Trinity Alumni who changed the world Trinity graduates have responded to challenges like war, poverty, hunger and disease to create a better world for all S ince 1592, Trinity has inspired people to be global citizens of the world. Trinity alumni have made the impossible possible, changed how we view our world and saved countless lives as a result. “Attitudes are more important than abilities Motives are more important than methods Character is more important than cleverness, And the Heart takes precedence over the head.” Denis Burkitt (1911 - 1993) MARY McALEESE, MA (jo)(1985), LLD (hc)(2000) Former President of Ireland Professor Mary McAleese served as the eighth President of Ireland from 1997 to 2011 and was the first President to come from Northern Ireland. Originally from Ardoyne, north Belfast, Mary’s family were seriously impacted by paramilitary attacks which cemented her lifelong commitment to non-violence, interreligious dialogue and reconciliation. She describes her presidency’s theme as ‘Building Bridges’ and used her time in office to address issues concerning justice, social equality, social inclusion, anti-sectarianism and human rights. Mary assisted in the John Hume / Gerry Adams peace talks among nationalists and republicans to persuade the IRA to resume its ceasefire, broken by the Canary Wharf bombing in 1996. She is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders and has always had a long-standing connection with Trinity - in 2019 she was appointed Chancellor of the University having previously held the position of Reid Professor of Criminal Law, Criminology and Penology from 1975 to 1987. RICHARD HAYES (1902-1976), LLD(1924), LittD(hc)(1967) Broke a Nazi code and altered the course of the Second World War During World War II, one of Germany’s most notorious communication codes was broken by Dr Richard Hayes. Richard was approached by the head of Irish Military Intelligence while working as Director of the National Library of Ireland. He secretly led a team of cryptanalysts who broke the infamous ‘Görtz Cipher’, a Nazi code that had stumped some of the greatest code breaking minds at Bletchley Park. Herman Görtz was a German spy who parachuted into Ireland during 1940 and sent messages back to Berlin that were encrypted in a cipher designed to hide them from British ears. Hayes, along with three other minds based in Dublin’s McKee Barracks cracked the cipher which enabled the Irish Secret Service to reply to Görtz masked as his German handler and obtain information. It is estimated that at least two years were shaved off the length of World War II, in turn saving millions of lives, as a result of the information uncovered by Richard Hayes and the code breakers of Bletchley Park. Due to the secret nature of his work, official Irish records of Hayes’ work are virtually non-existent. He has been referred to by MI5 as Ireland’s ‘greatest unsung hero’.
Download PDF file