Jim Crowley, professor of transport policy and logistics at University College Dublin, was buried on a beautiful sunny day, surrounded by his family and a large circle of friends from many walks of life. All those present were united in shock and sadness at the untimely death of an energetic and ebullient person who was in the prime of life and seemed to have a long future ahead of him. Sadly, that was not to be and all we have left are many happy memories that, cumulatively, tell the story of a loved and valued relative and friend, and a life well lived.
Jim was a Corkman whose early education was at Christian Brothers College. His first step on the academic ladder was with B.E. and M.Eng. Science degrees in engineering at University College Cork. He started his work career in CIE, where he developed a lifelong interest in transport and logistics. He completed a Ph.D. on that topic at University College Dublin and subsequently joined the Faculty of Commerce in 1976 as a lecturer in transport within the department of business administration.
Once in UCD, he created a masters' degree in transport, which was a new subject to the Faculty of Commerce. This degree attracted a number of committed students each year, many of whom have gone on to senior positions in major transport companies. He also championed the cause of logistics as an important business subject and his advocacy was rewarded when it became a core subject in the Bachelor of Commerce degree.
Coincident with his teaching activities, Jim pursued an active research agenda on transport and logistics topics. He was enviably successful at raising funds for his various research projects and had a unique mastery of the labyrinthine bureaucracy in Europe. Through his research work and teaching he built up a significant body of knowledge in his field which was formally recognised in his appointment to a chair funded by the Institute of Transport. Jim's expertise was also highly valued in the domain of policy and practice, and he was regularly consulted on important issues by government bodies as well as commercial companies.
Jim's interests extended well beyond his own specialist area. He was a vocal champion of new technology and demonstrated this by implementing the latest and best technology in his own work. It was something of a standing joke in the faculty that no matter how many bits and bytes anyone else had at their disposal, Jim prided himself on being several gigabytes ahead. Indeed, he was exhorting his colleagues to embrace e-commerce at a time when most of us had not even heard the term.
Latterly, he played a leadership role in the creation of the Institute of Technology Management funded by the European Union through Enterprise Ireland. This institute is a collaborative venture with the Faculty of Engineering directed by Professor Tom Allen of MIT and it is a happy coincidence that Jim lived long enough to see this institute develop into a thriving enterprise.
Jim also made many other contributions in the Faculty of Commerce and the wider college. He directed the MBA programme for six years and will be remembered fondly by the many students he encountered during that time. He was also head of the Department of Business Administration for four years, served on a number of college committees and participated in various international academic bodies through which he made many friends at home and abroad.
In fact, a talent for friendship was one of Jim's great gifts. His ready smile and unassuming manner put young and old at ease and endeared him to many. Even those with whom he had occasional disagreements, as we all do, could not bear any grudges because they knew that his motives were entirely honourable and he was never driven by malice.
Jim also had great humanity and an acute sensitivity to the pain of others. Numerous cases have been cited of his quiet, unobtrusive gestures of kindness to colleagues who were ill or in trouble in whatever way. It is a sad irony that he bore his own final illness with such quiet dignity that no one realised how ill he was or had a chance to repay that support in kind.
Above all, Jim was a family man who radiated pride in and affection for his wife, Richelle, and his three children, Brian, Carole and Conor. He often recounted the simple pleasure they enjoyed walking in the Wicklow hills with their beloved dog, Sandy. It is a tragedy that their time together was cut short but a triumph to have enjoyed such happiness in the time that he lived. They have our heartfelt sympathy in their sad loss.
M.L. and A.K.