Tim O'Connor
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN
HONORARY CONFERRING
Monday, 5 December 2016 at 2 pm
TEXT OF THE INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS DELIVERED BY PROFESSOR LIAM KENNEDY, Clinton Institute for American Studies on 5 December 2016, on the occasion of the conferring of the Degree of Doctor of Literature, honoris causa on TIM O’CONNOR.
_____________________________________________________________________
President, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
I am delighted to deliver the introductory address for Tim O’Connor for the degree of Doctor of Literature honoris causa.
A native of Limerick, Tim has wandered far in his career, always carrying with him one of the most inquisitive minds and one of the most charming demeanours I have ever encountered. I have often heard Tim described as eloquent and this is true, for he is careful and creative in his use of language, but he is also persuasively eloquent, making a case in ways that turn listeners into true believers…this is truly a man who could persuade turkeys to vote for Christmas.
Always a proudly grounded Irishman Tim has also been something of a sojourner throughout his life, crossing many borders, appreciative of difference and learning from it, and crossing the lives of many people. We are all familiar with the six degrees of separation axiom, and it is sometimes said that in Ireland there are only three degrees separating us from someone we have not met before, in Tim’s case it is two degrees, maybe less – it can seem that everybody on this island knows Tim O’Connor.
Tim worked most of his career in the Irish Civil Service, from 1979 to 2007 he worked in the Irish Diplomatic Service. Much of this period was spent working on the Northern Ireland Peace Process. He was Deputy Secretary General of the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation and a senior member of the Irish Government Team for the Talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement in April 1998. He worked closely with Senator George Mitchell in the Review of the Agreement in 1999.
When the North/South Ministerial Council was created in December 1999, Tim was appointed as the Joint Chief of Staff of the Council, based in Armagh, where he worked until 2005. The Council oversaw the historic cooperation between Ministers from North and South and the establishment of Cross-Border Bodies….they have been crucial to the deepening of peace and reconciliation on this island. Tim also played an important role in building up North/South linkages in business, education and planning.
In 2005, Tim was appointed Consul General of Ireland in New York…I know he was greatly energised by this role, fast learning the ways of Irish America and the subtle differences between the Irish cultures at home and abroad. While in New York he came to understand the strong role of culture in the perception and promotion of Ireland abroad and he has remained a champion. Allied with this he petitioned for a closer relationship between Ireland and its diaspora.
In 2007. Tim was appointed Secretary General to the President of Ireland – he worked closely with President McAleese, including supporting her in the work she did under her Presidential theme of Building Bridges between North and South.
As well as working in Northern Ireland and in New York, Tim held postings in Bonn and Washington. Back in Dublin he also held leading roles in the DFA, including Africa Director 1996 and Director of the Human Rights Unit in 1997.
Since retirement from the Public Service in 2010, Tim has been dividing his time between voluntary work and running his own advisory business. He has worked with leading international companies, including IBM and Milestone Aviation, as well as several Irish companies. He is currently a Strategic Adviser to RSM Ireland and to the Mooney Hotel Group.
In his voluntary work, Tim has held many senior positions. In 2013, he was the Chairman of The Gathering, when almost 300,000 Irish abroad returned home for over 5,000 Gatherings across Ireland. In 2014, he was Vice Chairman of Limerick National City of Culture. Tim is currently Chairman of the Shannon Consortium. He is also on the Board of Trustees of the Holocaust Education Trust of Ireland.
From 2010-15, he was Chair of the Clinton Institute for American Studies here at UCD. I got to know Tim quite well during that period and learned a great deal from him, he was an outstanding consigliere.
Tim has proved a significant figure of influence and counsel in the fields of peace-making and diaspora engagement and he has often been well ahead of the curve in thinking through and articulating the challenges and opportunities in these areas. Certainly he was among the first and one of the most imaginative to promote diaspora engagement as a formal, policy-led practice in Ireland….we now have a Minister for the diaspora and a comprehensive diaspora policy (published in 2015) due in no small part to Tim’s example and guidance.
If Tim were a scholar we would say his work is interdisciplinary, working across sectors and synthesising fresh knowledge, which is simply to say he is a consummate diplomat, alert to all occasions, quick to comprehend what is at issue and explain it clearly - that’s no mean talent.
I always look forward to meeting him, knowing he will be cogitating on a theory or word or phrase that will distil and elucidate his insights on a matter I wish I had considered. He will always be a guiding star.
Praehonorabilis Praeses, totaque Universitas,
Praesento vobis hunc meum filium, quem scio tam moribus quam doctrina habilem et idoneum esse qui admittatur, honoris causa, ad Gradum Doctoratus in Litteris; idque tibi fide mea testor ac spondeo, totique Academiae.