MEDIA ADVISORY NOTE - FOR OPERATIONAL GUIDANCE
Irish President’s Visit to the University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen has announced the timetable for the visit of Mary McAleese, President of Ireland, on St Andrew’s Day, November 30, 1999.
The President will receive an honorary doctorate from the University during a special 30-minute graduation ceremony in the historic King’s College Chapel, before delivering a speech as part of an hour-long ceremony to inaugurate the University’s Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies (RIISS).
A 30-minute reception, during which the President will meet academic staff, civic and business leaders and a group of Irish and Scottish students will follow.
PRESS CONFERENCE
You are invited to attend a press conference in the Catherine Gavin Room, King’s College Conference Centre, at 10.00am on November 30. Those taking part will be Principal Professor C Duncan Rice, RIISS Director Professor Tom Devine, and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Divinity Dr Graeme Roberts. Irish critic and prize-winning novelist Seamus Deane and Professor of Irish at Trinity College, Dublin, Cathal Ó Háinle, both members of the RIISS Advisory Board, will also be available for interview.
ACCESS
The media is invited to attend both the graduation and the inauguration ceremonies, though space will be restricted. Media accreditation must be obtained, therefore, from the University Press Office - (01224) 273778 - on a first come, first served basis. Parking passes must also be obtained from the Press Office.
TIMINGS
The timings, which are approximate, are as follows:
11.00am Doors of King’s College Chapel open for guests
11.40 The President and her husband Dr Martin McAleese arrive at the High Street entrance to the Chapel. They are met by Lord Wilson of Tillyorn, Chancellor of University, Principal C Duncan Rice and Secretary of State John Reid before being escorted to the foyer of the King’s College Conference Centre where they are introduced to RIISS Director Professor Tom Devine and members of the Institute Advisory Board.
11.55 The Academic Processions including the President process through the King’s College Quadrangle.
Noon The honorary graduation ceremony commences. Principal C Duncan Rice will present the President for the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD). The singer and broadcaster Fiona Kennedy and the harpist Alison Kinnaird will provide music during the ceremony.
12.30 The ceremony finishes and the President leaves the Chapel followed by the Academic Processions. She is escorted to the King’s College Conference to prepare for the Inauguration of the Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies.
12.40 All guests are seated in the King’s College Conference Centre Auditorium.
12.50 The President enters the Auditorium. She will deliver a speech and unveil a glass sculptural plaque. Dr John Reid MP, Professor Tom Devine and Principal C Duncan Rice will also deliver remarks. There will be a performance of readings featuring the writers Alan Spence and Bernard MacLaverty, and Cathal Ó Hainle, Professor of Irish at Trinity College Dublin, and music featuring the Gaelic singer Christine Primrose, harpist Alison Kinnaird, and Aberdeen student Carol Ripley, fiddler.
1.50 At the end of the ceremony, PhD student, Karen Devine, presents a gift to the President. The inauguration ceremony finishes and a reception begins where the President will be presented to guests, including civic and business leaders, academic staff and a group of Irish and Scottish students.
2.20 The President and Dr McAleese depart King’s College.