Born April 25th, 1930
Died November 14th, 2024
Prof Dervilla Donnelly, an internationally renowned chemist who made an extraordinary contribution to research, science policy and public service both in Ireland and abroad, has died aged 94.
Donnelly, who was professor of phytochemistry – the study of chemicals with biological activity derived from plants – at University College Dublin (UCD) for 16 years, was the first female president of the Royal Dublin Society (RDS), from 1989 to 1992, and the first woman to receive the Royal Irish Academy’s highest honour, the Cunningham Medal in 2017.
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Her position as chairwoman of the Custom House Docks Development from 1991 to 1997; chairwoman and director of the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction, 2000-2005; board member of the National Museum of Ireland and governor of The Irish Times Trust and director of The Irish Times Ltd, 1992-2002 were among her many leadership roles in Irish society. She also led the revitalisation of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies as its chairwoman, 1995-2000. She was a strategic thinker and a good collaborator, who drew on the skills and talents of others in her orbit.
Donnelly’s commitment to European research was recognised by her election as chairwoman of the European Science Research Councils in 1985. She was vice-president of the executive council of the European Science Foundation and vice-president of European Science and Technology Assembly.
As one of the first to develop an academic research network throughout Europe in the late 1970s, she later extended these collaborations to include scientists in the United States, South Africa and South America. During this time, she became particularly interested in the chemistry of wood, the results of which were applied to various problems encountered in the Irish forest industry. Early in her career she was a visiting scientist in Stockholm, Sweden and at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Gif-sur-Yvette, France with Prof Derek Barton, the Nobel laureate in chemistry in 1969.
Her internationally significant group research led to more than 150 research publications and review articles. One of her former students said that she was equally kind and tough, which was “exactly what they needed”.
Her deep involvement with the RDS led to her being appointed at its first female president, 1989-1992. During her tenure, she led the organisation back into a better financial position and revived the Boyle Award for high-calibre scientific research in association with The Irish Times for a number of years. While governor of The Irish Times Trust and director of The Irish Times Ltd, she influenced the then editor, Conor Brady, to establish the position of Science Editor.
A true mentor, friend and role model to many – and particularly to women – her inspiration was acknowledged in 2011 when she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Women in Technology and Science (WITS). The year before she was awarded the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class.
She inspired secondary-school students through her role as a judge in the Young Scientists Exhibition from its first competition in 1964 until 2004. Donnelly was also awarded a number of honorary doctorates.
She had a golden rule: that one day a week she didn’t do any chemistry. “Every Saturday, you’ll find me at a racecourse somewhere in the State”
Dervilla Maura Xavier Donnelly grew up in the south Dublin suburb of Dartry, the second of three daughters of May and Kieran Donnelly. She attended the Sacred Heart School on Lower Leeson Street, Dublin, where the emphasis was on languages rather than science. She studied chemistry theory privately in her final year of school before completing the entrance exams for UCD. She later credited her interest in science to her father, an engineer, but her mother was determined her three daughters would be well educated.
Graduating with first-class honours in chemistry, she remained at UCD to do her PhD into flavonoid chemistry under Prof Tom Wheeler.
Following postdoctoral studies at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA), she opted to return to her alma mater rather than take a lectureship in pharmacology at UCLA. She began her teaching career in 1956 in the old School of Chemistry on Merrion Street, Dublin, and later moved to lecture at the new campus at Belfield in 1965. She was made professor in 1979, a position she held until her retirement in 1995.
Her research shaped the development of the School of Chemistry and is recognised in the annual award of the Prof Dervilla Donnelly medal to the highest-achieving student in the BSc in medicinal chemistry and chemical biology.
However, in spite of her absolute dedication to her career and her roles in several public bodies, she also found time to enjoy her favourite sport, horse racing (steeplechase). She often said that she had a golden rule: that one day a week she didn’t do any chemistry. “Every Saturday, you’ll find me at a racecourse somewhere in the State.” With her sister, Keara – with whom she lived in the family home in Dartry – she held shares in several horses and used to joke “we only need one more leg to have a complete animal”. She also enjoyed tending to her wonderful garden, playing golf and nurtured close relationships with her niece, nephews and their families.
At a ceremony in UCD in 2023, the current president of the RIA and professor of synthetic chemistry at UCD, Prof Pat Guiry, presented Donnelly with a newly commissioned portrait of her by artist Emer Doyle. As one of her 85 PhD students, he thanked her for her support, career advice and kindness.
“Her leadership experience and ability to chair boards and committees, work well with people and to clearly identify both the problem and the solution are well recognised,” Guiry said.
The portrait of Donnelly is on permanent display at the main entrance to the UCD School of Chemistry in the Science Centre South on the Belfield Campus.
Dervilla Donnelly is survived by her niece, Frances; her nephews, Charles and John; grandnieces and grandnephews; and great-grandnieces. She was predeceased by her sisters Liobháin (Meenan) and Keara.