JOHN CLEARY, who has died aged 59 from complications arising from a liver transplant, was Associate Professor of Philosophy at NUI Maynooth and Professor of Philosophy at Boston College.
An authority in three areas of ancient philosophy – Plato and Aristotle, Neoplatonism (in particular Proclus) and the philosophy of mathematics – he made an outstanding contribution to philosophical and classical scholarship internationally as the founder and co-director of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy.
Moreover, he was one of the main pillars of the Dublin Centre for the Study of the Platonic Tradition, based in Trinity College (of whose classics department he had been elected a research associate).
His friend and mentor Alasdair MacIntyre said: “He was always the one to ask the difficult question, the question that took you uncomfortably close to the heart of the matter, the question that was uncomfortable because it took you where you were not yet quite prepared to go. As a student, he both learned from and educated his teachers, John Findlay, Hans-Georg Gadamer, and myself. As a teacher, he taught his students how to be curious, how to be puzzled. As a friend, his wit and his cheerful honesty made conversation immensely rewarding.”
His colleague at Maynooth Dr Mark Dooley described him as exceptionally gifted and academic “With his death, Irish philosophy has lost one of its finest sons.”
Dr Fran O’Rourke of UCD paid tribute to a life lived to the full by “an extraordinary person – a successful academic, a fine sportsman and a great friend”.
Prof Marcelo D Boeri, of the University of the Andes, in his tribute wrote: “His permanent courage . . . will continue to be an inspiration for all those who got to know him beyond his purely academic aspect.”
Born in Ballycroy, Co Mayo in 1949, he was the fourth of the seven children of John and Bridget Cleary. Growing up on a farm without running water or electricity, he attended the local school and continued his education at St Mary’s College, Galway.
After qualifying as a teacher at St Patrick’s training college, Dublin, in 1969, he taught at St Mary’s boy’s school, Haddington Road, where he stayed until 1977.
As a student at St Patrick’s he lobbied politicians to support the electrification of his home region.
Having secured a BA in philosophy and English at UCD in 1972, he was awarded the higher diploma in education in 1973. His thesis on Karl Popper gained him an MA (first, honours) at UCD in 1975, and he was in 1981 awarded a PhD (summa cum laude) by Boston University for his thesis on Aristotle’s theory of abstraction.
His post-primary teaching career began at Milltown Institute of Theology, Dublin, and in 1981 he was appointed Asst Prof of Philosophy at Boston College. In 1991 he took up a parallel position at Maynooth and worked both positions in alternation.
As a primary school teacher, watching his young charges grow and learn instilled in him great faith in what young people can become when given an encouraging learning environment.
At university he set high standards for his students.
“He embodied the true spirit of teaching . . . his respect for students and peers alike was always as his equal,” former student Susan Bencomo said.
He also is remembered as “a gift as a colleague”, “an active citizen of our profession” and “good humoured, honest and straight”.
His publications include Aristotle on the Many Senses of Priority (1988), Aristotle and Mathematics: Aporetic Method in Cosmology and Metaphysics (1995).
He was outspoken in his criticism of aspects of Irish education policy. In 2006 he wrote, “current ideologies of accountability and accessibility contain a potential threat to academic freedom, and . . . they may also serve to undermine academic standards”.
He was devoted to his wife Breda (née Critchley) who predeceased him in 2005. He is survived by his parents John and Bridget, sisters Mary Bridget (Sister Paula), Josephine and brothers George, Brendan and Michael.
John Cleary: born June 18th, 1949; died April 12th, 2009