Local
connection to Hillery biography
by Martin Ryan
A
historian who grew up in Dublin 15 is the author of an upcoming biography
of the late Dr. Patrick Hillery, former President of Ireland and holder
of a number of other significant public offices during a distinguished
career. John Walsh who is currently working in a research post with
the Department of History in Trinity College Dublin, was approached
in 2005 to undertake the researching and writing of this biography which
will be published by New Ireland Press in the coming Autumn. 
John Walsh grew up in the Glenville area of Dublin 15 and attended St.
Francis Xavier primary school before the family moved to Drogheda for
a few years and on their return to Dublin, John attended second-level
school at Belvedere College. From there it was a short skip across the
Liffey to Trinity College for third-level where he began his journey
to his current position.
“I was always interested in history and I did a course in History
and Politics at Trinity College. I got involved in the Students’
Union in Trinity; I took a year out from study to be Education Officer
of the Students’ Union. It was a very interesting experience which
involved helping individual students and representing people with academic
issues. It also gave me a much better knowledge of how the educational
system worked, which was useful later when I became involved in educational
research.
“My research interests are mainly in Irish history, history of
education and education policy. I did a Masters on church-state relations,
and in 2005 I completed a PhD on Irish educational policy; my thesis
explored the transformation of Irish education in the 1960s. The project
discussed the radical changes in the Irish educational sector from the
late 1950s onwards. The study sought to highlight that the changing
nature of the educational system wasn’t just about free second-level
education, as important as it certainly was, but also the foundation
of comprehensive schools and the beginning of community schools.
Mention of educational reform in the 1960s inevitably raises the name
of Paddy Hillery, a man who conceived the idea of the modern Irish education
system. It was John Walsh’s research in education brought him
in Dr. Hillery’s direction initially.
“I started work on the Hillery biography through my background
as an educational researcher. Dr. Patrick Hillery indicated that he
would like to place his recollections on the record as part of a biography.
The only commitment he sought was that any recollections that he might
discuss with me would appear only in the book itself and not before
its publication.
“As a historian I was delighted to have the opportunity to work
with him and happy to accept the terms that he laid down. I conducted
interviews with him over a period of about eighteen months; he discussed
various elements of his career in detail and was consistently informative
about any issues that I raised with him.
The respect that John Walsh has for the late President is obvious though
not uncommon as demonstrated on the occasion of his recent passing.
He makes sure to express his own personal regard for the subject of
his research and writing.
“The late Dr. Hillery was a man of great personal charm, courtesy
and kindness. His public style was sometimes reticent and low-key, but
on a personal level his essential warmth and humanity were apparent
to everyone who knew him. I first met Paddy Hillery just over four years
ago, when I sought his help with a PhD thesis on Irish education. He
was characteristically helpful and generous with his time and recollections.
I came to know him better as I prepared the present biography and I
benefited not only from his excellent recollection of events long since
buried in the past but from his shrewd observations about historical
personalities and incidents. His wit and keen sense of humour were appreciated
by all those who came into contact with him.”
Dr. Paddy Hillery was a pivotal figure in Irish public life for over
three decades. Having trained as a medical doctor and taken up general
practice in west Clare in the early 1950s. He was first elected as a
TD for Clare in 1951; he allowed his name to be put forward at a Fianna
Fáil selection convention in the belief that he had no chance
of being selected. He was proved wrong and found himself elected to
the Dáil on the same ticket as party leader Eamon de Valera.
Dr. Hillery did not anticipate then that he was about to embark on a
political career that would last for thirty-nine years and lead him
to walk the corridors of powers in Dublin, Brussels and Strasbourg.
No other Irish politician has held the three key roles of Cabinet Minister,
European Commissioner and President.
Paddy Hillery showed an impressive ability to achieve major policy changes
without large-scale conflict. He was the most radical Minister for Education
in a generation. He initiated a whole series of far-reaching reforms,
most of which came to fruition after his time in office – the
foundation of comprehensive schools, the initial plans for the Regional
Technical Colleges and the upgrading of vocational education.
He was the first Minister to give real importance to the development
of vocational and technical education, which had traditionally been
neglected in the Irish state. It was during Hillery’s time in
education that the first plans were laid for the community schools,
although it was several years before those plans were transformed into
reality. The first community schools formed an important part of the
reforms that he started. It was in education that Hillery left his most
lasting and valuable legacy as a minister.
Paddy Hillery’s commitment to equality was a constant theme of
his political career, not only in education but also in his time as
a member of the European Commission. As Ireland’s first European
Commissioner, he brought the area of social affairs and social reform
to the fore. He took the leading role in piloting through the landmark
directive on equal pay between men and women. This abolished the formal
inequalities based on gender maintained by several member states, including
Ireland, until the 1970s.
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