Diarmuid Hegarty (Griffith College)

Biography

Diarmuid Hegarty was born in Dublin. He studied Commerce (BComm)at University College Dublin and obtained a Barrister at Law (BL) Degree from the Honorable Society of King's Inns. He speaks conversational Italian and Chinese and fluent French.

Career

1969 – 1973: Training Contract with Coopers and Lybrand followed by specialisation in Tax Consultancy. Promoted to level of Tax Manager
1974 – 1975: Taxation Consultant with constituent firm of Deloitte and Touche
1975 – 1992: managing director, Business and Accounting Training. Established the BAT college (now known as Griffith College Ireland)
1992 – present day: President of Griffith College Ireland
1999 – 2006: board member of Griffith College Karachi

Professional qualifications & memberships

Barrister-at-Law
Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland
Previously a member of the Irish Tax Institute

Establishing Griffith College

Diarmuid Hegarty founded Griffith College as the Business and Accounting Training College in 1974 and the college operated from Milltown, St. Stephen's Green and Morehampton Road, Dublin,
The name was changed to Griffith College when the college moved to the former Griffith Barracks in 1991.

As President of Griffith College Diarmuid Hegarty is actively involved in promoting the Bologna Process for a European wide Higher Education Network.

Various Offices Held

1981 – 1988: Member of Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland

1981 – 1984: Chairman of the Accounting Review Committee of Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland

1982 – 1984: Chairman of the Inflationary Accounting Committee of Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland

1982: Represented Ireland on the Accounting Standards Steering Committee (the body then charged with the promulgation of statements of standard accounting practice for application throughout the English speaking accounting world)

1985 – 1987: Chairman of the Parliamentary and Law Committee of the Consultative Committee of Accounting Bodies in Ireland

1987: Member of the Financial Services working group Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland

1996 – 1998: Advisor to the Ministry of Finance, Government of Vietnam, in relation to the establishment of a proposed Vietnamese Association of Accountants

1998 and 1999: Advisor to the Irish Government under the Strategic Management Initiative Financial Management Working Group

1999 – present day: Member of Baggot Street Community Hospital (Royal City of Dublin Hospital) Board

1999 – 2000: Keynote speaker at various international seminars on Information Technology

2000 – 2008: Member of the Blackrock College Financial Advisory Group

2000 – present day: Rotating Chair of Higher Education Colleges Association (HECA). As Chairman of HECA he spearheaded the quest for Quality Assurance in tertiary private education

2001 – present day: Appointed by Minister for Education and Science, Dr Michael Woods, to the Higher Education and Training Awards Council

2001: Advisor to the Pakistani government in the area of education and investment in the IT Sector

2001: Appointed by the Government of Pakistan as Honorary Consul for Pakistan at Cork, for Co. Cork, Ireland

2004: Nominated for Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year

2004: Chairman of Friends of the Vocal Arts in Ireland

2004 – 2009: chairman of the board of Marketing of Las Adelfas Hotels

2007 – 2011: Chairman of the Higher Education and Training Awards Council Audit Committee

2008: Chairman of the Irish Higher Education Qualifications Network Sub-Committee on Pastoral Care

2010: Member of the High Level Group on Irish Education

2011: Chairman of the Higher Education Colleges Association (HECA),

2011 – 2012: Vice-Chair of the Irish Higher Education Quality Network

2011 – present day: Member of Baggot Street Community Hospital (Royal City of Dublin Hospital) Strategy Committee

2012: Received an Honorary Professorship from the Beijing Information Science & Technology University (BISTU) in China and was made an Honorary Member of the University's academic board

2012 – 2013: Chairman of the Irish Higher Education Quality Network

Other Roles

Aside from academics and education Hegarty is Chairman of the Las Adelfas Hotel partnership, in which he has extensive business interests. He is also the Vice-Chairman of the Ireland-Pakistan Business Council.