Tributes paid to Irish Business Against Litter founder Tom Cavanagh

Warm tributes have been paid to businessman, philanthropist and founder of Irish Business Against Litter, Dr Tom Cavanagh, who died at his home in Fermoy, Co Cork, on Thursday aged 91.

University College Cork president Prof John O’Halloran led the tributes to Dr Cavanagh, who was a generous donor to his former alma mater where he graduated with a bachelor of commerce degree in 1951.

Prof O’Halloran said Dr Cavanagh was both a UCC alumnus and a national and international athlete, as well at various times serving as a member of the UCC governing body and a director of Cork University Foundation.

“Tom was one of UCC’s dearest friends; he was also a supporter, an adviser, a mentor and a committed philanthropist and friend. Deeply proud of his time at UCC, Tom talked fondly of his time here and worked tirelessly for the university for decades.”

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He said Dr Cavanagh was deeply motivated by a belief in empowerment through education and the legacy of this commitment can be seen in many of UCC buildings, but more importantly to him in the lives of the students enabled through his support for education.

“Tom steadfastly believed that together we can create a better world and he put the building blocks in place to help achieve it,” said Prof O’Halloran as he extended his sympathies to Dr Cavanagh’s family.

Founder of the Cork Person of the Year award Manus O’Callaghan said Dr Cavanagh was a modest and unassuming man who was generous with his support in a number of areas, including the environment as well as education.

“We had already honoured him with a Cork Person of the Month award for setting up Irish Business Against Litter, but three years ago we honoured him with a Hall of Fame award in recognition of his philanthropy over many decades,” said Mr O’Callaghan.

“His support for education is well documented as well as his efforts to improve the environment, but he gave one of the best speeches at that awards ceremony where he pointed out the importance of honouring successful people in Ireland to ensure they continue doing their good work.”

A descendant of Young Irelander Michael Cavanagh, Dr Cavanagh graduated in 1951 from UCC where he also excelled at sports: playing football, hurling and basketball for UCC as well as representing the university in athletics.

The following year, he won a scholarship to study in Turin in Italy where he witnessed people pushing for an entity that would unify Europe, prompting in him an interest in social responsibility that he was to carry into his working life when he took over the family business in 1954.

Serving as managing director of the Cavanagh motor group based in Fermoy from where he oversaw its diversification, Dr Cavanagh also served as chairman of Lifford Holdings, a director of Allied Irish Banks, chairman of FNQ properties and Conrad Hotels.

In the 1990s, he set up the Tomar Trust with his late wife, Marie, whom he met after a Sigerson Cup match in Queen’s University Belfast, to support voluntary activity in rural Ireland, in particular in north Cork, west Waterford, Clare, Donegal and in disadvantaged communities in Cork city.

“The rural nature of the country is an important part of why we are successful. In the future you will see more people moving away from cities to areas where the quality of life might be better and accommodation less expensive,” he said, speaking in 2019.

Always keenly interested in education, he made several generous donations to his old alma mater, UCC, where he was honoured in 2018 when a new pedestrian bridge from the university campus across the south channel of the Lee to Perrott’s Inch was named the Cavanagh Bridge.

“One area which must be always highlighted is education which, I believe, is a crucial tool in building future generations. The public don’t think enough about education. We leave it to someone else because it’s complicated,” he told The Irish Times in 2019.

“Also, I think, perhaps, the teachers’ unions in secondary schools are very strong. Of course, workers need to be represented but not at the cost of advancement and improvement for the students. Resistance to change ultimately helps no one.”

In 1996, Dr Cavanagh set up Irish Business Against Litter as an alliance of companies, sharing a belief that continued economic prosperity — notably in the areas of tourism, food and direct foreign investment — is contingent on a clean, litter-free environment,

“I am very proud of that [Irish Business Against Litter] and the change in culture it has helped produce, making Ireland a cleaner country and changing our mindset to littering which was, just a few decades ago, such a major problem in Irish cities, towns and villages,” he said in 2019.

He also had strong views in relation to the housing shortage, saying: “Planners need to be listened to and politicians need to be brave enough to do that with a focus on the long term. We must focus on building communities, learn from past errors and not just build new houses.”

“I’d be very positive about Ireland’s future. We’re a bright and intelligent people, I think we can overcome any hurdles. Our big asset continues to be our people and we must nourish them. The people shouldn’t be far from the government’s mind in everything that they do.”

Predeceased by his wife, Dr Cavanagh, who turned 91 on Tuesday, is survived by his sons Conor and Ronan and his daughters Fiona and Maeve. He will be buried in Kilcrumper Old Cemetery, Fermoy, following a requiem mass at St Patrick’s Church at 2pm on Saturday.