The following is the commencement speech given by Fellow Declan Barry at the most recent Fellowship Programme graduation at Hillsborough Castle in April 2025.
Good evening, everyone.
It’s a real honour to stand in front of you this evening, among this brilliant cohort, the dedicated team behind the Centre for Democracy and Peace, and of course, the supporters and sponsors who help make all this possible. Thank you for letting me share a few reflections on what is, undeniably, a bit of a milestone.
Graduations are strange things. They sneak up on you. One moment it is an awkward conversation in the Long Room at Stormont, before long we are uncomfortably close to each other, punting around Oxford in the rain, plotting a Shakespearean Invasion of France, inspired by powerful oratory, and a couple of tins of Red Bull… all while wondering if anyone else understood what on earth “systems thinking” meant… and then, suddenly, you’re standing here, certificate in hand, surrounded by people you’ve come to admire, respect, who I will certainly miss, now that the formal schedule has completed.
This journey hasn’t just been about knowledge. It’s been about perspective. Taking a moment to step back, and learning to see our communities, our institutions… even ourselves, as part of something bigger. We’ve heard from diplomats, peacebuilders, civic leaders, and people who’ve lived through conflict and come out the other side with more to offer the world than the thinking of the past. In doing so, I think we’ve each been reminded that peace, democracy and progress are not abstract ideas – they’re lived, shaped, and stewarded by normal people like everyone here in the room this evening.
Speaking personally, this Fellowship has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional life. It has helped me find confidence to stand in rooms, as impressive as this one and feel like I have a contribution to make to the conversation.
It has also forced me, and I know I am not the only one in the room, to take the time to consider my impact in the world, my future career priorities, and the passion projects I have been putting off in favour of busy work. I have taken time to consider how I can use these platforms, skills or opportunities; to create positive change in the community and tell the stories that are worth amplifying.
It’s challenged me to think more deeply, to listen more intently, and not to fear, big complex problems, but to face them with both patience and imagination. There were moments in group discussions, during the residential programmes, even in the wee small hours while engaging in what can only be described as “cultural exchange”, when something someone said would shift my thinking entirely. And it highlights, that leadership is not about always having the answer, but about creating the space for others to speak, and being open to the possibility that your views might evolve.
More than anything, this has been a masterclass in learning from other people: in all their diversity of experience, thought, and background. And I feel incredibly lucky to have shared this journey with such a generous and inspiring group of Fellows.
Now, I don’t imagine any of us are under the illusion that the work is done, or in fact, that there is a final destination. But there’s something powerful about knowing you’re part of a community of people who are willing to lean in; to stay curious, to stay engaged, and to keep working towards something.
To our sponsors and stakeholders: Allstate, Camlin, FinTrU, Fujitsu, NIE and Ulster Carpets, as well as the Irish Department for Foreign Affairs and the Irish American Partnership. Thank you. Your support goes far beyond financial contributions. What you’ve invested in – in this cohort and the previous – is a generation of leadership that is more open, more connected, and more capable of navigating through difference.
And to Eva, Zac and Nicole: thank you for creating not just a programme, but a space. A space where it was safe to challenge, to listen, to think out loud. The programme shows what compassionate and honest leadership can look like, and it has left its mark on all of us.
As I close, since the moment I was asked to speak this evening, the words of a good friend, the late Rev. John Stevens have been in my mind as a notion for ‘what happens next’?
He once reflected on the moment he took on a leadership role within the Church of Ireland. His predecessor had offered him a quiet piece of wisdom, seeing how nervous he was about the weight of the task: that the Church, with all its tradition and responsibility, was like a story. And that it was now simply his turn to write a chapter.
I can’t think of a more fitting way to look at the work of this Fellowship. This too is a story – not yet finished – and this year’s group of Fellows has already begun writing a remarkable chapter. The thought of what comes next – the chapters still to be written, the collective impact still to unfold – fills me with both excitement and a deep, genuine curiosity.
And with that, I would like to wish congratulations to all of the Fellows this year, and to invite everyone to continue our own chapter of the story.
Thank you.
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