Brother Vincent Corkery (Jerry Corkery) formerly of Liscahane, who has been on the Missions with the La Salle Brothers at St. Michaels Institution in Ipoh (Malaysia), was yesterday conferred a Datukship by the Sultan of Perak in recognition of his contributions in the education sector in Ipoh. The conferring is in conjunction with his Highness’ 82nd birthday (April 19th 2010). The investiture ceremony was held at the Iskandariah Palace in Kuala Kangsar.
We hope Brother Vincent had a great and eventful day. Congratulations!
Afterwards he commented:
I wish to express my deepest appreciation to His Highness the Sultan of Perak for this high honour, which I am happy to receive on behalf of the La Salle Brothers and St. Michael’s Institution.
As we approach our first centenary, it is a signal recognition for St Michael’s as a long established beacon of excellence. Here young people without distinction are prepared to take their place in society and serve with honesty and dedication.
It will be greeted with joy among the thousands of our ever faithful alumni.
The honour is timely and much appreciated.
with thanks to his sister Eily Buckley for the news
About a Dato’ (Datukship) (from Wikipedia)
Dato’ is the most common highly regarded title in Malaysia. The wife of a Dato’ is a Datin, except in Terengganu where they are known as “To’ Puan” (not to be confused with “Toh Puan”, the wife of a non-hereditary “Tun”).
The Dato’ (pronounced in similar manner as Datuk) may only be conferred by a hereditary royal ruler of one of the nine Malay states. There are also hereditary Dato’s from Negeri Sembilan, where titles are held for life by heads of certain families and passed on to their heirs. These are not conferred by the ruler, but passed on through the customary native laws. The wife of a hereditary Dato’ is addressed by courtesy as “To’ Puan”.
In other states, certain noble families also have hereditary titles and are addressed as Dato’. For example, the current Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak, is hereditary Orang Kaya Indera Shahbandar of Pahang. He would have been addressed as “Dato'” even if he had not been conferred a “Dato’ Sri” (SSAP)[2] state award of Pahang.
Foreigners may be awarded such titles in a supernumerary and honorary capacity and use the title locally.
Dato’ titles can ‘sold’ through a personal contribution to the royal palaces in certain states. This makes some Dato’ titles more valuable depending on the state of origin.
As we get more information, it will be posted here
What a wonderful story, which brings back memories of the Boys National School in the early 1950’s. Every First Friday, the headmaster,Mr. Doherty would bring the whole school together to say the Angelus and he always asked us to pray for Jerry Corkery who was a missionary in Malaysia. We had no idea who we were praying for and we didn’t even know where Malaysia was. However,this story shows that prayers are indeed answered. Congratulations and thanks to Brother Vincent.
A truly inspiring story indeed. Brother Vincent is indeed someone who is looked up highly by all of us. He is the pillar of the Lasallian fraternity in the region. You should by now, I believe, know that the Irish ambassador to Malaysia, who is based in the state capital of Kuala Lumpur, paid a visit to Brother, bringing with him a congratulatory letter from the Ireland President. What a great honour. Let all the people of Millstreet know that their beloved son is making waves in Malaysia!!