Liverpool, November 2012. The Delegate HE Mr Anthony Bailey and HSH Princess Marie-Therese von Hohenberg visited the University of Liverpool to attend the John Kennedy lecture ‘Liverpool and its Irish Migrants’ which was delivered by the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins. Following the lecture, Constantinian Knight and Council Member John Kennedy CBE hosted a private dinner in honour of the Irish Head of State and Mrs Higgins which was attended by senior Irish and British diplomatic, government, business and academic leaders. The Delegate and his wife and Mr Andy Rogers, KMCO, were among others attending.
The Institute of Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool was established in 1988 as a teaching and research centre for the development of Irish Studies in Britain. The Institute places the study of Ireland at all levels within a broad intellectual and comparative perspective by adopting a multi-disciplinary approach. It was recognised as the top institute for Irish Studies in the country by the recent RAE, with 75% of its publications rated internationally excellent and 20% truly world-leading. It received 100% ratings as internationally excellent in esteem indicators and research environment. This excellence was also endorsed by the Irish government with a £5 million endowment.
The University of Liverpool, established in 1881, was the original ‘red-brick’ university. It has a student body numbering 27,000 and is renowned for delivering top-quality education over a diverse range of programmes. It is a member of the elite Russell Group of British Universities and is one of the UK’s leading research institutions with an annual turnover of £410 million, including £150 million for research. The University of Liverpool is ranked in the top 1% of higher education institutions worldwide.
Council Member John Kennedy has been a longstanding supporter of the University and to furthering British-Irish relations.