Mayo native co-edits book on history of RTC Galway, GMIT and ATU Galway-Mayo

THE emergence of regional technical colleges (RTCs) in the 1970s initiated one of the most significant developments in the history of third-level education in Ireland.

By bringing a strong technical orientation and widening access to higher education for citizens, the RTCs contributed significantly to economic, social, and cultural development across the country. So too did the institutes of technology that emerged from the RTCs in the late 1990s, with most going on to become technological universities in the late 2010s and early 2020s.

The different phases of these developments are explored in detail in a new book, titled Technological Higher Education in the West of Ireland since 1972: Perspectives on the History & Memory of RTC Galway, GMIT, & ATU Galway-Mayo. The book, which is edited by Dr. Mark McCarthy, senior lecturer and programme chair in heritage, ATU, and Mayo native Bernard O’Hara, former GMIT registrar, was launched by Dr. Orla Flynn, president of Atlantic Technological University (ATU), at the ATU Galway city campus.

The 249-page hardback book, which contains 75 photographs, four maps and three tables, is the flagship legacy initiative arising from the commemorations that ATU held throughout 2022/23 to mark the 50th anniversary of the foundation of Regional Technical College Galway (RTC Galway) in 1972. The book contains a wide range of scholarly insights into the history and memory of RTC Galway, GMIT and ATU Galway-Mayo over the course of more than 50 years, with a particular focus on the early years.

Following a detailed outline of the early years at the Dublin Road campus in Galway city, the book explores how the college expanded its presence in the region from the mid-1980s onwards, by offering courses in Mountbellew and Letterfrack, Co. Galway. Further expansion occurred in the mid-1990s, with the opening of campuses at the former St. Mary’s Hospital in Castlebar and the former Redemptorist Fathers’ seminary at Cluain Mhuire on the Wellpark Road, Galway city.

In 1998, RTC Galway’s name was changed to Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT).

In 2022, a new horizon opened up for the west and north-west of Ireland when GMIT amalgamated with institutes of technology in Letterkenny and Sligo to become Atlantic Technological University (ATU). Further enlargement occurred in the following year, with the incorporation of St. Angela’s College.

Today, ATU stands as one the biggest third-level institutions in Ireland, with approximately 27,000 students and over 2,500 staff in nine campuses, geographically distributed across the northern and western region.

The book opens with a special message from President Michael D. Higgins and a foreword by the university’s president, Dr Flynn. Following an introduction by the two editors, the main chapters of the book include the following: ‘An Outline History of RTC Galway & GMIT in the Context of Irish Public Policy’ (by Bernard O’Hara), ‘Musings on the History, Personality, Memory, & Heritage of RTC Galway, GMIT, & ATU Galway-Mayo’ (by Dr. Mark McCarthy), and ‘Reflections on the Golden Jubilee Anniversary of 50 Years of Technological Higher Education in the West of Ireland’ (by Dr. Mark McCarthy).

In the final chapter, entitled ‘In Memoriam’, Bernard O’Hara pays a special tribute to former staff members who have died since the golden jubilee commemorations, including Dr. Gay Corr (1938 – 2024), who was appointed as the first principal of RTC Galway in 1972 and retired as director of GMIT in 2002. The volume also contains short reminiscences by the former RTÉ correspondent Michael Lally (an RTC Galway graduate) and Bernie Lally (a retired deputy librarian).

Speaking at the launch, Dr. Orla Flynn said: ‘I’m delighted to see the launch of our golden jubilee commemorative book, reflecting on technological education in the west of Ireland since 1972. While we are now a technological university with campuses in Donegal, Sligo, Mayo and Galway, our roots are in the establishment of the regional technical colleges over 50 years ago.

“I want to congratulate Bernard O’Hara and Dr. Mark McCarthy on delivering this valuable account of an extraordinary journey of impact and transformation.”

The new publication will be of special interest not only to staff, students and alumni of RTC Galway/GMIT/ATU Galway-Mayo, but to readers interested in the evolution of higher education in Ireland since the early 1970s. It is available to purchase in the libraries at ATU Galway-Mayo and in the Students’ Union shop at ATU Galway city’s Dublin Road campus.