2009 News
- News Archive
Irish Government Minister Visits St Mary's
Dr Martin Mansergh TD, Minister of State for the Arts in the current Irish Government (pictured above, second from left) visited St Mary’s University College, Twickenham on Friday 16th October.
He gave a seminar to staff and students on the Irish peace process, covering contemporary political developments in Ireland in the aftermath of the second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. He also addressed the issue of the financial state of the weakening 'Celtic Tiger' economy.
The Oxford-educated son of Anglo-Irish historian Nicholas Mansergh,
Dr Mansergh served under three successive Fianna Fail leaders (Charles Haughey, Albert Reynolds and Bertie Ahern) since the mid-1980s.
He was Director of Research, Policy and Special Advisor on Northern Ireland, and was involved in discussions between nationalist parties in the North and the Irish government.
Dr Mansergh has therefore played a key role in the Northern Ireland Peace Process over the past twenty years. A former Senator in the Irish Parliament, he was elected TD (Member of Parliament) for Tipperary South in 2007 and is now Minister of State in the current Irish Government.
Dr Ivan Gibbons, Director of Irish Studies at St Marys (pictured above, far left), said: “It is a real coup getting Dr Mansergh to come and talk at the University College, particularly given the turbulence of current Irish politics with the second Lisbon referendum and the ongoing economic crisis."
