John Bercow Speaks in UCC | Lorna Gardiner
The Department of Government’s annual Philip Monahan Lecture took place in the Aula Maxima on Thursday, 28th February. The 14th lecture was delivered by Britain’s Speaker of the House of Commons, Rt Hon John Bercow MP.A large number attended the popular and always interesting evening, including the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr John Buttimer. He commenced the event with a candid portrayal of Philip Monahan’s life, who was Ireland’s first city manager. It was noted that while Cork greatly influenced Monahan, in return, Monahan has left a lasting influence on the city of Cork. Because of this, the Lord Mayor commended the Department of Government and Dr. Aodh Quinlivan, Director of BSc Government for keeping his memory alive through the annual lecture.Mr. Bercow’s ‘Independence of thought that has become the hallmark of his political career’, was applauded by Luke Field, Auditor of the Government and Politics Society. Mr. Bercow began his lecture by expressing the ‘Extraordinary honour and personal pleasure’ he felt at being asked to speak at the event.The topic of Mr. Bercow’s lecture was ‘The Relationship between the Executive and Parliament.’ He expressed that an effective Parliament needs to actually legislate, rather than perform the mere task of rubber stamping. According to Mr. Bercow, ‘Effective Parliament should be at the heart of the legislative process.’Mr. Bercow concluded his lecture in the hope that such reforms in the relationship between the Executive and the Parliament are in the spirit of Philip Monahan, who he believes was the personification of successful public service.On reflection of the event, Dr Aodh Quinlivan said, 'In my opinion John Bercow's lecture was the best we have had, which is a great testament to him when you consider that the likes of President Mary McAleese and John Hume have delivered previous lectures. He spoke brilliantly and the lecture was relevant, stimulating and humorous. It has been a great honour for the Department of Government and UCC to welcome John Bercow to our beautiful campus.'