Éamon de Valera officiating at an Honorary Conferring, UCG, 1959
Item
Format
JPEG
Title
Éamon de Valera officiating at an Honorary Conferring, UCG, 1959
Depiction
Several men in ornate academic robes with gold frogging, and others in simpler gowns; one of the first group is shaking the hand of an elderly man who is also wearing academic attire; neo-gothic architecture and a wreath behind the group.
Description
Éamon de Valera, President of Ireland from 25 June 1959 to 24 June 1973, visited NUI Galway in 1959. He is seen here acting in his capacity as Chancellor of the National University of Ireland (NUI). He was elevated 'on the eve of the treaty split, to the chancellorship of the NUI (a post from which he was separated only by death)' (DIB). The man on whom he is bestowing an honorary degree is thought to be Carl J.S. Marstrander, a noted Norwegian linguist, who received a DLittCelt from the NUI in 1959.
Camilla McAleese, friend of Pádraig de Brún, who used to visit him in his presidential residence on campus, has identified him as the man on the left, seen in profile. She notes that 'Dev taught Dr de Brún maths in Rockwell and they remained close friends all their lives. [At the time of this photo] his term of office as President was over as he had reached his 70th birthday but he had to stay on until about Oct. 1959 in order to complete some work on the committees. Hence the reason why he did not appear in his Presidential robes'.
To the right, standing in front of a screen, is Frank Imbusch, later Professor of Physics and Vice-President of NUI Galway.
As suited the formality of the occasion, Yann Studios were called in to make a photographic record. Photographer Yann Guyomar or Guiomard, originally from Guingamp, had fled to Galway from Germany via Brittany (Foundation Yann Fouéré) after WWII. At first a free-lance photographer, he set up a photographic studio in 1959 (Henna, p. 64)
Camilla McAleese, friend of Pádraig de Brún, who used to visit him in his presidential residence on campus, has identified him as the man on the left, seen in profile. She notes that 'Dev taught Dr de Brún maths in Rockwell and they remained close friends all their lives. [At the time of this photo] his term of office as President was over as he had reached his 70th birthday but he had to stay on until about Oct. 1959 in order to complete some work on the committees. Hence the reason why he did not appear in his Presidential robes'.
To the right, standing in front of a screen, is Frank Imbusch, later Professor of Physics and Vice-President of NUI Galway.
As suited the formality of the occasion, Yann Studios were called in to make a photographic record. Photographer Yann Guyomar or Guiomard, originally from Guingamp, had fled to Galway from Germany via Brittany (Foundation Yann Fouéré) after WWII. At first a free-lance photographer, he set up a photographic studio in 1959 (Henna, p. 64)
People
Éamon de Valera
Frank Imbusch
References
Personal communication: Camilla McAleese, to Geraldine Curtin, April 2024.
Ronan Fanning, 'De Valera, Éamon', Dictionary of Irish Biography, https://doi.org/10.3318/dib.002472.v1, accessed 28 March 2024.
Foundation Yann Fouéré, 'In the Country of the Golden Harp', at https://fondationyannfouere.org/english/2nd-chapter-1/, accessed 28 March 2024.
Erika Henna, Snapshot stories: Visuality, photography and the social history of Ireland, 1922-2000, Oxford University Press, 2020.
Contributor
Bibliographic Citation
F. Imbusch, C. McAleese, J. Conroy, S. Mac Mathúna, ‘Eamonn de Valera officiating at an Honorary Conferring, UCG, 1959’, Visual History Retired Staff Collection, University of Galway Digital Collections, Asset Id 14691, Archival Record Id VHRS.
Text in image
Stamped in relief in the lower right-hand corner: 'Yann Studio[s] [Ga]lwa[ay]'.
Spatial Coverage
Temporal Coverage
Period
1950s
Category
b&w
group
on-campus
indoors
Subject
Keywords
academic gowns
Language
English
Creator
Yann Studios
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/
Linked resources
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| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
 Éamon de Valera at UCG Science conferring, 1959 |
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