It is with great sadness we record the death on 18 March 2025 of Prof. Ronnie Buchanan, formerly director of the Institute of Irish Studies. Ronnie was born in Belfast and educated at Queen's University Belfast, being awarded a BA in 1953 and PhD in 1958. After a year teaching at Montana State University, Missoula, in 1958-1959, he joined the Geography Department at Queen's as a lecturer in 1959, becoming full professor in 1982 and retiring in 1994. He was the third Director of the Institute of Irish Studies, between 1982 and 1993, and is fondly remembered as a supportive and insightful colleague and as a leader committed to the interdisciplinary research mission of the Institute. A retrospective event was held in May 2013 to honour his contribution to the Institute. Ronnie was Chairman of the National Trust in Northern Ireland, a member of the Museums and Galleries Commission, London, and a trustee of the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. He was elected a Member of the Royal Irish Academy, and served as a vice president in 1992-1996. 

Ronnie's publications include The World of Man (Dublin, 1976), Province, City & People: Belfast and its Region (ed. with B. Walker, Antrim , 1987); Ulster: Exploring the Common Ground (Belfast, 1988) and Downpatrick (Irish Historic Towns Atlas, Dublin, 1997).