University of Limerick names Brigid Laffan as new chancellor

Prof Brigid Laffan has been appointed as chancellor and chair of the governing authority of the University of Limerick (UL).

The academic and political scientist takes over from outgoing UL chancellor Mary Harney, who has held the role since January 2018.

In October, the governing authority failed to reach a two-thirds majority needed among members to ratify the candidacy of the university’s current deputy chancellor, Rose Hynes.

Prof Laffan is widely acknowledged as one of the world’s leading experts on European Integration and is a major contributor to the conversation about how the European project affects Ireland’s foreign policy.

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Prof Laffan was one of the very first students to attend UL – then the National Institute of Higher Education. In 2022, UL celebrated her exceptional contribution to academia and to European affairs by awarding her an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters. Prof Laffan is also the recipient of an Outstanding Achievement UL Alumni Award (2018).

Prof Kerstin Mey, president of the university, said it was “truly fortunate“ to have secured a person of Prof Laffan’s calibre, international profile and abilities.

Prof Mey also paid tribute to the outgoing chancellor, Ms Harney.

“We owe a great debt of thanks to our outgoing chancellor Mary Harney who has worked tirelessly on behalf of UL since taking on the role of chancellor in 2018. UL has benefited hugely from her vast experience, political nous and her steady counsel over the past almost six years. We are very grateful for her service and for her immense contribution,” Prof Mey said.

Commenting on her appointment as chancellor, Prof Laffan said that “my decision to go to Limerick in 1972 proved to be the formative decision of my life and I, and my classmates, have retained a deep empathy and commitment to UL.

“I have watched the university grow and flourish over the last 50 years and now, as the newly elected chancellor, I very much look forward to being part of its future.

“We have much to celebrate and we have even more to achieve. I am very proud of UL, of its students and its staff who have shown themselves to be world class. I look forward to working with the president, her executive team and with my governing authority colleagues to ensure the continued prosperity and sustainability of our university.”

Prof Laffan is a native of Cahersiveen, Co Kerry, and she now lives in Dublin. She is a European studies graduate (UL), emeritus professor of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute, Florence, emeritus professor of UCD and a well-known commentator on European affairs.

A former Jean Monnet professor of European Politics at UCD, she was the founding director of the college’s Dublin European Institute, served as principal of the College of Human Sciences for seven years and was appointed as UCD vice-president in 2005, later becoming director of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies in 2013.

Since retiring from the European University Institute, Prof Laffan has continued to work on large EU collaborative research projects.

She has published 10 books and written numerous journal articles and book chapters, and is the recipient of awards including the Ordre National du Mérite – an accolade conferred by the president of France.