The State has its first woman university chancellor with the appointment of Dr Miriam Hederman O'Brien as chancellor of the University of Limerick. Dr Hederman O'Brien (65) is a graduate in modern languages from University College Dublin; she holds a doctorate in political science from Trinity College Dublin and was awarded an honorary doctorate of philosophy from the Pontifical University of Maynooth in 1996. She is a barrister and a fellow of the Irish Management Institute. In 1992 she was awarded the Order of Merit by the President of Poland.
Dr Hederman O'Brien is chairwoman of the Foundation for Fiscal Studies and the Irish Committee of the European Cultural Movement. She is a member of the board of directors of AIB, the Irish Centre for European Law, the National Economic and Social Council, the Council of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland, the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland and a trustee of the Irish Centre for International Affairs in Brussels.
She was chairwoman of the Irish Council of the European Movement (1977-80) and has been an honorary president since 1991. She is, however, best known as chairwoman of the Commission on Taxation (1980-85).
In 1984 she received the European Order of Merit for her contribution towards European understanding and integration.