris has since gone on to release several more albums including Beautiful Dreams (1995), Quiet Revolution (1999), and Timing Is Everything (2002).  Chris established his own record label Ferryman Productions in 2003 which released his latest three albums, The Road To Freedom (2004), The Storyman (2006) and Footsteps (2009).

Over the years Chris has remained connected to his alma mater where he studied English and French.  The singer is a passionate supporter of Trinity’s Science Gallery sitting on its Development Board and, as a ‘Leonardo’, assisting with the Gallery’s creative output.

Mark Pollock BA (1998)

When he lost his sight in 1998, Mark was a final year student in Economics and Social Studies, Captain of the University boat club, an international rower and in line for a top job with a London investment bank.  At first, Mark felt he had lost everything but he knew he had two choices: to give up or get on with his life.

Mark began the process of rebuilding his identity.  Using his guide dog Larry, he learnt to negotiate Dublin’s busy streets and to use a computer with the aid of speech technology.  He continued competitive rowing and went on to win silver and bronze medals for Northern Ireland in the 2002 Commonwealth Games.  He also took up marathon running completing six marathons in seven days in China’s Gobi desert in 2003 and the North Pole marathon in 2004.

Mark’s biggest achievement came in 2009 when he overcame some of the toughest terrain on the planet to become the first blind man to reach the South Pole.

Despite his life-changing difficulties, Mark has motivated himself to make the most of his opportunities and achieve his dreams.