Edward M. Walsh

He headed the institution from its inception as the National Institute for Higher Education Limerick, in 1970, when he was appointed as chairman of the planning board, and director, through its transformation to a university in 1989, when he was appointed president, until his retirement in 1998, when he was awarded the title of "Founding President" for life.

[2] He is the close relative and godson of Michael Grimes, first professor of microbiology at University College Cork (UCC).

[4] He pursued advanced studies in nuclear and electrical engineering at Iowa State University (ISU), gaining a master's in 1963, and his doctorate in 1964.

[5] Walsh was appointed assistant professor at ISU at age 24, the youngest in the history of the university, and served from 1964 to 1965.

He is credited with securing funding from the World Bank and the European Investment Bank, and with mounting an international fundraising campaign that secured the support of major philanthropists such as Chuck Feeney and Lewis Glucksman and permitted the University of Limerick to expand significantly at a time when government capital grants were being handed out scarcely.

[6] Walsh published an academic textbook in 1967: He has authored and co-authored a wide range of articles, some well cited.