b"moving to Engineering which proved a bit more John's academic journey took o in 1956 whenchallenging than the Classics he knew and he signed up for a PhD with Professor Wrightloved. Other Influencers during his time at and was oered a scholarship.John was one ofTrinity included Sir John Benjamin McNeill and the first to get an ICI fellowship in 1960. When inHumphrey Lloyd, Rev. Kenneth Maguire (later 1962 Professor Wright decided computers wereBishop of Montreal), John Luce and Bedell the future, an IBM 1620 was procured for theStanford, Professor of Greek.The best of all,grand sum of 10,000, at a 60% discountedhe recalled, was Dr. H.W. Park who excelled in price, and paid for with various donations andRoman history and who kept oice in the Henry loans. In that same year Professor Wright set upJones room in the old library. the Graduate School of Engineering and shortcourses in programming were run for sta at theHowever, it was to be a later encounter with university. John Gabriel Byrne was born in Dublin on 25th Professor Bill Wright (elected Chair ofJuly 1933 to Doreen, ne Lawlor, and Thomas Engineering at Trinity College in 1957) that paved From its birthplace in Engineering, theBrendan Byrne, Rathfarnham, Dublin.the way for John to further his studies and lead Department of Computer Science wasHe attended Belvedere College, where his forte both university and country in the development established in 1969. Professor Wright chargedwas classics and so followed an easy transition of computer science as an academic discipline Professor Byrne with educating a nation ofto his first year at Trinity College Dublin studying and an applied science in Ireland. bright minds in the discipline of computerGreek. As a Catholic student of that time, he science; many of these already working in publicsought permission from the Catholic Archbishop Following his graduation John went to work in service, industry and academia and tasked withof Dublin, John Charles McQuaid to attend.Birmingham with Septimus Willis who were bringing computerisation and informationHis father was previously an Engineering designing the new Croke Park stand in 1956 systems to the workplace. Part-time self-graduate of Trinity. returning home to take up a summer job in financing evening programmes wereDublin Corporation.Later he applied for a established to meet the growing need forAfter his first year studying the classics, he bursary to study at Imperial College, was graduates in the discipline.switched to Engineering and studied under the successful and graduated with a Diploma inguidance of one of his many influencers Victor Concrete Technology and it was there that heGraham who excelled at Mathematics. John first heard about computers being used forreadily admitted he needed more tuition beforedesigning roof trusses.09"