President of RIAI and first chairman of NCAD

William A Maguire : William A Maguire, who has died aged 82, was the first chairman of the board of the National College of …

William A Maguire: William A Maguire, who has died aged 82, was the first chairman of the board of the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) and a former president of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI).

In May 1972 he was elected chairman of the board of the NCAD, a position he held for two three-year terms. He took office following a protracted period of student unrest and at a time when many contentious issues remained unresolved. In particular, the Department of Education's tardiness in ceding autonomy to the college meant that the authorities and students remained at loggerheads.

In 1973 a clash over student assessment procedures led to a row that rumbled on for six months before a settlement was reached. In the meantime the board accepted a recommendation from the acting director, a senior departmental official, that four part-time teachers should no longer be employed on the grounds of "disloyalty to the college".

There was widespread opposition to the board's decision both inside and outside the NCAD, and within the board itself. A damaging public dispute ensued that took more than a year to resolve.

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John Turpin in his history of the college states that the board "possibly acted too precipitately" in the matter. However, board members had created a new dynamism, "leading towards degrees, better salary scales and a move to a new site [ on Thomas Street]". William Maguire was a key figure in this process, "a steady chairman who kept his nerve".

Born in 1924, he was one of the five children of Martin and Philomena Maguire. His father became a Supreme Court justice, while his brother Cyril also joined the legal profession and sat on the bench.

He grew up in Rathgar and was educated at Blackrock College. He studied architecture at University College Dublin, graduating with first-class honours in 1946.

Admitted to the RIAI in 1949, he later returned to UCD to lecture in the school of architecture.

The projects his architectural practice was associated with included the restoration of the King's Inns and Registry, Dublin, designed by James Gandon. This involved the complete rebuilding of exposed granite and Portland stone, the internal refurbishment of the building, and the installation of central heating.

As president of the RIAI in 1971, he called for the statutory employment of architects and architectural planners in the planning process in order to safeguard the environmental needs of communities.

Co-opted to the board of the Irish Permanent Building Society in 1978, he served as a director for nine years.

Sailing was a lifelong passion and he was commodore of the National Yacht Club, Dún Laoghaire, from 1979 to 1983.

A veteran racing sailor, he sailed the traditional Dublin Bay yachts, starting with a gaff-rigged Garavogue. By the 1980s he was sailing a Dublin Bay 24 called Fenestra, an exposed design not for the armchair sailor. Finding himself "getting a bit wet and uncomfortable", he looked forward to finding something with a bit more freeboard.

Describing his role as commodore, he said: "It is to be pleasant to people, that's all - and perhaps to give a sense of direction." He continued sailing until 2002.

Back on dry land, he made scale models of the yachts that raced in Dublin Bay, including the Colleen Class, Glen Class, Mermaid and Water Wag, working from the original plans of the boats. It took between six months and a year to make each model.

Maguire was also a keen bridge player, playing every week at the National Yacht Club and the Royal St George Yacht Club of which he was also a member. Other interests included gardening and watercolour painting.

He is survived by his wife, sister, children and grandchildren.

William Arthur Maguire: born July 12th, 1924; died February 4th, 2007.