Alumni engagement and philanthropy



CHEMICAL ENGINEEERS RETURN TO QUEEN'S   

29 July 2019

Five years in the making, Global Foundational Reliability Practices Leader Stuart Grant, and Gavin Horscroft, Managing Director of A-MAP (Avail Minerals and Projects), were the driving force behind a Class of 1984 Chemical Engineering reunion held in Belfast earlier this month, which attracted participants from around the world.

Over the last 4-5 years Stuart and Gavin trawled the internet, reaching out to former classmates of the Class of ‘84 – only eighteen people in total, now scattered across the world – to check their interest in, and availability for, a 35-year Queen's reunion.

Two of those former classmates can now be found in Brisbane Australia, while four are in South Africa, one is in Italy, one in Switzerland and another is en route to the USA, who for that reason missed the event. Several others are living and working in England, while the remaining members are in Ireland, north and south. 

“We knew The Open was coming in Portrush in 2019, so we used that as a reference point to try and form a re-union date around,” said Stuart.

Thanks to some additional social media detective work on LinkedIn and Facebook, and more recently via a very lively WhatsApp group, and with others getting on board as things progressed, the numbers grew and arrangements were made.

“It was really wonderful to get together again – and to re-enact our 35-year-old class photo in front of the Lanyon Building – with almost all of the original 18 Chemical Engineers of the Class of 1984.

“I was amazed how friendships forged at Queen’s still remained so strong after all this time; it was like we were never apart! We may well now be scattered to the four corners of the earth, but we all enjoyed the craic and catching up again.”

While many of the Class made their careers in Chemical Engineering, one alum became a paramedic while another moved into insurance. Harry Armstrong – a native of Ballinderry, came from Brisbane for the reunion. Harry started off in mining in South Africa after graduation in 1984, then he moved on to Australia via a spell in the Middle East. He now leads the concept engineering group for an energy firm there.

Gavin Horscroft also went to South Africa after graduation and has stayed there since. He has enjoyed a successful career in mining and is currently the MD of a mining company.

Kieran Cosgrove lives and works in Chemical Industry in Milan Italy since 1987, and is currently a senior consultant there now;

Colm Kelly, who lives and works in Zurich, Switzerland, is now Head of Natural Resources at Pioneer Underwriters having started out with Mobil Oil before moving into the underwriting sector.

Unable to attend the event was one of their former lecturers Gordon McKay, presently Professor of Sustainable Development at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar. In a note to Stuart Grant ahead of the reunion Professor McKay said: “It is really fantastic that the group of 1984 are getting together – very well done and congratulations to everyone.

“I would love to be there, but I have just returned from vacation in the UK and 5 days in Northern Ireland staying with my son.

“Please give my very warmest regards to everyone at the festive event and best wishes for now and the future.”

The evening kicked off at ‘The Eg’ (The Eglantine Inn on Malone Road), which was the group’s last meeting point before they broke up back in 1984. Then they moved the short distance down the road to the Lanyon Building at Queen’s to re-take the Class of 1984 photo, before heading to Hadskis restaurant in in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter for what Stuart described as a ‘great night’s craic’.

“We noted in the speeches that a few of us made on the night, that back in 1984 Northern Ireland was a very different place and in fact it was not a great time in our history,” he said. “We also acknowledged that despite the fact that our class was very mixed (in terms of Northern Ireland religious backgrounds), we blended very well back then and get on like a house on fire now.

“Northern Ireland has moved on and we were so glad for it. Age has rendered differences as meaningless.”

In the end, only three of the group made it up to Portrush for The Open, while others simply took time to reconnect with family and friends.

Already planning their next get-together – which may or may not coincide with the 2026 Ryder Cup in Adare Manor – Stuart was keen to commend reconnecting.

“I would strongly recommend to any of my fellow Queen’s graduates considering organising a reunion, to do so. While there is a bit of work involved in tracking people down, if you start with the Development and Alumni Relations Office – who will help you reconnect with former classmates – it should be quite straightforward.

“And the end results are really worth it.”

Further advice and guidance on organising reunions at Queen’s can be found on the Development and Alumni Relations Office website or by contacting Alumni Relations Officer, Natasha Sharma on tel: +44 (0)28 9097 3135.

To submit graduate news items, or for general enquiries about this story, please contact Gerry Power, Communications Officer, Development and Alumni Relations Office, Queen's University Belfast or telephone: +44 (0)28 9097 5321.

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