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QCG Certificate of award of Engineering prize, 1859-60

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Certificate of award, partly printed and partly handwritten, with an image of a monumental building, trees and a motto in the background

A Certificate of the award by Queen's College, Galway of a Prize of the second rank in Surveying and Mapping to an Engineering student, Mr John Berry, at the close of the 1859-60 Session. The Certificate, which was signed by William Lupton, MA (Registrar, 1853-70, and later Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Economy , 1870-76) is emblazoned with the the heading, 'QUEENS UNIVERSITY IN IRELAND' and underneath it 'Queens College Galway'. (In the case of both those titles, the use of the old English non-apostrophe tradition in the case of such possessives may be noted. In the case of the College's title, the lack of a comma after 'College' may also be noted. In fact, whereas in later Calendars and Reports the College is consistently referred to as 'Queen's College, Galway' (i.e. with the comma after 'College'), the actual legal title as stated in the Charter is ‘Queens College Galway’ (i.e. without the comma after 'College').
This and other such copies of Certificates, provided to the University over the years by descendants of past students in their quest for information on them, are of particular interest, as no copies of such Certificates were retained in the University archives. They are also of interest in terms of design: here, for example, the depiction of the Quadrangle, with bushes or trees in front on either side, and further in front the College Arms resting tilted on, it would seem, a bed of shamrocks, but with the scroll and motto DEO FAVENTE shown beneath, rather than above, the Arms.
College records show that John Berry entered the College in the 1858-9 Session, aged 17, in the School of Engineering. His father was Thomas Berry, his religion Protestant, and his address Durrow, Queen's County (i.e. Laois). His school was Hawthorn Hall, Manchester. According to further similar Certificates copied to us by Gordon Berry (see below), he completed the Second Engineering course in the Session 1860-61 and was awarded 'a Prize of the second rank in Engineering' at the close of that Session. There is no further record of him, and he does not appear among the graduates of the College, of the Queen's University in Ireland, or of the Royal University of Ireland (which replaced the Queen's University in 1882). A note from Gordon Berry records his date of birth as May 25, 1841 at Tullamore, King's County (i.e. Offaly).

Queen's College, Galway Student Registers

Gordon Berry (Havelock, Marlborough, New Zealand), who, in the quest for information on his greatgrandfather John Berry, the recipient of this and other Certificates, provided to the University in 2008 copies of this and those other Certificates.

G. Berry, S. Mac Mathúna, 'QCG Certificate of award of Engineering prize, 1859-60', Visual History Retired Staff Collection, University of Galway Digital Collections, Asset Id 14393, Archival Record Id  VHRS

QUEENS UNIVERSITY IN IRELAND
QUEENS COLLEGE GALWAY
This is to certify that at an Examination held at the close of the Session 1859-60 (sixty) a Prize of the Second rank in Surveying and Mapping was awarded to Mr John Berry

Signed by order of
THE PRESIDENT & COUNCIL
Wm Lupton, M.A.
Registrar

1860

1860s

b&w

Academic awards and ceremonies
Engineering
Queen's College, Galway

English
Latin

University of Galway Library

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