Clare Tuffy
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN
HONORARY CONFERRING
Friday, 6 December 2024 at 12 noon
TEXT OF THE INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS DELIVERED BY DR CLAIRE CAVE, UCD School of Archaeology on 6 December 2024, on the occasion of the conferring of the Degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa on CLARE TUFFY
____________________________
President, Graduates, Colleagues, Honoured Guests,
It gives me great pleasure to speak to you today about Clare Tuffy who will be awarded an honorary degree this afternoon.
Clare Tuffy worked for more than forty years as an inspirational figure in heritage communication, community engagement, outreach and education. She worked for the Office of Public Works (the OPW) as manager of visitor services at Brú na Bóinne World Heritage property in Co Meath and recently retired in 2022.
Clare is originally from Islandeady, Castlebar in Co Mayo and has a Bachelor of Education and a Masters in Business Administration. With a background as a schoolteacher interested in archaeology, she was employed by the OPW as a guide for the visitors to Newgrange in the early 1980s. At that time the visitor facilities consisted of a hut at the bottom of the path to the great passage tomb. As the reputation of the site grew, particularly when the broader landscape achieved recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993, visitor numbers also grew.
To cater for the increased volume of visitors, the Brú na Bóinne visitors’ centre was opened in the late 1990s. Located at Donore, Co Meath instead of Slane it created some controversy. However, in her position as manager of the visitors’ centre, Clare recognised that developing the role of the visitor centre beyond simply that of a tourist facility to a place that could support local culture, values and interests, would help build a mutually beneficial relationship between the facilities of the heritage site and its neighbours.
In fact, Clare has guided the development of visitor services and outreach at Brú na Bóinne World Heritage site over the years with such success as to influence the approach for other significant cultural sites in Ireland and abroad.
She created a space for local football clubs, for school pantomimes, for a diversity of community activities, celebrations and exhibitions. Not only have these efforts made an impact locally but the emphasis on community engagement has made an impression on visiting officials from the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and visiting managers and academics from other international institutions and World Heritage properties.
Hosting visiting officials was one small part of the work that Clare dedicated to championing communication and education for Brú na Bóinne. She initiated and encouraged school visits to the site, to inspire schoolchildren to get to know their heritage. She also gave seminars on her work, and she supported and promoted academic talks, presentations and workshops. This was to ensure that the general public and local stakeholders had the opportunity to learn about research findings and to be informed of new developments in how the site is understood.
Clare’s work in facilitating the academic community has been particularly relevant to the staff at the UCD School of Archaeology. In her role with the OPW, she has unfailingly engaged with and welcomed the UCD School of Archaeology staff, researchers and students to the Brú na Bóinne archaeological landscape over the years. She has supported excavations and research and worked closely with colleagues on a diversity of projects. Many of those staff join us here today.
Every year Clare met with the newest cohort of World Heritage Master students to discuss the benefits and challenges of visitor management and outreach at a World Heritage site. This interaction has impacted alumni from all around the world. Many of them now World Heritage site managers in their own right.
However, it is by making the Winter Solstice at Newgrange accessible that Clare has made the most significant impact on the global community. She welcomed the winners of the Winter Solstice lottery each year to their place within the Newgrange chamber to view the Solstice in December. Entrants apply and travel from all over the world for this phenomenal experience. She also welcomed communities and visitors that wanted to gather outside the monument to witness the sunrise at solstice. And, despite Ireland’s propensity for cloudy, overcast skies in winter, visitors report that Clare’s guidance and ability to share her love of the monuments made the experience worthwhile regardless of whether the sun makes an appearance or not. Furthermore, following Covid-19, at her suggestion, OPW in partnership with National Monuments Service, now livestream the solstice each year to the delight of hundreds of thousands of online viewers.
Clare may be considered a national pioneer for her work to give Brú na Bóinne World Heritage site a function in the life of the community. Her human touch helped to engage stakeholders from all walks of life. The UCD award is in recognition of her years of service, her enthusiastic and generous support of the UCD Schol of Archaeology and her role in communicating the outstanding universal value of Newgrange Passage tomb and the Brú na Bóinne landscape to national and international audiences.
____________________________________
Praehonorabilis Praeses, totaque Universitas,
Praesento vobis hanc meam filium, quam scio tam moribus quam doctrina habilem et idoneam esse quae admittatur, honoris causa, ad Gradum Doctoratus Scientiae; idque tibi fide mea testor ac spondeo, totique Academiae.