JOHN DOLAN
John Edmund Dolan
was born in Carlisle,
England on 29 March 1922. His parents were John Dolan (1891-1960) and Catherine
Metcalfe (1898-1991). Their other children were Terry who became an architect
and Peter who became a priest.
John
married Margaret O'Connor (1923-1959) in Saint
Columbkille's Church, Rutherglen on 10 July 1951. They had three children,
Michael (1952-1986), Chris and Brian.
Margaret died on 1 March 1959. John married Mary Teresa (May) Matthews in Saint
Mary's Church, Saltcoats on 18 April 1960. May died on 17 June 1999 aged 78
years.
|
John
Dolan in 2006 |
John
received his secondary education at Saint Joseph's College, Dumfries. He went
to the University of Glasgow
to study science graduating in 1943 with an honours Bachelor of Science degree
in Physical Chemistry. After graduating, John joined the Royal
Corps of Signals in both North Africa and Italy from 1943 to 1945, achieving
the wartime rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1946 when he was posted to Sudan with
the Eritrea Defense Force. He left the army in 1947. John went back to Glasgow
University briefly in 1947 and undertook postgraduate research on the potential
carcinogenic effects of cigarette smoke under the guidance of Professor J W Cook
in the Department
of Chemistry. This was three years before Sir
Richard Doll's seminal work establishing the link between cigarette smoking
and lung cancer.
In 1948, John took up a position as a research chemist
with Nobel
Division, a subsidiary of Imperial
Chemical Industries (ICI) at
Ardeer in Stevenston.
He moved from research to management in 1963 when he was appointed Controller
of Overseas Operations, though he always said that he enjoyed his time in research
the most. He received a succession of promotions, becoming Overseas Marketing
Manager for Nobel Division in 1971. He was a founding member and first secretary
general of the Federation
of European Explosives Manufacurers (FEEM), established in 1976. He was awarded
the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal for Services to Industry in 1977 and in the same
year was made a director of Wasag/Nobel, Germany (WANO). In 1979, he was appointed
a director of both Perlog (Oil Exploration Systems) and Irish
Industrial Explosives, Dublin.
John retired from Nobel's in 1982 after
thirty-five years of service, but continued as secretary general of FEEM until
he retired from this post in 1993. In 1987, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal
Society of Chemistry and in 1988 was elected to the Council of the Industrial
Division of the Royal Society of Chemistry. From 1995 to 1997, he served as chairman
of the Nobel Heritage Committee of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
John
was actively involved in the parish of Saint Peter's. In 1963, he supervised the
construction of the Church Hall, a wooden structure which was later clad with
brick walls. In 1967, he made a cine film called Friday Night Beat which focussed
on a music group in Saint Peter's Church Hall. He was a Reader and Minister of
the Eucharist who took Communion to people at home. He was also a member of the
Finance Committee, Thursday
Club and Country Dancing Club. He would drive parishioners to and from Church
services and was a faithful attender at Parish
Socials. In 2001, John quietly gifted The
Galloway Stone on which the Tabernacle rests in the Blessed
Sacrament Chapel.
John loved the outdoors, particularly walking and
sailing. There were frequent family holidays to the Galloway
Hills and the Lake
District, especially Ullswater.
He started off sailing a Mirror dinghy then acquired a 24 foot cabin cruiser which
he named the Maijon, before finally graduating to a 30 foot ketch, the
Traumerei. He loved sailing with May around the Kyles
of Bute and Arran
in the Firth
of Clyde and it was a great wrench to him when he finally had to give up sailing
at the age of eighty.
John
died on 18 December 2007. At his funeral service on 22 December in Saint Peter's
Church, Father Matt McManus said that
John's goodness was evident to everyone who knew him. He added that in his
chosen field, John was a world expert yet he wore his abilty and learning
with a very light touch and never imposed his wisdom on anyone. In his eulogy,
Peter McNamara spoke of John's contribution to the local community with reference
to his Presidency of The Friends of the Plantation, an organisation that stimulated
the rejuvenation of the Holm Plantation, Ardrossan. In tribute to John, Peter
said that the annual concerts in the Plantation will hereafter be called the
John Dolan Memorial Concerts. Peter referred to John's smile, good humour
and courtesy and described him as "genuine", "wonderful"
and "fantastic".
John
was a leading research chemist and a marketing manager with the initials B Sc,
C Eng, M I Min Eng, C Chem and FRSC after his name. To
the parishioners of Saint Peter's, he was a very kind and highly well-respected
member of our community.
John is buried in Ardrossan Cemetery.
May he rest in peace.
On 19 May 2008, in Holm Plantation, Ardrossan, Canon
Matt McManus dedicated a seat with the inscription shown right to John in
recognition of his work for Friends of the Plantation. On 1 June 2008, the first
John Dolan Memorial Concert was held in the Plantation. A large audience was entertained
by Saint Matthew's Academy Band and Garnock Academy Jazz Band playing in tribute
to 'wonderful Friend of the Plantation'.
John's
obituary was printed in The Herald newspaper on 15 February 2008. Click here
to read it.