Bob Geldof and Prof Marianne Elliott gathered in Trinity’s Public Theatre this afternoon to receive honorary degrees alongside their three fellow awardees and a large cohort of postgraduates.
Terry Dwyer, an expert on children’s health; Patrica Oliver, who founded An Taisce’s Environmental Education Unit; and James P Smith, an economist famed for linking health and economic status, also received honorary degrees today in ceremonies overseen by Provost Patrick Prendergast and Chancellor of the University of Dublin, Mary Robinson.
Conducted entirely in Latin, as is traditional in Trinity, the hour-long ceremony’s oration was probably lost on most of the hundreds of people gathered in the Public Theatre, more commonly known as the Exam Hall to most staff and students. After a cohort of postgraduates had received their degrees, the five awardees in turn stepped forwarded to receive their honorary degree.
Geldof, the most recognisable name to receive the award today, is a singer-songwriter as much famed for his often controversial outbursts as his charity work and involvement in LiveAid. As lead singer for the Boomtown Rats, Geldof was once best known for his notoriety and outspoken criticism of Ireland. Today, it is his legacy as an activist, across a range of issues, that receives the most attention.
The last time Geldof spoke in Trinity, to the college’s Law Society (Law Soc), he courted controversy by criticising students for “banging on” about gender neutral bathrooms. Today, however, there was no room for speeches. Instead, each awardee listened on as their achievements were praised – again in Latin – and shuffled towards the front of the room to receive their degree.
The speech today rattled through Geldof’s upbringing and achievements, from a young boy in Dún Laoghaire with a passion for music to the man who grabbed worldwide attention with LiveAid: “Your implacable eloquence leaves us with no excuses. Social justice is not a dream.”
“You remind us that, almost two decades into it, the 21st-century hasn’t started yet. The logic of ‘murderous competition’ is yet to be defeated and eradicated. It’s still more than ever a world of dread and fear.”
Geldof received the award alongside some of the leading figures in economics, health and environmental regulation. The five awardees gathered together in the Provost’s House, beside the Exam Hall, before this afternoon’s ceremony.
Belfast-born Elliott is best known for her award-winning biography of Wolfe Tone. The historian has strong links to Trinity and played a significant role in developing the partnership between the College and Liverpool University, where she was the director of the Institute of Irish Studies.
Dwyer is the current Executive Director of the George Institute for Global Health at the University of Oxford and has also acted as an advisor to both Trinity and the government. Celebrated for his research that has led to a significant reduction of cot deaths, Dwyer has formerly served as a director at numerous Australian hospitals.
Oliver served as the full-time director of An Taisce’s Environmental Education Unit for 15 years, a unit that is widely recognised as one of the most successful in the EU. In the 1990s, Oliver took over Trinity’s Foundation for Environmental Education co-ordinated schemes, growing them to become models for Europe.
Smith is best known for his work on the economics of ageing and the links between health and economic status. A long-time champion of Trinity’s own Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), he is Chair of the global Scientific Advisory Board and has mentored Trinity economics and social science students.
Honorary degrees have long been used by Trinity – and universities around the world – to honour world-leading individuals. The list of recipients of honorary degrees from Trinity includes former Vice-President of the US Joe Biden, President Michael D Higgins, and poet Michael Longley.
A number of events around the conferring of the degrees have also been arranged by College, including a roundtable discussion on Heartlands in the Long Room Hub and a talk from Oliver on the environmental consciousness of Ireland’s young people.
