Testimonial by Professor Jim Flavin

Paddy Quinlan was born into a farming family in Kilmallock, Co. Limerick in 1919. His birth, therefore, almost coincided with that of the new State; the new State in the Upper House of whose Parliament he was destined to serve with such distinction. He came to maturity in the 1930's - a time representing extremes of fortune for two of the things one most associates with Co. Limerick, and in which Paddy has maintained a life-long interest: farming and hurling. It was the Golden Age of Limerick hurling with the Mackeys and Herberts etc., but farming had reached the very nadir of its fortunes because of the Economic War. He came south over border to us inCo. Cork to attend Secondary School at the Christian Brothers in Rathluirc - as had another famous Limerick man before him, Eamon de Valera - also a mathematician and man of public affairs, but in his case, the mixture was in somewhat different proportions.

His school career was crowned with the award of a scholarship which helped him to enter U.C.C. in 1938 to study Civil Engineering. He obtained the highest honours throughout his undergraduate years, obtaining a First Class Honours degree in 1941, and he was also awarded Bursary in Engineering and a Pierce Malone Prize, which are the highest honours available to engineering graduates of the three colleges of the National University. He then "saw the light", took a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Mathematical. Physics in 1942 - again with First ClassHonours. He took the M.Sc. in Mathematical Science in 1943 with First Class Honours and was awarded the N.U.I. Travelling Studentship in Mathematical Science in 1945 taking Elasticity (to which he was to devote most of his academic career), and in the then mandatory Complex Variable in which he has always been quite expert.

His student career at U.C.C. was not confined to this. He was a member of the hurling team, was active in student affairs, becoming President of the Guild Council in 1942-3 (the equivalent of today's Students Union) presaging his career as a public man.

As I said he was awarded a Travelling Studentship in the mid-forties. By this time he had joined the Meteorological Service, and had taken to himself his charming wife Jane. This was,  as well as being a turning point in his personal life, scientifically speaking, a critical time in his career. His superiors would have been happy to allow him attend graduate school in U.C.L.A. in Meteorology. However, he had a hankering after Caltech,which was subsequently to loom so large in his life and in the life of many of his 'students. A chance meeting with a priest home from California resolved any doubts that he had in the matter.
It is always fascinating to contemplate the role of chance in life. Had Paddy not gone to Caltech, I suggest that the course of many of our lives would have been quite different. And if Paddy had become a meteorologist, and if any of his weather forecasts had to be slightly wrong, it is certain that they would have erred on the side of sunshine rather than of rain. Indeed, he would have given rain an acceptable face; I am reminded of what Frank O'Connor said on reading Bryan McMahon's stories: "I am left with the delightful impression that in the rainiest country in Europe, it is all sunshine.

Caltech then as now could boast of a great array of talents, E. T. Bell, Bateman, W. R. Smythe, Sechler, Liepmann, Housner to name but a few. Paddy was awarded a Teaching Assistantship there and pursued his PhD studies. He took the usual wide range courses from which many of the people here present were ultimately to benefit handsomely; and he also took a course. in economics which was to assist him later in his public career. He was awarded the PhD degree in 1949 following a thesis on the effect of force distributions in transversely isotropic or aeolotropic elastic bodies (statics). Fourier integral methods were used, and the work paralleled and was somewhat in advance of ,Ian Sneddon's work for isotropic materials.

A natural outgrowth of this was the corresponding dynamical problem: indeed, he was appointed Chief Mathematician for a U.S. Navy sponsored research project, at Caltech, on "the Compaction of Sand by Vibration". A number of years ear in 1953, he addressed an International Symposium in New York on "The Elastic Theory Of Soil Dynamics". When the proceedings of the Symposium were subsequently published, his paper was ranked first. A practical consequence of the insights gained from this work was a marked reduction in the size of vibration compactors of soils.

He returned to U.C.C. in 1949 as a lecturer, and he was appointed Professor of Mathematical Physics in 1950 to succeed the late Donal McCarthy who had moved to the Directorship of the Central Statistics Office. For many years he had to' carry the department virtually single-handed until the appointment of Vincent Hart in the mid-fifties; even then, though, it was only a two-man department.

In the year 1957 the curve of Paddy's career turned sharply upwards because of two happenings:
a) he was awarded a research grant of more than 5,000 dollars — "adjusting to 47187 dollars in 2021"— by the U.S. Air Research and Development Command; this to provide the assistance and equipment required for expanding and developing research work on "Torsion and Plate Problems "

b) he was elected to Seanad Eireann - the upper house of parliament by the graduates of the University, and at the head of the poll too.

To take the second of these first, he remained a member of the Seanad continuously for a twenty year period, until 1977 ) when he decided, because of pressure of other work, not to seek re-election. I would like to highlight just two aspects of that career during which he made very many detailed, well researched, and trenchant contributions:

a) his part in the defeat , on two separate occasions, of Government proposals to abolish the system of proportional representation (with the single transferable vote) in favour of the "first past the post system",

b) his contributions on the economy emphasizing the importance and potential of agriculture for our economic well being - something which has, perhaps , not even yet, penetrated fully the national psyche.

As to the research grant of more than $5,000 for one year , to which I have referred, it was the first of many such. But as to this, the first, it must be remembered that Electronic Computers were only in their infancy then;  it was necessary to acquire hand machines - I remember well the Facits that he acquired at that time. He had Vincent Hart working on plates parallel with him(among others) and he employed Dick Scott, now in Missouri, and myself as computing assistants. I believe that Paddy's work at that time on rectangular plates and on the torsion of elliptic type cross sections gave the best means at that time of obtaining comprehensive and satisfactory numerical results for this class of problems. The basic idea, as I recall it, was the obtaining of series solutions, spotting the asymptotic value of these series, and the evaluation of the resulting "rapidly converging series.

This is perhaps the best time to say that for students of this time, and I presume 'that the same happened later, this was a great source of stimulation and encouragement: there was a palpable air of excitement, and as well, of course , Uncle Sam's dollars were a welcome supplement to the income of impecunious students. As I mentioned earlier, we all benefitted from the wide courses in methods, boundary value problems, elasticity and fluid dynamics many of which were traceable to Caltech. Added to all that, Paddy's sunny personality and positive, optimistic approach was invaluable to students: they were told what was possible for them, encouraged to study the subject further, encouraged to go abroad for doctoral studies. At this time 1958(?) I think Paddy O'Regan and Bernard Reardon took off on the Caltech trail, to be followed by Eddie O'Kelly and Dick Scott in 1959: the first of very many eminently successful PhD. graduates of Caltech.

Paddy was awarded the D.Sc. degree in the early 1960's not alone for his work on mechanics , much of which was pursued under adverse conditions (remember, he was working in a one/two man department), but for varied contributions two of which show that he was neither ivory tower academic nor narrow specialist. One of these "The Design of Pile Groups", written in association with W. J. L. O'Connell (one of the country's better known consulting engineers) gained the Mullins 'medal award cf the Institute of Civil Engineers in Ireland. Specifically, the immediate context was that of a bridge over the Slaney river at Wexford, and the making available of an analysis to facilitate the design of pile foundations to withstand relatively large horizontal thrusts; subsequently the ensuing method of design was also tested and verified to the satisfaction Dutch engineers working in Nymegen (who used pile tests) . Another notable work of Paddy's was "An Econometric Model of a Dynamic Irish Economy —- an operation research approach" published in the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society - a work broad and ambitious in scope.

The mid-sixties saw the initial emergence of the edge function method; the increasing availability of electronic computers being conducive to its development. The torsion problem for a hollow square was solved; polygonal plate problems were dealt with in association with George Kelly. Subsequently vibration problems were dealt with in association with Michael O'Callaghan. Then three-dimensional elastostatic problems were dealt with. The work, which is ongoing , is potentially applicable to all linear boundary value problems (at least). I believe that it is an excellent method, its great merit being that it incorporates the effects of singularities naturally and with ease; singularities such as those to which cracks and re-entrant angles give rise. As we heard today, Jim Grannel has been dealing with the rigorous theoretical under-pinning of the method. The construction of most theoretical structures involve building upwards and downwards simultaneously. I hope that the method will be further developed and refined in the coming years.

We understand that the importance of the work has been recognised by the imminent award of a grant of somewhere between £50,000 and £106,000 by a U.S. Defence Force Agency. Congratulations, Paddy.

Other aspects of Paddy's career worthy of note include:

a) his election to membership of the R.I.A. in 1978, and

b) his membership of the N.U.I. senate for twenty five years: he is jointly, with the President of U.C.C., the longest serving member of that body.

Now as to Paddy the man. Nobody understands him who does not appreciate one of his great personal characteristics - namely loyalty: loyalty to his students, loyalty to his College and University, loyalty to his origins and to his country, loyalty to the Christian values of the tradition into which he was born. Another notable personal characteristic is his generosity and hospitality: Paddy and Jane were always very welcoming hosts.

We salute and thank Paddy for his magnificent contribution to mechanics and mathematics; for so successfully stimulating and encouraging so many of his students to pursue the subject, and that to graduate level. We salute the man of affairs, and we salute Paddy the man, loyal and generous. Knowing his legendary abilities, energy and drive, we look forward to another twenty five years of successful mathematical work and indeed, if he has the time, contributions to public affairs.

In conclusion, may I be excused if I have spoken at great length, but to fail to do so would be to fail to do justice to a sparklingly successful and: "full to overflowing" career. On behalf of your students, Paddy, and of fellow mathematicians/mechanicians, Or rather a representative
cross-section of them, I ask you to accept this picture as a token of our thanks, our esteem, and our affection."