Brendan Keegan, professor at NUI Galway's zoology department, who died suddenly last Saturday, was a leading light in Irish marine research and a pioneer of seabed surveying. He was one of the founders of the university's Martin Ryan Marine Science Institute, which marks its 10th anniversary this year.
Born in Castlerea, Co Roscommon, in 1943, Keegan was one of a family of four. His father, Patrick, came from Castlerea and worked as chef in the sanatorium, subsequently a psychiatric hospital and now location for the prison. His mother, Molly, was a nurse who hailed originally from Boyle, Co Roscommon.
Brendan attended the Marist Brothers in Castlerea and Summerhill College in Sligo, before registering as a undergraduate in NUI Galway, then University College Galway (UCG). He graduated with an honours degree in zoology in 1965 and then took an MSc in zooplankton in 1966. He also joined the staff of UCG's developing zoology department that year.
One of his early projects was initiation of the first extensive study of seabed communities inside the 100-metre line in the greater Galway Bay area. This involved setting up a team of scuba scientific divers. He took his PhD in this work, which he was awarded in 1972. By this time, his research team had gained a reputation beyond these shores. Research published by the team in the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, entitled Littoral and Benthic Investigations of the west coast of Ireland, was widely referred to in international scientific literature.
Keegan's fostering of a particularly close relationship between the UCG Department of Zoology and the Station Biologique de Roscoff in Brittany, France, resulted in a joint study of Killary Harbour. This was subsequently published jointly with Dr John Mercer by the Royal Irish Academy. In the 1970s he initiated a long-term study of brittle stars in Galway Bay and the environment of Kinsale Harbour, which was funded by the pharmaceutical company, Eli-Lilly. This continued until this year and represents one of the few long-term marine community data sets in Ireland.
He was host for the European Marine Biological Symposium in Galway in the autumn of 1976, whose theme was the biology of benthic organisms. In the 1980s Keegan was recognised as a leader in his field when he was appointed chairman of an EU co-ordinated project, coastal benthic ecology. He brought sediment profile imagery to Ireland in 1985 and pioneered this form of seabed research.
The establishment of the Martin Ryan Marine Science Institute in the early 1990s has been described as his crowning achievement. It was funded by a donation of £3 million from Dr Tony Ryan, the biggest single private donation to a third-level institution at the time. This was matched by a grant from the EU STRIDE Operational Programme for Ireland (1991-1994). Keegan was the institute's first director from 1992-1997 and placed it on the firmest of foundations as a leading international marine science establishment.
Keegan inspired several generations of students in zoology and marine science, and his lectures have been recalled as "an extraordinary mixture of reminiscences" combined with an "almost total recall of an extraordinary range of information". He was very erudite, with a sparkling sense of humour.
On one occasion he and his colleagues travelled to a conference in Yugoslavia. Budgets being tight, he booked a pilgrimage charter flight and was mistaken en route for a priest. One of his companions recalls that he played along for most of the journey.
Keegan was a great chef, like his father, and would throw elaborate meals for his PhD students which he and his wife, Kate, hosted at home. One of the more dramatic desserts was "flaming Jesus", comprising sugar cubes, rum and fresh fruit in a wicker basket.
Many of his project students and postgraduates now hold prominent positions in government, industry and academic life, and he helped almost 60 PhD students to complete their doctorates, according to Prof Michael Guiry, director of the Martin Ryan Institute, who has paid tribute to his enthusiasm and vision.
Keegan had just completed a short film before his death of his programme in Kinsale Harbour, which charted a 25-year relationship with a unique set of marine habitats.
He is survived by his wife, Kate, sisters, Bernadette Reid and Ann Burke, and brother, Martin.
Brendan Francis Keegan: born March 1st, 1943; died March 13th, 2004