Fifty-Seven years ago, Sean Mackey, a civil engineering graduate and demonstrator from UCD, with his young bride, Lilian, left Ireland for Middlesbrough, to take up a position as structural engineer with Dorman Long Engineering. Their experiences in setting up home there under wartime conditions and shortages were to have a lasting effect on their subsequent lives together.
Sean's family background in Tipperary had an academic strain, which included his uncle Professor Hugh Ryan, whose work in chemistry is remembered by an annual award in UCD and through a research laboratory in Germany. After the war years, Sean left Dorman Long to join the Department of Civil Engineering at Leeds University, where he was instrumental in building up laboratories and courses in soil mechanics while at the same time carrying out research towards his higher degrees in civil engineering. It was in these laboratories that I first met him and formed a friendship with him and his family which has continued ever since.
In the early 1950s, UNESCO was establishing four major institutes of technology in India and in 1953 Sean joined its institute at Kharagpur, in Bengal, as Professor of Civil Engineering. Once again he built up engineering laboratories and courses, together with recreation facilities for staff and students, this time working with a team of UNESCO staff drawn from many countries in Europe and America. It was while Sean and Lilian were in India that their three sons, Michael, John and Anthony, began their travels between home and Blackrock College (and, later, UCD).
His work completed in India, Sean was invited to the chair of civil engineering at Hong Kong University, thus commencing his 21-year association with that university, for most of which time I was a member of his staff. Yet again he built up a small civil engineering department into a five-department faculty, of which he became Dean, in order to cater for an explosion in student numbers greatly exceeding that taking place in Ireland over the same period.
Over this period, he established the high building research centre to study the effects of typhoon winds on tall buildings, research which attracted international recognition and led to his travelling world-wide to international conferences. For this work he received a much-prized doctorate of science from his alma mater in addition to an honorary doctorate from Hong Kong University.
Throughout this period, Sean and Lilian were involved with the Catholic communities in Hong Kong, including the Jesuits (who run a hall of residence at the University in addition to secondary colleges), the Caritas organisation, the Columban Sisters from Wicklow (who run an orthopaedic hospital at Sandy Bay), and especially the Irish Salesian Fathers (who run St Louis School, a major secondary school close to the University). For his unstinting support for these communities and his engineering services freely provided to them he was appointed a Papal Knight of St Gregory, while Lilian was awarded a Papal Medal time for her supporting efforts.
Both Sean and Lilian were fully involved in the Hong Kong community at large. Sean was a committee member and a president of the large St Patrick's Society of Hong Kong. He was also for many years a steward of the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club.
A more serious involvement was his many years as an active member of the Hong Kong Government's anti-corruption committee, for which work he was made a justice of the peace.
Shortly before retiring from the university, Sean's work for the university and the Hong Kong community was recognised by the award of the OBE in the Queen's honours list. The award was an honorary one, owing to his nationality.
Following his retirement from the university with the title of emeritus professor, Sean established a consulting practice in Hong Kong. His services were sought as arbitrator as far afield as Indonesia and as contracts adviser by the large Japanese contractors then moving into Hong Kong for work on the harbour tunnels, the underground, the new container terminal port and the much publicised new airport, then in the planning stages.
Sean and Lilian returned finally to Ireland in 1983. He happily renewed his love of angling, learned in his boyhood days near Nenagh, and added his support to his old school, Roscrea, at rugby and his county at hurling. He also became involved in the Irish branch of the Institution of Structural Engineers and awarded its medal for engineering achievements. His engineering achievements over his career were further marked by the President's Award of the Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland four years ago.
In later years Sean had suffered from declining health. Some years ago, a series of eye cataracts had forced him to part with his muchloved and unique collection of Irish stamps and postal history. More recently, a number of periods of hospital treatment preceded his final operation for a fractured hip, all of which he bore with great patience and, finally, with resignation, on June 21st last.
Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dilis.
J.J.R.