Prof Tony Gallagher and Minister for the Economy feature at the 2nd Annual Dr Éamon Phoenix Memorial Lecture

On Wednesday 29 January, Stranmillis University College hosted the second Dr Éamon Phoenix Memorial Lecture. Established in 2023 in memory of Dr Éamon Phoenix – renowned historian and a fondly remembered colleague who served as a Principal Lecturer and Head of Lifelong Learning at Stranmillis University College – the annual lecture invites educators, researchers, students and professionals to engage in discussions on contemporary educational.

The speakers for this, the 2nd Memorial Lecture, were the outgoing Minister for the Economy, Conor Murphy MLA, with the memorial lecture delivered by Prof. Tony Gallagher, Professor Emeritus and Honorary Professor of Education at Queen’s University Belfast.
At the inaugural lecture last year, U.S. Special Envoy for Economic Affairs, Joe Kennedy III, stressed the importance and impact a world class education system has on economic prosperity, a theme strongly echoed by Minister Murphy in his ministerial address, as he focused on the importance of high quality teaching and learning in building an inclusive, robust and prosperous economy and society.

Entitled ‘Diversity in Schools: Past, Present… and Future’, Prof. Gallagher’s keynote speech drew on Dr Phoenix’s work, examining some of the historical and current debates on the structure of the school system in Northern Ireland and offering some thoughts on the way the issue of diversity might be addressed through education in future.

The event concluded with an update on the establishment of the Éamon Phoenix Foundation by Mrs Alice Phoenix. A particular highlight was the video footage of Dr Phoenix’s recounting of the story of “The Penal Times and Belle Steele”, one of the many archive videos available on the Foundation’s website.

Commenting, Prof. Jonathan Heggarty, Principal and CEO of Stranmillis University College, said: “I would like to thank Minister Conor Murphy MLA and Prof Tony Gallagher for their insightful and thought-provoking contributions to the 2nd Dr Éamon Phoenix Memorial Lecture. It is vital that we continue to explore how we can best learn lessons from the past to ensure that we have an education system, now and in the future, which allows all learners to reach their potential. Dr Phoenix embodied an exceptional ability to make even complex and difficult to understand ideas accessible and engaging for all. We were therefore delighted that Minister Murphy and Professor Gallagher agreed to be our speakers at this year’s event, a further acknowledgement of the contribution Dr Phoenix made to Stranmillis, to education, to the wider Northern Ireland society and beyond.”