TEXT OF THE INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS DELIVERED BY PROFESSOR MAURICE BOLAND, Principal, College of Life Sciences, University College Dublin on 16 June 2010, on the occasion of the conferring of the Degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa on MATT DEMPSEY
Matt Dempsey is perhaps best known as Editor of the Irish Farmers Journal; however his contribution to Society extends much wider. He is Editor of The Irish Farmers Journal since 1988 and Chief Executive of The Agricultural Trust which publishes the Irish Farmers Journal, The Irish Field and latterly The Irish Catholic since 1993. Reared on a farm, as the second eldest of 6 children, he was educated at Clongowes Wood College and UCD. While in UCD, he was a leading speaker at the L&H and AgSoc and he earned the AgSoc Gold and Senior Silver medals for debating in 1967 and 1968 respectively. He graduated with a 1st Class Hons BAgrSc (1969). He completed a Postgraduate study with UCD in 1978 in Agricultural Economics.
On graduation, Matt became the first producer of agricultural programmes for RTE Radio; a post he held until 1973. He was EEC Correspondent for The Irish Farmers Journal from 1973 to1978. He acted as short-term specialist staff member of the European Commission in the Dublin office from 1978-79.
Matt Dempsey has brought many new initiatives to the Journal and has seen sales increase steadily. The Journal has a higher readership than the majority of Irish Sunday papers with the exception of the Sunday Independent.
The Journal has a unique strength in that it makes available to farmer and other readers the most up-to-date interpretation of scientific and economic research applications through its own renowned journalists under Matt’s leadership. Most of us remember the campaign which successfully highlighted the deficiencies in Brazilian beef production resulting in the imposition of a ban on imports to the EU. The Journal is a rural/family paper and the development/ improvement of the Country Living Section has brought a broader appeal in particular to rural families. Forty percent of its readers are women. A recent innovation has been the publication on a weekly basis of curriculum notes for Leaving Cert Agricultural Science and Home Economics which has proved particularly popular with students. The Journal is perceived as being about real people, real lives and about people with a connection to the countryside.
Matt Dempsey practices what he preaches in the Journal as he is a very progressive farmer with about 200 hectares in County Kildare. Back in 1969, he was one of the first farmers in the Republic of Ireland to modify and develop his version of the McGuckian system of slatted beef housing with underground slurry storage tanks. This is a typical norm for finishing cattle on the most progressive farms. As part of this development, Matt developed his own mechanical feeding systems for cattle. For many years, undergraduate students in the Faculty of Agriculture visited his farm to study beef production and facilities as part of their courses. He is also a substantial tillage farmer.
Matt Dempsey has served as Chairman of several prestigious committees including the Board of the Agricultural Institute from December 1985 to1988 and for a short period as Chairman of ACOT; groups which were subsequently amalgamated to become Teagasc.
Since 2000 he is Chairman of Royal Dublin Society Executive Committee whose role is to supervise the administration of the Society’s business on behalf of the RDS Council. He served as Chairman of the Kildare Hunt Club (Owners of Punchestown Racecourse) from 2004-09, and the Dempsey Committee to decide on future collaboration between Teagasc and UCD.
In 1998-99 he served as President of the Irish Grassland Association where he conducted periodic reviews of its aims and vision, its organisation, and responses to new opportunities. He was President of European Agricultural Publishers Association and Member of Oxford Farming Conference Council - 1993 to 1996.
He acted as a member of the NUI Maynooth Foundation Board and on the Irish Commission on Bioethics (2002-05).
He has chaired and been an invited speaker at many scientific conferences relating to agriculture and food including the Faculty of Agriculture centenary seminar in 2002. He has appeared on invitational television shows such as Questions and Answers on many occasions.
Matt Dempsey is one of the foremost authorities on national and international agricultural policy and industry trends; his knowledge, critique and assessment of Government and EU policy is highly valued by the agri-food sector. He is a clinical thinker and is highly sought after to Chair meetings because of his clarity of thought, his analytical skills and his ability to sum up and communicate complex issues in a simple fashion. Successive Irish Ministers for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries have paid serious attention to Irish Farmers Journal editorials which are powerfully written and capture the mood of the sector very successfully. His knowledge and leadership is widely sought and freely given; he has been a true supporter of UCD and in particular its Agricultural Science degree programmes.
Matt is a strong family person, married to Mary and is the father of nine children who have all completed 3rd level education (He has 2 grandchildren).
Matt Dempsey is being honoured today for:
- His leadership and innovative approach to educating Irish Farmers
- His critique of national and international policy relating to agriculture
- His role in advising on skills and competencies required of our graduates
- His engagement and contribution to graduate education
Praehonorabilis Praeses, totaque Universitas,
Praesento vobis hunc meum filium, quem scio tam moribus quam doctrina habilem et idoneum esse qui admittatur, honoris causa, ad gradum Doctoratus in Scientiae; idque tibi fide mea testor ac spondeo, totique Academiae.