On Wednesday, the 4th of June, 2025, SHU Dingle professor and former co-director John Roney was honoured for his retirement and long-term service to the campus with a plaque and rowan tree to be planted in his honour.
The plaque, presented by SHU Dingle Executive Director Gary Delaney with staff and faculty in attendance, reads:
“This tree is dedicated to Professor John Roney for his outstanding dedication and service to SHU Dingle.”
Professor Roney has been teaching courses in Dingle since 2002 and has played a significant role in the development of the program in his role as a SHU Dingle Program Co-Director from 2017 until 2024, before retiring in 2025.
As Executive Director Delaney explained, the rowan tree, which is native to Ireland, is regarded in the druidic tradition as a “portal tree”, a threshold between the “here” and now and the point(s) to which we are going. Its Old English name “syrfe”, as well as its French name “sorbe”, mean “service tree” or “service berry”. With that in mind, SHU Dingle can think of no better representation for Professor Roney’s many years of service to Sacred Heart and particularly to SHU Dingle.
This “service tree” speaks to the long history of work Professor Roney has accomplished on behalf of SHU Dingle and the promise of years of continued growth and learning to come.
The SHU Dingle community thanks Professor Roney for his service: Mile buíochas, a Shéain!
