Renowned Irish scientist Prof Dervilla Donnelly died at St James’s Hospital in Dublin on Thursday aged 94.
Prof Donnelly began her teaching career in UCD in 1956 in the old School of Chemistry and later moved with the university to Belfield in Dublin 4.
She combined contributions in teaching and research at UCD and was seen as a leader in science policy with a range of public service contributions at national level. She was also respected internationally for her research and publications.
She was described by UCD as “one of the most respected and influential chemists” of the university.
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The college appointed her professor of phytochemistry – the study of chemicals with biological activity derived from plants, particularly wood – in 1979, and her research was of particular interest to the forestry industry in Ireland.
She also had a long association with the Royal Dublin Society and was its first woman president from 1989 to 1992. She was a president of the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland (1994-1996), as well as governor of The Irish Times Trust and a director of The Irish Times Limited (1992-2002).
She moved into property development when she was appointed by then-taoiseach Charles Haughey as chairwoman of the Custom House Docks Development Authority from 1991 to 1997, returning more than €400 million per annum to the exchequer.
She was appointed to chair the National Education Convention in 1994 and the Forum on Early Childhood Education in 1998. She was chairwoman and director of the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction in 2000-2005.
In 2000 she was appointed to the Austrian Council for Science and Technology, a position she held for 10 years.
She held honorary doctorates from the University of Nottingham, Queen’s University Belfast, Trinity College Dublin, and the National University of Ireland.
She also served on the board of the National Museum of Ireland and was chairwoman of its audit committee. She was also a board member of the Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board.
Speaking on Thursday, her nephew Charles Meenan described her as “a remarkable woman with an extraordinary career”.
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