In Memoriam

Professor emeritus of Political Science and International Studies Richard B. Finnegan ’64 died in May.

After receiving his bachelor of arts degree at Stonehill, he earned master's degrees from Boston College and Harvard University and a doctorate from Florida State University. In 1968, he joined the College as a young faculty member who went on to become one of our most accomplished professors and an outstanding ambassador beyond campus.

Finnegan chaired the Political Science and International Studies departments, led the Irish Studies and the Moreau Honors programs and served as interim dean of the faculty. Along with many articles and book chapters, he wrote or edited six books on modern Ireland and helped compile the largest collection of Irish government documents in the United States.

A multiple Fulbright academic grant recipient, Finnegan held professorships at University College Galway in Ireland and Catholic University in Leuven, Belgium, and was a Fulbright Senior Scholar at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic. He also taught military and diplomatic personnel in Germany.

In 1998, he received a Moreau Medallion for distinguished contributions to the College’s first half-century. When he visited Ireland in 2007 with 47 alums and friends, he became the first faculty member to lead an Alumni Travel Program. In 2010, he received the Outstanding Alumnus Award.

After over five decades of service, Finnegan retired in 2015. In appreciation, the College created the Richard B. Finnegan Distinguished Professor of Political Science & International Studies position in support of advanced political research.