University of Galway professor retires after 24 years as Catherine Connolly leads tributes
President Catherine Connolly said ‘Padraic has shown us the power of education at its best and we are indebted to him’
A University of Galway professor has retired after 24 years with Irish President Catherine Connolly leading the tributes to the Milltown native.
A huge influence in housing law and human rights, Professor Padraic Kenna said goodbye to the University after nearly three decades educating.
President Connolly, who said that Padraic was a trailblazer in education, remembered her first meeting with him all the way back in 1999 when he was Director of Galway’s Simon Community and a newly elected City Councillor.
She said: “From the outset, his vision, his passion, and his framing of our conversations within a human rights perspective was a breath of fresh air. Treating people with dignity and respect, regardless of their housing status, was at the heart of everything he did.
“Padraic, however, has never accepted that homelessness and a housing crisis are inevitable. On the contrary, throughout his varied career, he has consistently demonstrated that reliance on the market for the provision of housing is an integral part of the problem.”
The President added that “providing an alternative narrative, along with solutions, as Padraic has done throughout his career, has required no small amount of courage and perseverance”.
Dr Ursula Connolly delivered tributes from fellow University colleagues while the Dean of University of Galway School of Law, Professor Martin Hogg, was given the task of closing the curtain on Padraic’s time there.
He concluded: “Padraic was an exceptional colleague and teacher, who not only made a discipline-defining contribution to the field of housing law and rights but also inspired Galway students for over a quarter of a century to go out into the world with the same passion for that field of law as Padraic brought to it.”
University of Galway School of Law added: “We thank Padraic for his many contributions and wishes him every happiness in the next chapter of his life and work.”