Quadrangle - seating erected for President Reagan honorary conferring
Item
Format
jpg
Title
Quadrangle - seating erected for President Reagan honorary conferring
Identifier
VHS0001
Depiction
Scaffolding, two men, one of them behind a TV camera, and partially visible rows of seats against a background of part of an institutional building, covered in part with Virginia creeper, with an archway in which two persons and some noticeboards are visible.
Description
In the Quadrangle , University of Galway, scaffolding, platform for TV cameras and raked seating for politicians, journalists and invited guests, in addition to the seats in the front rows, for the conferral by the NUI of the honorary degree of DLitt, and the bestowal by Galway Borough Council of the award of honorary freeman of Galway City, on US President Ronald Reagan on June 2, 1984 on the occasion of his visit to Ireland, coinciding with the celebration of the Quincentenary of the granting of a charter of incorporation to Galway City in 1484. The platform for the ceremonies was erected directly in front of the Aula Maxima in the west wing, and the photograph was taken to the left of that and facing the Archway, where two people and several noticeboards are visible.
The citation for the DLitt was given by Dr Colm Ó hEocha, President of UCG, in his capacity as a Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the NUI, and the degree was conferred by the Chancellor of the NUI, Dr T.K. Whitaker. The ceremony for the honorary freeman award was presided over by the then Mayor of Galway, Cllr Michael Leahy.
The award of the degree was quite controversial, in view of widespread concern in Ireland at US policy and actions in Central America, particularly Nicaragua. The ceremonies were boycotted by a number of academic staff - some of whom arranged a 'de-conferring' ceremony downtown at which some recipients of honorary degrees, including Peadar O'Donnell, burnt their NUI parchments in protest - and by Bishop Eamonn Casey and others. There was also a well-attended protest meeting in Fr Burke Park, Fr Griffin Road. The Quadrangle doors (except for the front door of the Aula Maxima, presumably for the benefit of the television coverage) were repainted white for the occasion, as a security measure at the insistence of the US Secret Service, according to one account. According to another account, the Buildings Office decided that the Quadrangle needed a freshening up for the visit, but, as the grainy traditional door finish was of a quality that would require specialist painters to do the work, an expertise which did not exist among the in-house painters, it was decided, given the time constraints and costs involved, to have the colour white applied by the in-house painters, on the basis that it was a good primer colour, and a good base for a different colour later (in the event, maroon). The tubular steel structures seen in this image and used in erecting the camera platforms and elevated seating had to be guarded overnight and inspected before proceeding the following day, lest someone had placed explosives in it! The Secret Service took command of the Quadrangle on the night before the ceremony, having previously inspected the whole building thoroughly and inspected all manholes in the Quadrangle and welded their covers for security reasons. On the morning of the ceremony, a couple of large vans, containing sniffer dogs and handlers, arrived at the Archway and proceeded to go through the area again to check for any obstacles and explosive substances. During the ceremony, uniformed Gardaí were stationed on the rooftops of the Quadrangle, along with Secret Service personnel distributed around the area.
The citation for the DLitt was given by Dr Colm Ó hEocha, President of UCG, in his capacity as a Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the NUI, and the degree was conferred by the Chancellor of the NUI, Dr T.K. Whitaker. The ceremony for the honorary freeman award was presided over by the then Mayor of Galway, Cllr Michael Leahy.
The award of the degree was quite controversial, in view of widespread concern in Ireland at US policy and actions in Central America, particularly Nicaragua. The ceremonies were boycotted by a number of academic staff - some of whom arranged a 'de-conferring' ceremony downtown at which some recipients of honorary degrees, including Peadar O'Donnell, burnt their NUI parchments in protest - and by Bishop Eamonn Casey and others. There was also a well-attended protest meeting in Fr Burke Park, Fr Griffin Road. The Quadrangle doors (except for the front door of the Aula Maxima, presumably for the benefit of the television coverage) were repainted white for the occasion, as a security measure at the insistence of the US Secret Service, according to one account. According to another account, the Buildings Office decided that the Quadrangle needed a freshening up for the visit, but, as the grainy traditional door finish was of a quality that would require specialist painters to do the work, an expertise which did not exist among the in-house painters, it was decided, given the time constraints and costs involved, to have the colour white applied by the in-house painters, on the basis that it was a good primer colour, and a good base for a different colour later (in the event, maroon). The tubular steel structures seen in this image and used in erecting the camera platforms and elevated seating had to be guarded overnight and inspected before proceeding the following day, lest someone had placed explosives in it! The Secret Service took command of the Quadrangle on the night before the ceremony, having previously inspected the whole building thoroughly and inspected all manholes in the Quadrangle and welded their covers for security reasons. On the morning of the ceremony, a couple of large vans, containing sniffer dogs and handlers, arrived at the Archway and proceeded to go through the area again to check for any obstacles and explosive substances. During the ceremony, uniformed Gardaí were stationed on the rooftops of the Quadrangle, along with Secret Service personnel distributed around the area.
People
None identifiable
References
Galway Advertiser
Séamus O'Grady and John Sweeney - personal communications
Séamus O'Grady and John Sweeney - personal communications
Contributor
event
Conferral of honorary degree and bestowal of honorary freeman award
Bibliographic Citation
C.Walsh, S.Mac Mathúna, S. O'Grady, J. Sweeney, 'Quadrangle - seating erected for President Reagan honorary conferring', Visual History Retired Staff Collection, University of Galway Digital Collections, Asset Id 14194, Archival Record Id VHRS
Spatial Coverage
Temporal Coverage
Category
Colour; informal; on-campus; outdoors
Language
English
Creator
Clare Walsh
Publisher
University of Galway Library
Rights
This image may be used for non-commercial purposes under CC BY-NC-SA see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Provenance
Image provided by Clare Walsh to Séamus Mac Mathúna for the Visual History Retired Staff Collection in 2023 and scanned by Jackie Uí Chionna
Linked resources
Filter by property
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
 President Reagan and Séamus Keating, 2 June 1984 |
Image |