Former chief justice Susan Denham has been presented with an honorary doctorate from Trinity College Dublin.
Ms Justice Denham, a graduate and former pro-chancellor of TCD, served as chief justice from 2011 to 2017.
Reflecting on her achievements on Friday, public orator Prof Anna Chahoud said Ms Denham’s name was “associated with momentous reforms, from the creation of the Court Service in support of all law courts in the State, to its inclusion in the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary”.
“Clarity, calm, and diplomacy were the hallmarks of her style and authority in court, just as they are permanent traits of her strongly principled character,” Prof Chahoud said.
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TCD chancellor Dr Mary McAleese also bestowed honorary doctorates on the geneticist Adrian Hill and the university’s director of college health service Dr David McGrath.
Prof Hill was commended for his work as co-leader of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine development group. Prof Chahoud noted the moment when he “announced the breaking news: [that] a new vaccine, which typically takes 10-15 years to be developed and tested, was shortly to become available”.
Through his career Prof Hill has played a leading role in the development of vaccines against infectious diseases such as malaria and Ebola, testing them in clinical trials in Africa and Europe.
Dr McGrath is credited with spearheading TCD’s move to a tobacco-free campus and, during Covid-19, with making “incredible efforts in supporting the most vulnerable students and staff in our community, and limitless dedication in ensuring college remained a safe environment”.
