Bridge-builder and philanthropist, Dr Ian Brick, dies aged 72 
08 July 2015
Dr Ian Brick, one of Queen’s most distinguished graduates and one of its most generous benefactors, has died (July 5) at his home in Nashville, Tennessee after a long battle with cancer. He was 72.
Ian Brick graduated from Queen’s University in 1965 with a BSc in Physiology and again in 1967 with a PhD in Pharmacology. He served as President of the Students’ Union when, in 1967, it moved to its current location. In 2002 he received an honorary DSc (Econ) from Queen’s for services to the University. In 2011, he was honoured for his service to Northern Ireland education by being appointed an officer of the Civil Division of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
Norma Sinte, Director of Development and Alumni Relations at Queen’s, who knew Dr Brick well said: “It was with great sadness that I learned of Ian’s passing. His contribution to the University over many years was immense and his enthusiasm for student-related projects, and the Students’ Union in particular, was second to none. Queen’s – and indeed Northern Ireland – has lost a true friend.”
Dr Brick was a founder member of the Board of The Queen’s University of Belfast Foundation, and a past President and Honorary Patron of the Friends of The Queen’s University of Belfast (Inc.).
He was predeceased by his wife Katherine in 2008 and is survived by his son, Michael and daughters, Karen and Claire, as well as eight grandchildren.
Ian Brick was born in Belfast in 1942, the son of an insurance salesman and grandson of an East Belfast joiner, who worked in the shipyard and on the construction of Parliament Buildings at Stormont.
In 1959, at the young age of 16, he came to Queen’s, initially to study medicine but later transferring to physiology. He graduated with honours in 1965 and subsequently gained his PhD in pharmacology in 1967. Ian's research work was in the field of beta blockers and cardiology and he was part of a team that published the first paper in this area.
It is as President of the Students' Union in 1967 that Ian Brick is perhaps best, and most affectionately, remembered. Known as “Brickie”, his term in office marked an auspicious period, following the opening of the new Union Building in 1966 and immediately preceding the onset of the ‘Troubles’ in October 1968. In 2010, a bar in the Union, Brickie's Bar, was dedicated in his honour.
And it was during the late 60s that Ian met his future wife, Katherine McSorley from Omagh, Co. Tyrone, when they both were fundraising for RAG.
A successful businessman, Ian spent 10 years in England with ICI Pharmaceuticals before returning to Ireland as Managing Director of Cullen & Davidson, a small company specialising in retail pharmaceuticals, best known for the cold remedy, “Mrs Cullen’s Powders”.
In 1980 he and two partners founded the Institute of Clinical Pharmacology in Dublin. The firm went public in 1984 on NASDAQ and this necessitated the emigration of the Brick family to the USA. The company was engaged in worldwide clinical trials of newly discovered pharmaceutical compounds particularly in the HIV research field. And in 1990 he set up Pharmaceutical Laboratory Services in Baltimore, Maryland, which was subsequently purchased by his major competitor in 1994.
A major player in the Atlantic Bridges project to strengthen cultural links between Northern Ireland and the American South, Ian helped to twin Belfast and Nashville as Sister Cities in 1996. He was a member of the selection committee for the Mitchell Scholars and a board member of Camerata Ireland, the very successful All-Ireland Orchestra founded by Barry Douglas.
Ian and Katherine spent his early retirement travelling the world and meeting friends in every country. Ian’s generosity in terms of time, hospitality and personal commitment was legendary. He demonstrated a willingness to travel anywhere in the US on behalf of Queen’s, speaking to graduate associations and at alumni events, and ensuring that his business and professional connections were used to the full. He remained active on behalf of the University until Katherine's untimely death in 2008.
Reflecting on his contribution to life in Nashville, Mayor Karl Dean told local newspaper, The Tennessean: "Ian was a great Nashvillian. He worked tirelessly to strengthen the cultural links between Nashville and Northern Ireland. His positive and friendly character was instrumental in creating a strong Sister City relationship between Nashville and Belfast.”
Ian Brick has many friends here in Northern Ireland, and his loyalty both to his University and his country is widely known and appreciated. He will be missed as a friend, an inspirational businessman, a generous benefactor, and as a committed supporter of reconciliation in Northern Ireland.
Inquiries to Gerry Power, Communications Officer, Development and Alumni Relations Office; tel: +44 (0)28 9097 5321
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