JERRY SHEEHAN’S sudden death on December 23rd stunned his many relatives and friends who the day before had been celebrating with him his 80th birthday in the Burlington Hotel. It was hard to grasp that the man who with his wife Peg and two sons, Conor and Donal, had been greeting guests was having his second last day on this earth.
The birthday party, carefully planned by Peg and his sons, had been the occasion for expressions of love and affection for a man whose varied career had left its mark on Irish education and in EU consumer legislation.
Jerry was a “Dub”, having grown up off the South Circular Road, but in later life he fell in love with the lakes and hills of Co Leitrim as he and Peg, who came originally from Arigna, spent long periods in her family home just outside Ballinamore enlarging the already large garden.
Jerry’s father, Michael, had been in the Dublin Metropolitan Police and had transferred to the Garda Síochána when the new force was set up in 1922. Jerry was encouraged by Br Stephen MacKnight at Synge Street CBS to work hard for scholarships and he qualified for entry into the mechanical and electrical engineering degree course at UCD. There he met fellow students who would remain friends for life like Noel Mulcahy, Chris Shouldice and Liam Shanahan. At his last birthday party they all joined in a rousing version of their signature tune – “We are, we are, we are the engineers.” The last line goes: “By the time you’re finished your degree, you’ll be content with the ESB.”
Jerry did not go into the ESB, however. He taught first in University College, Cork and also worked in Gypsum Industries, Kingscourt, Co Cavan. While working with a large engineering company in Yorkshire, he met his future wife, Peggy Gaffney. They married in Sligo Cathedral in 1959.
Jerry eventually joined the Department of Education as an inspector of technical instruction. As secretary of the Steering Committee on Technical Education (1966), with Noel Mulcahy the chairman, he had direct access to the minister for education, Donough O’Malley. The committee report proposed the setting up of nine regional technical colleges and laid the foundations for the National Institutes of Higher Education.
Jerry then became the chief executive officer of the Dublin Vocational Education Committee – a highly responsible post covering the city and county. He also managed to do a master’s degree in computer science in Trinity College.
When Ireland joined the EEC in 1973, Jerry became a head of division in the EEC Commission in charge of the budget of the social fund from which Irish education was to benefit hugely. As one of the early Irish officials in Brussels, Jerry became a very popular figure and Peg and he opened up their home to the frequent visitors from Ireland. He returned to his post in Dublin in 1975. But in 1977 Ireland’s EEC commissioner, Dick Burke, offered Jerry the new post of director of consumer affairs. Back in Brussels, Jerry faced the challenge of setting up a department from scratch which would have an impact on the everyday life of the community’s citizens.
He took early retirement in 1987. He was recruited by the Greek-Cypriot government to advise it on its application for entry into the EEC. Another post he took on, unpaid, was president of the International Association of Former Officials in the EU institutions (AIACE).
Our deepest sympathy to Peg, Conor and Donal, and Jerry’s sisters, Eileen and Anne and numerous relatives.