Retirement of Brendan Tangney, Warden of Trinity Hall

Saloon, Provost's House

17th October

Welcome, everyone, to the Saloon for this very special event to celebrate, and to thank, Brendan Tangney for his dedicated time as Warden of Trinity Hall.

Brendan served from 2004 to 2017. And now he is retiring as Warden, but not thankfully, from Trinity. The School of Computer Science and Statistics and Bridge 21, and all the other college initiatives with which Brendan is involved, will continue to benefit from his inspiration and commitment. But since he is stepping down, after 14 years of dedicated service, as Warden of Trinity Hall, we wanted to take this opportunity to mark his very great contribution.

Anyone who knows Brendan knows of his extraordinary commitment to students, to educational access, and to using technology to mediate learning. He is a recipient of the Provost’s Teaching Award and is the academic director of Bridge21, which over the past decade has been used in a social outreach programme reaching many thousands of students. 

His taking on the role of Warden of Trinity hall in addition to his many other commitments was of immense service to the College and saw him put into practice his teaching philosophy, beyond the classroom.
The Warden of Trinity Hall carries out two main functions on behalf of College. He or she allocates residential rooms in Hall to students and is also responsible for enquiring into an alleged breach of discipline by a student in Trinity Hall and for taking further action in accordance with the College Statutes.

The students in Trinity Hall over the past 14 years were most fortunate in having Brendan as Warden. I would like to quote now from colleagues who worked with him closely in this role.

One of them writes (I quote):

“Brendan's signature phrase at Hall was "Be reasonable." It is hard to think of him without this phrase coming to mind. It really encapsulates an awful lot of what is good about his leadership style and ethos. It recognises that students have agency and the capacity to make good decisions and appeals to reason, perhaps that greatest academic virtue and the North Star for his code of conduct.”

Another writes:

“Brendan could be tough when needed and had a practiced and patented Warden's stare he employed in disciplinary hearings, but at heart he was, and is, a softie, always caring and thoughtful and going the extra mile to ensure student safety and wellbeing.”

And from another:

“You may know that Brendan spends a great deal of time in Kerry and I understand that he is hard to keep up with on climbs up Carrauntoohil. He employed this speed and agility on at least one occasion at Hall when a non-resident decided to set off a fire extinguisher (very serious offence) at a party and Brendan leapt up to give him chase!”

And finally:

“Brendan was often found on a bench outside Purser or Reception and during these times he would survey the grounds with a sort of wise benevolence. You had the sense that he was completely in control and this sense of quiet confidence established a lovely, safe atmosphere at Hall.”

This is merely a sample of the views and endorsements of Brendan’s time as Warden. They get across just how much the College owes Brendan.

The role of Warden is a crucial one: in Trinity Hall the college has care of students who, for the most part, are just out of school and may still have the recklessness of adolescence. Generally, it’s their first time living away from home, and many are also newcomers to the country without family in Ireland.

For them to get the most out of their Fresher years, Trinity Hall has to be a secure, safe, and welcoming place. I have enough experience as a former Tutor to know that the job of Warden is not an easy one. In the wrong hands, a tricky situation could be escalated rather than becalmed, with potentially disastrous consequences. We are most fortunate that Brendan’s were the right hands and that calmness, wisdom, benevolence, toughness and thoughtfulness were the hallmarks of his wardenship.

This evening is a happy occasion, because, as I said, we are not losing Brendan from Trinity. We will continue to benefit from his excellence in teaching, research, public engagement and outreach. This evening we thank him for the last fourteen years of service to Trinity Hall and we look forward to all that he will continue to contribute to the university and indeed to education in Ireland.

May I ask you to join me in raising a glass to Brendan.

Thank you.

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