Simon Nolan, O. Carm., a member of the Irish Province of Carmelites, has been appointed Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at St Patrick’s Pontifical University, Maynooth, Ireland. He took up his role at the beginning of September. At the annual University Conferring of Degrees on 12th November, the Chancellor of the University and Primate of All Ireland, Archbishop Eamonn Martin, formally welcomed Simon and wished him well in this new role.
Simon is a doctoral graduate of Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University and has specialized in the study of the first Carmelites at the medieval universities as well as the Irish intellectual tradition in the 14th century. He also has a particular interest in the philosophical thought of St Titus Brandsma.
Simon is a member of the Scientific Council of the Institutum Carmelitanum, Rome and a Scholar at the Center for Carmelite Studies, Washington DC.
Philosophy has been taught at Maynooth since the founding of St Patrick’s in 1795, with the first professors coming from Paris’ Sorbonne University in the wake of the French Revolution. The Philosophy Faculty at Maynooth attracts students from both Ireland and abroad and has a strong reputation in both teaching and research, with good numbers enrolled in its masters, licentiate, and doctoral programmes.
Historically there have been connections between Maynooth and the Carmelites in Ireland, with some occasionally studying or teaching philosophy, theology, or science there. In September, three members of the Pernambuco Province (Brazil) and one member of the General Commissariat of St Thérèse and St Albert (India) commenced their studies in theology at Maynooth. Importantly, the certificate, diploma, B.Th. and M.Th. programs of the Carmelite Institute of Britain and Ireland (CIBI) are accredited by Maynooth.
Picture Captions
Top: (left to right): Dr Patrick Gorevan, Dr Philip Gonzales, and Simon Nolan, O. Carm., from the Faculty of Philosophy, Maynooth.
Bottom: The featured guests at the ceremony. Picture courtesy of St Patrick's Pontifical University (SPPU).
