Ms Dolores Halpin-Bachmann

Dolores Halpin-Bachmann was born and grew up in Tipperary. She was educated at the Presentation Convent in Clonmel where her debating skills were first nurtured and developed as a member of the school debating team, going on to win the All-Ireland school debating championships in 1971, a skill which she has drawn upon on numerous occasions throughout her working life. 

In 1972, at a time when Ireland had just joined the European Community, Dolores - along with another 100 or so students - embarked on what she describes as "an inspiring and combative third-level education” at the then newly-established NIHE in Limerick, where she completed a BCS Degree in European Studies in 1976 while honing her advocacy and lobbying skills in the political battleground for full degree and university status for NIHE. 

Shortly after her graduation, with her combination of foreign languages and European Community studies, Dolores moved to the heart of the EU, to Brussels, where she worked in an international law firm collaborating with EU-wide industry and European Institutions on the development and adoption of EU legislation as well as litigation. It was while in Belgium in 1978 that she met her future husband, then a student at the College of Europe. After six years, Dolores moved to his homeland of Denmark – another land, another culture, yet another language. Following a year of intensive language studies, she successfully completed a post-graduate interpreting course at the Copenhagen Business School. Dolores later returned to Brussels to work as an interpreter at the European Commission but soon found that interpreting and communicating the ideas, thoughts and arguments of others was too restrictive. 

When back in Denmark in the early 90's, Dolores's practical knowledge of EU systems, procedures and mechanisms as well as her languages led her to a new career shift. The European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) had just been established and Caritas Denmark, a member of the Caritas Confederation with national Caritas members in over 167 countries, was one of the first organisations to sign a Framework Partnership Agreement with ECHO. Thus began the start of a long career within the Caritas family working with, for and on behalf of disaster-affected communities across the globe. 

Through the course of the next 13 years, Dolores spearheaded and developed Caritas Denmark's humanitarian response programmes, built up and strengthened its relationship with the Danish Foreign Ministry and with ECHO. On the European Caritas front, she set up - together with other key European Caritas ECHO partners - Caritas Europa's EU coordination and lobbying mechanisms. At the same time, she pro-actively contributed to strengthening the global Caritas humanitarian agenda and coordination of the global Caritas response to emergencies. This period also saw Dolores regularly visiting and working with the national Caritas member and communities in disaster-affected countries bringing hope, solace, comfort and tons of relief supplies to address their humanitarian needs and help them recover and take charge of their lives again – Bosnia, Kosovo, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Thailand, Myanmar, Eritrea, Niger. 

In 2006, Dolores moved again, this time to the heart of the Caritas Confederation, with its headquarters in Vatican City, where she took on the task of leading and coordinating the global Caritas emergency response to conflicts and disasters across the world. A new Emergency Appeal system for the Confederation was developed and launched in 2008, with streamlined application, reporting and audit requirements. Between 2008 and 2011, 130 Caritas Emergency Appeals totaling €337.8 million were launched for emergency response programmes in support of 14.4 million disaster-affected people across 53 countries. At the same time, links between Caritas and the UN were further developed and strengthened in New York, Geneva and in disaster-affected countries. 

In late 2011, due to family illness, Dolores returned to Caritas Denmark and resumed her position as Humanitarian Co-ordinator where she continues to face head-on continuing human disasters around the world. Described by those who know her best as "fearless, dynamic, caring and determined with a capital D, Dolores has proved herself to be a global citizen who has brought her commitment, passion and compassion to bear on the most difficult situations imaginable”. 

In September, 2012, Dolores was honoured by her alma mater when, at the start of the UL40 year of celebrations, she and her fellow-graduates of the first class at then-NIHE were honoured by the University with Honorary Masters Degrees.