UCD honorary degrees for acclaimed broadcaster, business leader and Irish heritage champion

Posted 9 December, 2024

• Frontline reporter Orla Guerin, business trailblazer Marie O’Connor, and heritage pioneer Clare Tuffy had their achievements recognised

Award-winning broadcast journalist Orla Guerin has received an honorary degree by University College Dublin in recognition of her of great courage and expertise in reporting from conflict zones across the globe, often in the most arduous circumstances.

In a career that has led to numerous honours including an MBE for Services to Broadcasting in 2005 and repeated Emmy and BAFTA nominations, the Dublin native has covered foreign affairs, wars, and disasters over many years.

In the 1990s Ms Guerin became RTÉ’s youngest foreign correspondent, covering the collapse of the Soviet Union and the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, reporting from the besieged Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. 

Upon completion of an MA in Film Studies at UCD, she become the BBC’s International Correspondent in the Middle East in 2000. 

Over her long tenure with the broadcaster, she rose to the rank of Senior International Correspondent, reporting from all around the world including Kosovo, Moscow, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, Islamabad and Caracas.

“The esteem in which she is held by her industry has been conveyed in awards from the London Press Club and the Royal Television Society which named her Television Journalist of the Year in 2018,” said (opens in a new window)Professor Diane Negra, UCD School of English, Drama and Film, reading Ms Guerin’s citation for her Honorary Degree of Doctor of Arts.

“Her composed style and her commitment to truthful and thorough reporting… her dogged work in delivering crucial information in complex evolving geopolitical circumstances and her fierce determination to expanding what we see and know of those circumstances have made her a trail-blazing figure for women in television. For many aspiring journalists, she is a role model.

“In celebrating [her] many accomplishments, UCD is proud to honour an illustrious alumna of the University who reflects immense credit on her alma mater,” she added.

During a week of graduations ahead of the Christmas break, UCD also presented honorary degrees to a number of other individuals in recognition of their extraordinary contributions.

• Marie O’Connor - Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws

Receiving an honorary doctorate in recognition of her trailblazing career and outstanding leadership, Marie O’Connor was presented with a Degree of Doctor of Laws.

A former Chair of UCD Governing Authority, Marie was the first woman appointed to this role in UCD’s 165-year history.

“University College Dublin had the great good fortune to have Marie as chair of its sixth Governing Authority… during a very challenging period for the University with major external shocks affecting both operations and financial sustainability,” said her citator, (opens in a new window)Professor Colin Scott, Deputy President and Registrar.

“In the role of chair Marie led on further developing both transparency and equality in university governance. During her term, both of the other major decision-making bodies of the University, the University Management Team and the Academic Council were gender balanced for the first time.”

One of many glass ceilings smashed by the Clonskeagh native, Marie was the first woman student to undertake Commerce programme at Rathmines College.

A career with the then accounting firm Craig Gardner beckoned, and she remained with the firm when it was taken over and rebranded as Price Waterhouse Cooper (now PWC). It was here she smashed another glass ceiling, becoming the first female partner of PWC in Ireland.

“At PWC Marie demonstrated a combination of exceptional drive and commitment, with creativity around opportunities and outstanding empathy and people skills. These exceptional aptitudes have underpinned not only a remarkable career at PWC but also extensive leadership contributions to gender equality and to higher education,” added Professor Scott.

“[She] carved out a role at PWC in supporting the emergent and growing investment of US firms in Ireland and travelled extensively to engage with clients and to find new leads across the US. Marie was a pioneer amongst those in government and professional services firms, building those relationships and processes which underpinned Ireland’s modernisation and remarkable economic growth.

“We honour Marie as an outstanding leader of this transformation of the Irish economy and of Irish society.”

• Clare Tuffy - Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science

An inspirational figure in heritage communication and outreach, Clare Tuffy was awarded a Degree of Doctor of Science for her pioneering work to give the Brú na Bóinne World Heritage site a function in the life of its surrounding community.

The Mayo native recognised that developing the role of the site’s visitor centre beyond simply that of a tourist facility to a place that could support local culture, values and interests, would help build a mutually beneficial relationship between the facilities of the heritage site and its neighbours.

Her development of visitor services and outreach at Brú na Bóinne World Heritage site over the years has met with such success as to influence the approach for other significant cultural sites in Ireland and abroad.

“Her human touch helped to engage stakeholders from all walks of life,” said (opens in a new window)Dr Claire Cave, UCD School of Archaeology, giving the citation.

“The UCD award is in recognition of her years of service, her enthusiastic and generous support of the UCD Schol of Archaeology and her role in communicating the outstanding universal value of Newgrange Passage tomb and the Brú na Bóinne landscape to national and international audiences.”

By: David Kearns, Digital Journalist / Media Officer, UCD University Relations

To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie