AS A boy, the new Chair of Politics at University College Dublin (UCD) played around his father's desk at the university, writes MARY MINIHAN
The young David Farrell occupied himself with crayons and paper while the distinguished academic, author and bowtie-wearing broadcaster, Prof Brian Farrell, carried on with his work.
The former associate professor in the Department of Politics “will have been delighted at the appointment of his son”, according to a UCD insider.
There are connections to UCD on Farrell’s mother Marie-Thérèse’s side, too; her father, Theo Dillon, was Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics in the 1930s.
There is also political pedigree; Marie-Thérèse is a grand-daughter of Irish Parliamentary Party leader and MP, John Dillon, and niece of Fine Gael leader James Dillon.
Marie-Thérèse met Brian in UCD’s drama society, DramSoc where, according to family lore, she was fitting costumes for a play in which he was acting. David Farrell is the middle child in their family of seven.
A brother, Theo, has also taken the academic route and is now based at King’s College London, where he has the intriguing title of Professor of War in the Modern World.
Former taoiseach Garret FitzGerald is Farrell’s godfather.
A graduate of UCD, Farrell studied there in the early 1980s, completing a BA in politics and economics and an MA in politics, with his thesis focusing on Dáil deputies.
His PhD studies were undertaken in Florence, where he also developed his passion for pasta. However, even at the European University Institute, he maintained an interest in Irish politics and his dissertation concentrated on Irish political parties.
In the late 1980s, he lectured in UCD and DIT, and then in Manchester and Cardiff before settling in the north of England.
While so many other Irishmen are considering emigration, Farrell, who is still in his forties, returned to Dublin recently to take up his new post.
He spent almost two decades working at the University of Manchester, where he rose to become Head of Politics in 2004 and Head of the School of Social Sciences in 2006, and was also Jean Monnet Professor in European Politics.
A former lecturer, who described Farrell as “courteous, understated and quite tough”, said his appointment was a coup for UCD.
“I think he was very influenced by his father. Brian was very proud and moved by the fact that David followed him into academic life and made it on his own.
“He got a chair at a very early age at one of the best universities in Britain. He was playing at the top of the European league, if you like. He could get a chair anywhere at this stage, so it’s a real plus for UCD that he’s come back.
“He’s sort of, in a sense, coming home to the chair. It’s a huge coup for UCD to get him. In what is already a very good department, its international stature will grow with him there.”
Farrell’s research focuses on elections and political parties. A fellow academic notes that Farrell’s areas of expertise are currently very topical, and adds: “He’s very charming, his heart’s completely in the right place about his academic subject, he’s an excellent networker and a decent bloke.”
Farrell is also an expert on electoral systems; he has written the standard textbook on the subject — Electoral Systems: A Comparative Introduction— and is currently working on the new edition.
He is regularly called on to give professional advice in countries where consideration is being given to the reform of the electoral system. In the past few years he has advised politicians in Canada, Australia, Russia, Israel, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Bermuda and Scotland.
Farrell was recently invited to Leinster House to address a lively meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution, which is currently debating the wisdom – or otherwise – of reforming Ireland’s complex system of electing TDs. He and Labour deputy Michael D Higgins were called as expert witnesses in the field.
Prof Farrell told the assembled TDs and Senators that the Irish system of PR-STV – proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote in multi-seat constituencies – was the least-used electoral system, operating only here and in Malta.
However, his research found that many academics had a soft spot for the system. He referred to the “ironic situation that, while STV may be the most rarely used electoral system on the planet, it is at the same time one of the most popular among electoral reformers and electoral system experts”.
Farrell outlined the pitfalls of introducing large-scale changes, indicated that some countries had reversed changes and said that “electoral reform might be the wrong answer to the right question”.
He distributed a document that should make interesting reading for committee members, referring to discussion in academic literature about why the single transferable vote system performs “so badly in the election of women MPs”.
It continued: “A crude summary is that, in this instance, it may say more about the ‘political culture’ of Ireland and Malta than about the STV electoral system.” Farrell’s visiting appointments have included stints at Harvard, Mannheim, the Australian National University and the University of California.
In 2003 he was retained by Fianna Fáil to provide expert written advice in a court case in which the result of two constituency election counts were being challenged on legal grounds.
One of his ongoing research projects is a major survey of MEPs in the 2009-2014 European Parliament. He was co-founder of the academic journal, Party Politics.
Farrell lives with his partner Melissa.
Family tree
David Farrell has family pedigree and the academic credentials to back up his recent appointment as Chair of Politics in UCD, writes Mary Minihan
David Farrell's father is the widely-admired Brian Farrell, who brought his academic knowledge into the nation's living rooms as presenter of Seven Days, Today Tonightand numerous election results programmes.
Farrell’s great-grandfather on his mother’s side was the Irish Parliamentary Party leader and MP John Dillon.
His maternal grandfather was UCD professor of pharmacology and therapeutics, Theo Dillon. Farrell is also grand-nephew of Fine Gael leader James Dillon, while his brother, Theo Farrell, is currently Professor of War in the Modern World at King’s College, London.
Former taoiseach Garret FitzGerald is not a relative, but is Farrell’s godfather.
