Art Cosgrove, in Newry

Newry

Newry is a city in Northern Ireland. The River Clanrye, which runs through the city, formed the historic border between County Armagh and County Down. It is from Belfast and from Dublin. Newry had a population of 27,433 at the 2001 Census, while Newry and Mourne Council Area had a population...

, County Down

County Down

-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...

 was President of University College Dublin

University College Dublin

University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...

 between 1994 and 2003.

Education

He was educated at the Christian Brothers

Congregation of Christian Brothers

The Congregation of Christian Brothers is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. The Christian Brothers, as they are commonly known, chiefly work for the evangelisation and education of youth, but are involved in many ministries, especially with...

, Abbey Grammar School in Newry. He graduated from Queen's University Belfast

Queen's University of Belfast

Queen's University Belfast is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The university's official title, per its charter, is the Queen's University of Belfast. It is often referred to simply as Queen's, or by the abbreviation QUB...

 in 1961 with a first class honours BA in History, and attended the Institute of Historical Research

Institute of Historical Research

The Institute of Historical Research is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate House. The Institute was founded in 1921 by A. F...

, London during 1961/62. He was awarded his PhD

PHD

PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 by Queen’s in 1971 and an LLD

Legum Doctor

Legum Doctor is a doctorate-level academic degree in law, or an honorary doctorate, depending on the jurisdiction. The double L in the abbreviation refers to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both Canon Law and Civil Law, the double L indicating the plural, Doctor of both...

 honoris causa in 1975 for distinction in historical work. In 2007 Cosgrove obtained the Barrister-at-Law degree qualification from King's Inns

King's Inns

The Honorable Society of King's Inns , is the institution which controls the entry of barristers-at-law into the justice system of Ireland...

 but declined to take the statutory Irish exams needed to be called to the Bar by the Chief Justice of Ireland. He was reported, by the Irish edition of the Sunday Times, on 9 September 2007 to be considering taking legal action over the issue. Cosgrove is understood to be fluent in Irish but feels that the exam required by legislation passed in 1929 to be inappropriate in 2007 http://www.gaelport.com/index.php?page=clippings&id=2176&viewby=date.

Career highlights

He was elected chairman of the Combined Departments of History 1991 - 1993. He became President in 1993. Disaffection in the College turned Cosgrove into a reformer. He was a founding member of the UCD branch of the Workers' Union of Ireland. He honoured his trade union principles by not passing a picket when boilermen were on strike at the College.

Cosgrove planned the ten volume Helicon History of Ireland; acted as one of its general editors; and contributed to the series the volume entitled Late Medieval Ireland, 1370-1541. A member of the Board of Editors of the Royal Irish Academy

Royal Irish Academy

The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...

’s multi-volume A New History of Ireland, he was appointed sole editor of volume 2, to which he contributed four of its chapters. He was also the editor or co-editor of four other books on Irish history, and the author of around 20 articles or chapters in these works or in the learned journals. An active member of several learned societies and professional bodies, he was for a number of years President of the Dublin Historical Association and editor of its publications.